Customer Reviews

Mighty Avengers, Vol. 1: The Ultron Initiative

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This volume collects the first six issues of Marvel's 2007 "Mighty Avengers" launch. Tony Stark/Iron Man and Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel assemble yet another new team of Avengers including Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Janet Van Dyne/Wasp, Simon Williams/Wonder Man, Ares and the Sentry. Having first appearing in 1968's Avengers #54, in this plotline the maniacal robot Ultron returns to Earth to destroy all organic life. Ultron assumes Iron Man's body before changing into another familar form and hastening Earth's demise. A helicarrier crash leaves Natasha as temporary head of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the heroes try to stop Ultron. Brian Michael Bendis and Frank Cho are the writer and penciler/inker, respectively. Though the story is above-average for this sort of six-issue superhero arc, Bendis' dialogue is marred by intermittent thought balloons that grow tiresome. Frank Cho's art is superb, most notably for a few characters.

With the dust of Civil War settled, and new S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Tony "Iron Man" Stark starting his fifty state initiative, he sets his sights on creating a new team of pro-registration Avengers. Featuring some ultra-familiar faces, Tony's new team features himself, Ms. Marvel, Wonder Man, Wasp, Black Widow, Ares, and his former New Avengers team mate The Sentry. Things get kind of weird though as the Mighty Avengers embark in battle with the creatures of the Mole Man, especially when Tony morphs into an all-powerful female construct claiming to be the longtime classic Avengers foe Ultron. Were it not for the energy and surprising sense of wonder that writer Brian Michael Bendis manages to inject in Mighty Avengers, the book as a whole just wouldn't work. However, his lineup makes more sense than his original New Avengers lineup, and there are enough comedic moments sprinkled between the action pieces to keep you interested. One thing that should be mentioned though in regards to Bendis: what is with the thought bubbles? There are so many throughout this hardcover collection that you'll think you're back in the silver age, and they are quite annoying, especially when placed between the dialogue bubbles. Flaws aside, the real selling point of The Ultron Initiative is the gorgeous artwork of the great Frank Cho, who never disappoints. All in all, while Bendis' New Avengers is still a superior book, the Mighty Avengers get off to a pretty good start, and there is enough promise here for something really special to develop.

I want to preface this review by simply stating that I often don't give graphic novels these days 5 stars - so please know that I don't rate lightly.

Mighty Avengers Vol. I, I think, is probably the best graphic novel I've read in the past 2-3 years, and I buy quite a few. It combines all of the elements you'd want - great writing, superb artwork, spot-on dialogue, and that certain intangible quality you look for in a comic - the "fun" factor.

This volume starts off with Iron Man and Ms. Marvel starting to re-form the Avengers, a putting together a great crew - in addition to those two heroes, they choose Sentry, Ares, Wasp, Black Widow and Power Man. Almost immediately, however, the team is thrust into battling two foes at once: Mole Man and a resurrected, super-powerful Ultron. Add to this the fact that Iron Man is knocked out of commission, and you have something of a problem.

While this set-up sounds like common comic book fare, believe me when I say that this comic blows almost all comic books of the past few years out of the water. Writer Brian Michael Bendis (most famous, probably for his work on Powers) puts an extra spark in this title, letting us see the character's inner monologues and insecurities (by way of thought balloons) while they're talking and really making it feel as though we've known these characters for years - and that they themselves have tremendous history and group cohesion.

Famed penciler Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows and Shanna the She-Devil, to name but a few) shines brighter than ever in this title; he not only pencils but also inks this title, and his artistry is probably unmatched by anyone in the business today. He captures something essential in each of the characters, and his grasp and application of human anatomy makes them seem almost tangible. This comic reminds me of the halcyon days when Chris Claremont and Alan Davis did their run on Excalibur in the late 1980s and early 1990s - to my mind, the standard to which all superhero comics should be held. This is a fun, funny, thrilling and entertaining volume, and all comic book fans would be wise to pick it up, I can't recommend it enough.

Having purchased this on the basis of generally positive reviews, I was quite surprised at just how truly bad the Ultron Initiative was. Bendis has generated his share of controversy with the direction that he's taken a lot of Marvel properties, but there's really nothing controversial here, it's just plain bad. It's an empty story filled with vacuous, thoroughly unlikeable characters.

The dialogue and how it is presented, deserves calling out. The dialogue itself is juvenile, puerile, and consistently bad for all of the characters. It's like something out of junior high boy's locker room. There are multiple penis jokes, bestiality jokes (yes, seriously!), and there isn't a single character that doesn't come across as completely unlikeable. They're all either self-absorbed jerks (Wasp, Hank Pym, etc.), moronic self-absorbed jerks (Ares), or brain-dead sponges whose parts could have been as easily played by a pet rock (Sentry, and to a lesser degree, Wonder Man).

