Avengers Assemble #5 *Spoilers*

[jackolover]

Actually, you realize the council is lying about the reasons for putting the embargo on Earth. Earth is dangerous, true enough, but the embargo's not for the Earth's own good; it's because they've finally realized that Earth is dangerous enough that they should be too frakking scared to come anywhere near us. Think about it:

1) Every alien invasion attempt gets turned back. Every single one. The Kree and Skrull multiple times, Toad Men, Kronans, Z'nox, you name it. Not to mention that Earth is the only planet to have turned back frelling Galactus not once, but multiple times. Earth is so hardcore that it even chews up the Celestials. The entry in the Hitchhiker's Guide was long since changed from Mostly Harmless to Don't Even Think About It.

2) Not only does Earth not take well to being invaded, but it also interferes with galactic business all the time, usually because galactic civilizations are stupid enough to bring their business to Earth and have it come to the attention of the power players there. How long was it after the Fantastic Four stopped a Skrull invasion that they were cruising around Skrull planets fomenting revolution? Not long at all. Was it wise for the Kree and Skrull to use Earth's solar system as a staging area in a way that threatened Earth? Hardly. Shi'ar emperors have been deposed (and enthroned) through Terran intervention. Maybe they're thinking that if they adopt a hands off approach, there'll be less blowback of this sort in the future.

3) Earth is not actually backward, maybe in terms of what's generally available to the majority of the population, but not where it counts. Maybe to the average citizen of Earth, Reed Richards Is Useless, but to alien races who like to claim they're thousands of years advanced, what Reed Richards is, is freaking scary. Guy's team foils one Skrull invasion, then does some reverse engineering on a Skrull ship, and next thing you know there are time travel devices, and shrinking rays, and portals to the Negative Zone, then before you know it he's into Anti-Galactus suits and multiversal Bridges and who knows what else. And Reed Richards is not alone, he's just probably the most egregious example. When Tony Stark can field a compact suit of powered armor that outmatches most cultures' small fighter spacecraft, then Earth's technology is not actually inferior, now is it (much the same applies in the Avengers movie with the Chitauri getting pwned by Stark, and worse yet, by Black Widow using Glocks)? The top of Earth's technological food chain is insanely inventive and adaptive, and things only seem to get worse when their knowledge is fueled by being able to reverse engineer alien tech. Some further examples of the crazy stuff Earth's technology is up to:

a) Creating Him, who became Adam Warlock (the Enclave)
b) Cracking the genetic and evolutionary code and accelerating their own evolution (Mr. Sinister, High Evolutionary)
c) Creating entire new planets, with and without inhabitants (High Evolutionary, Ted Castle and Alyssa Moy)
d) Taking control of Celestials, at least their shells, for their own purposes (Mr. Sinister, High Evolutionary)
e) Creating multiple Cosmic Cubes

4) Even beyond technology, Earth routinely gives rise to insanely, cosmically powerful individuals. Two Phoenix hosts, gods that can match one of Galactus' heralds and come close to matching Galactus himself, Franklin Richards who can create baby universes and one day will have Galactus as his herald, Molecule Man, Adam Warlock, Wanda, Vulcan, Black Bolt (down to Kree interference, but that only reinforces the point), the list goes on and on.

Honestly, you know what Cap and everybody else's response should be to the news that the galactic community regards Earth as dangerous? "Damn straight, and don't you forget it and come knocking at our door any time soon, either." If Earth's reputation as possibly the most dangerous planet in the cosmos to mess with had spread sooner, maybe he and his friends would have had to deal with fewer numbnuts alien invasions over the years.

With such a comprehensive listing of events and beings involved in the history of Earth Cosmic over the years, it does make the hands off policy a little more reasonable, just from the point of view that Earth is a pretty toxic place to other Aliens. I suppose that it is a privileged situation to be placed in to be directed as a place to be steered clear of. So I am led to believe that the Thanos situation is just some escalation incident, that the Council is specifically afraid of. Pirates like Thanos, who don't listen to these directives just puts the Earth in a more and more powerful position, because it appears that every cosmic being who deigns to come here and has the gall to think they can conquer Earth, just succeed in making the Planet more invulnerable and more lethal.

[horshbox]

For me personally I think that this is one of the worst comics I have read in a long time. Now I don't hate Bendis, I really enjoy Ultimate Spiderman and some of his Avengers work but I have no idea what he is at with this series. First of all the disregard for all that DnA did with the Guardians and Thanos really doesn't sit well with me. If you want to bring back characters from the dead at least have an explanation as to why don't just do it for no reason just because you want to us the characters. I also thought the kiss between Black Widow and Hawkeye was kind of out of no where, mostly for Natasha who is with Bucky.

Also the art can be a bit all over the place, which is a shame because Mark Bagley is usually brilliant. I have a big issue with Hawkeye's glasses, they just look really stupid and weird the way they are drawn. Also why go and change Star Lords costume and make him blonde he just doesn't appear to stand out or look interesting at all now. At least he's back to having his helmet in the point one cover they have shown.

[Hockstatter]

I love how Bendis streches what would be 5 pages of plot/dialoque for most into 20 pages

[vitruvian]

This is pretty much confirmed to take place before AvX. Notice how in AvX and the AvX tie-ins, the Avengers are living in the new Avengers tower.

Avengers Assemble #1 shows the coronation of the tower after it was first built.

After it was first built? Does that mean it's before Fear Itself, too?

[vitruvian]

The Galactic Council must have thought the Earth was to be wiped out, seeing as other planets were taking bets as to the next place the Phoenix was to destroy.

So? The Shi'ar still show up on Earth during AvX, which would be a violation, so either the Shi'ar are in trouble or it's not a rule anymore.

[drakeon]

Its only a rule in the Bendisverse. He didn't even read avx #2-7 before writing the script to #8. (Most likely just a joke on his part). He creates his own continuity and goes with it.

[jackolover]

So? The Shi'ar still show up on Earth during AvX, which would be a violation, so either the Shi'ar are in trouble or it's not a rule anymore.

That's true. Gladiator was after his son so maybe he could be forgiven for trying to save kid Gladiator from the destructive Phoenix? And really, if that rule of the council existed, there must have been a moratorium on it once the earth was blasted by the Phoenix. In all reality, the council must have expected the Earth to have been destroyed and the Earth Protocol to be defunct.

[Maxwell Maniac]

That bit about the galactic council deciding earth off-limits happened on panel?

[tigerkaya]

Oh Bendis, you street level writer you. When will you learn your place is writing Street Level story not cosmic.
Your only making a bigger fool of yourself.

[DebkoX]

lol, dragging it out.