Avengers #2

I was obviously worried when I saw that cover. Wonder Man is an old fave of mine, regardless of how silly folks think he is now. I was a West Coast Avengers fan back in the day, and Wondy was a cool dude, then. So I was mighty worried that Bendis was going to turn WM into a full on villain. It seems Wondy is a bit messed up, but it is too early to say if he's actually a villain. In fact, one of my favorite parts about this issue is how quickly half the current Avengers announce that they are going to help ol' Simon Williams. Iron Man and Hawkeye are the main two, which makes sense. I'll enjoy a story of redeeming or helping Wonder Man a lot faster than I'll like a story about him going bad.

The rest of the issue deals with Captain Marvel/Marvel Boy/The Protector? setting up a dimensional viewer to look in on possible futures. We see glimpses of the M2 Universe with Spider-Girl, the 2099 gang, the original Guardians of the Galaxy, and then the Avengers kids from issue 1. Immortus puts in a brief appearance as he breaks time, but it isn't exactly clear what's going on. Best of all is the big arrival of a top-notch villain on the last page. I guess Wolverine joining the Avengers makes it fair game for X-villains to show up. Very nicely done.

There isn't a ton of plot movement this month. We don't know a lot more than we did before, but we've got a new member and a good little sub-plot with Wonder Man. As long as the action stays high-stakes, I can't complain about an Avengers title like this.

John Romita Jr. has such a classic style; I love his take on Hawkeye's modern uniform. I also couldn't help but notice that the Avengers are eating the biggest slices of pizza I've ever seen. I guess having the team eat together is very important in Bendis' Heroic Age. I like it. It makes the team more like a family!

Good