Then, to add insult to injury, all of the dialogue is constantly interspersed with thought bubbles so that seemingly every single bit of conversation includes a running commentary from each character on their own dialogue. Not only does this create for enormous blots of chat bubbles obliterating most of the art, every single character's internal commentary make them even more unlikeable than the spoken dialogue (which takes some doing). Every single one is portrayed as petty, mean-spirited, vindictive, and thoroughly despicable. If there's one thing the book leaves you with as you walk away, it's having taught you to completely dislike every single one of the Avengers and most of the supporting characters. If you like *any* of the characters, steer clear of this book as it will teach you to hate them all. The most likeable characters in the whole book are Ultron (to an extent) and, of all people, the Mole Man! The two (more or less) bad guys. As the only characters lacking the running thought-bubble commentary, they are by far the most likeable characters in the book.

The story itself is weak, if not quite as hateful as the character presentations. It's a random monster of the week story that starts of completely randomly and never really goes anywhere coherent. There's no real attempt at anything particularly original or intelligent it simply "let's throw in a bunch of giant monsters and then have Ultron show up." Ultron's "grand plan" seems awfully vague and not particularly doomsday-esque. Sort of a "I'll destroy the world by mildly inconveniencing everyone" plan. And there are many random elements of plain stupidity (Hank Pym: "I need a Commodore 64"). Perhaps they were meant to be funny, but given the overall quality, they just fall abysmally flat. And it really starts to come across like Bendis just hates his own readership and is going out of his way to mock and insult them.

Frank Cho's are is decent, but I've seen him look better. I don't blame him for not giving things his best effort, though, since much of his art is constantly obscured by the thought bubble commentary wall of text.

Bendis has done a number of things worth reading, whether you agree with their direction or not. This is not worth reading even once. Save your money for something better.

This was shockingly bad considering how long Bendis has been producing top notch Avengers stories. I guess it could be yin to the other Avengers yang. The thought bubbles absolutely sucked the life out of this story. For a writer who is so good at dialog, this would have been better as a picture book.

The art is consistent, but I don't see why Cho is so hyped. I much prefer McNiven, Finch...even Yu on Avengers books. Save your money and stick with New Avengers.

This whole storyline is set around two things: the gathering of this newest set of Avengers and one huge battle royale.

The plot doesn't really matter because we've seen it all before. Pretty much every page has someone barking orders heroically or being thrown backwards through a building.

This book also sees the return of thought balloons for god knows what reason. The first time I read one I thought it was a novel, retro idea, but they get old fast.

I love Bendis' stuff and what he's done at Marvel but this isn't really my kind of thing. It's definitely not bad, if anything it's pop-superheroics at it's best. If you're a fan of the old days where all heroes did was shout at each other and fruitlessly punch an unknown threat for six issues before discovering the magical silver bullet to disable the threat instantly, then I recommend that you buy this mofo quick smart.

Well. I am not sure what this book is all about. The usual mayhem of a re-gathering of the old Avengers under Ms Marvel as sanctioned by Tony Stark. Tony Stark then vaporises and in his place arises a naked metal female Ultron. Her nakedness is strategically covered in bare bits by shiny armor (shades of Hajime Sorayama and Metropolis combined!). Basically, when Ultron appears, there is no point in depicting the other clothed superheroes.

Yeah, this will appeal to the fanboys! Frank Cho is wasted on this stupid production.

What happens to the Avengers after Civil War? Read and find out!

The story is intriguing, and the artwork is beautiful and sexy (I'd expect nothing left from Liberty Meadows' artist and creator, Frank Cho).

My only complaint is the overuse of thought bubbles in the dialog. It's really heavy-handed in this and a bit on the cheesy side. While I don't mind having a window into the characters' minds, I don't need to be given a full-blown psychic vision of their internal conversations. After all, a little mystery does leave a character more intriguing.

That said, I definitely recommend it. It's a great start to the series, and I am anxious to read more.

While the x titles keep repeating the same story over & over again. The avengers have come up with a great new team & new storyline.

A Decent Start for the Mighty Avengers one of many new avengers books spawned from Civil War. New Avengers seems to be Bendis' better book however this is just getting off the ground. There are many fun moments and Bendis is spot on with the dialog and action. It's fun with amazingly vibrant art. It's Classic comic book telling.