Avengers #25

I bet there are going to be some angry people picking up this issue. This is not a tie-in to Avengers vs. X-Men. The cover makes it look like Cyclops is taking a shot at Cap, but in fact, those are generic AIM energy beams.

This is almost entirely a follow-up to the last HAMMER arc, with only one page connected to AvX. Worse, the only connection to AvX is the silly-named Protector, the former Captain Mar-Vell who’s been in the background for the past few months.

Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing the Avengers score another win. Especially with Cap being so worn down being the “man.” (Which in itself is a great observation from Thor, a bit of a rebel himself.) I would have liked a bit more interaction from some of the minor team members.

The main development there is Iron Man noticing that Hawkeye and Spider-Woman are now making out every chance they get (just like in issue 24.1 last month). I feel bad for the new lovebirds, surely an Avengers salary could pay for an apartment or even a hotel room so they don’t need to grope each other in the Avengers’ training room. Plus, what happened to Mockingbird? Was there a breakup I missed?

The big news for this issue is Walt Simonson. His dynamic, blocky work is as cool as ever. He skimps on backgrounds some of the time, but is it ever worth it. Red Hulk? Iron Man? THOR? I’m tickled to see his take on their current costumes. His civilian clothing has a bit of a dated look (look at Jessica Drew’s hair) but man, he can still bring it. I also love the seen with the head of AIM addressing her troops while sitting in front of a green screen. Very practical.

Fair