Avengers Assemble #4 *Spoilers*

[jackolover]

And that works in the cartoon, but not necessarily in the comics where the Guardians are actually pretty new as a team, while the Avengers have probably saved the universe more times at this point. So it doesn't ring true if you're a long time comic book reader.

But again, I understand why it's done. They're trying to sell the Guardians as sort of experts in the cosmic stuff. It gives them their own unique niche. If anyone earth hero could do what they do, it makes them seem less special.

I just wish the Guardians didn't just show up out of nowhere and at the exact oportune time, by coincidence. This sort of thing happened in the 70's to the 90's. Ta da!! Here we are and we'll save the day. Could it have been any more schmaltzy?

[jackolover]

Except in the book itself. Warren Ellis once said Nextwave was the only book in 616 canon, in an interview.

Give me something legit, an aside to Hulk's current situation in his ongoing, Pepper Potts being Rescue, Black Widow's relationship with Bucky something, otherwise this is pretty much just Marvel Adventures with cartoon/Cinema universe cast.

This book is a straight odd duck in the rest of the current Marvel universe among a flock of sparrows. If it doesn't work with the shared universe, I won't count it as such until it shows otherwise either in the book or it affecting something else.

What about the inauguration of Avengers Tower in issue #1? That tells you it is before Children Crusade, (where cap took Wiccan to the Tower after Wiccan made the criminals unconscious,) and after Fear Itself, where the Tower was destroyed, and Cap said they were rebuilding it. So CC is after Avengers Assembled.

[jackolover]

I get that they want to appeal to "new readers" and all, but if they are going to place this into continuity it needs to find a way to explain some things. There are ways even without heavy exposition to do this.

The next few issues better explain how Thanos and Star Lord (and hopefully Rich) survived and escaped the cancerverse. (One last usuage of the cosmic cube perhaps?) And just why Thjanos wants the earth, when that was never his goal. Last time we saw Thanos he was having a tantrum cause death spurned him...again!

Also, how and why did the Guardians reform? They had disbanded so that Cosmo could put together the Annihilator group at Peter Quill's request. Not to mention Sam Alexander showing up in AvX when both Rich and the Worldmind shut down, and all nova force power had been siphoned away while Rich fought Thanos.

How has Drax returned? (Chrono's doing I suppose. As long as Thjanos lives so too does Drax). Rocket and Groot left the mojoverse? Where Captain Victory, Jack Flagg or Moondragon?

These things may not be answered during this arc, but they should be explained at some point before Bendis launches a new ongoing...

Super Skrull impersonating Thanos anybody? I wondered why Thanos doesn't just do all this himself, instead of hiring losers to do it, and failing? Thanos states his intention is not to take over the Earth, just that he wants the Cosmic Cube. Now granted, even if this is an impersonation of Thanos, nobody wants to hand over a Cosmic Cube to just anybody who asks for it, because they could wish to change the Universe to suit them, in some corner of space, and that could come back and bite Earth, so no deal. But it could explain why, after False Thanos suddenly appeared, the Guardians appeared straight after, if they were chasing him around the universe, and know who he really is.

[jackolover]

I must be the only person enjoying this book.

I don't think this title is any worse at ignoring past continuity than every other Marvel book, so that might be part of it.

The other thing that I'm noticing is that whenever Bendis' Hulk speaks, I don't "hear" classic Dumb Hulk or Joe Fixit/Mean Hulk or even Aaron's current Hulk, I swear I "hear" Blazing Saddle's Mongo.

When I started reading Av Assemble #4, it started to read a lot like a major Event, with heroes bashing on heroes, the POTUS getting involved and nuking the Avengers, and the Black Widow interviewing the Hoods cousin. It was starting to seem that we got into something a lot bigger, that got out of control real fast.

[Ron Cuthbert]

I think, out of all the Avengers books, this one is the weakest. Although it is nice to have a comic with a more classic line up (they really should throw Pym in soon, though I do know why he isn't in it for now), they really should have held off on this book until after AvX.

[XPac]

I just wish the Guardians didn't just show up out of nowhere and at the exact oportune time, by coincidence. This sort of thing happened in the 70's to the 90's. Ta da!! Here we are and we'll save the day. Could it have been any more schmaltzy?

I think that's sort of the charm for this book though.

It's sort of has that old school comic book vibe.

[jackolover]

I think that's sort of the charm for this book though.

It's sort of has that old school comic book vibe.

Well it's certainly a fan boys wet dream to see the Green Hulk in the Avengers and intereacting with all the classics. If that's what Bendis is aiming for, he is getting the beat. Others complain that Iron Man has selective amnesia about facing Cosmic Threats, but this is Bendis now writing the Avengers. The first rule of Bendis is: I haven't written them meeting before, so it is the first time. I can accept that Bendis wants to lay his own tracks about his mythos. If Iron Man is uncomfortable with Cosmic Threats, than that's how Bendis wants this to be.

[Antilles]

I was really peeved at Hulk's use of Thor's hammer and surprised to see little said about it. Are folks comfortable explaining it away that Hulk didn't *really* lift it and was just sort of guiding it down at Thor's head? I *want* to buy that - it's preferable to the continuity wound - but it sure doesn't look like that to me inside the book. And we're still left with the cover. I don't like to hate on details, but Hulk not being able to lift Thor's hammer is both time-honored and cool (particularly that it's not all about strength). Who is the noob on writing chores here to not know that? Must be from "Asgardia" or something.