New Avengers #3

I have to say I'm sort of impressed at how Bendis is giving the characters in New Avengers a chance to shine. Iron Fist, an afterthought in the first two issues, actually has some plot-importance that makes him seem like a tough guy. I appreciated how quickly he got the lay of the land and started acting heroic (after cracking wise, of course). I also think the banter between Spidey, Thing, and Ms. Marvel was inspired. The bit about Ms. Marvel having missed Ghostbusters was great, but I really dug how Spidey was insulted that the Thing wasn't going to say "Clobbering time." That's such a Spidey concern, he doesn't want to miss out on the big-time benefits of being an Avenger!

The actual conflict is still relatively weak, even after the revelation of the surprise villain. The ghost-ish monsters are generic and unimportant to the narrative; it's no better than opening a series with ninjas or robots. The ghosts just exist to give the rest of the team someone to fight. Now, they look wonderful, of course, since Stuart Immonen is drawing them, but they are awfully generic.

With a team this large, someone has be relegated to the background. Hawkeye and Mockingbird have barely been members of this team. In fact, if Jewel is going to suit up again, I wonder if the happy couple might be better off getting transferred to the Avengers title full-time.

So, while the plot is not that interesting, Bendis is doing a nice job with character moments and Immonen is rocking the art. Good enough for "Fair."

Fair