Avengers Finale
So I went ahead and talked about "Avengers: Disassembled" without remembering that there was one more chapter, the Avengers Finale due out this week. So I'll talk about it now.
It's a few months after the last chapter of "Disassembled" and the remaining Avengers have gathered at the ruined mansion to take stock of their lives. Several members depart, and Tony Stark admits that he can no longer personally fund the Avengers, since his private fund has been bankrupted by the damage incurred during "Disassembled." The remaining Avengers reminisce about their greatest moments at a team, then head outside to greet a candlelight vigil held in their honor.
Much like "Disassembled," Finale is a mixed bag. It's a neat idea for Tony to have the ruined mansion left as it is as a memorial, but I'm unclear how Tony can say he's been able to "put the genie back in the bottle" as far as his secret identity is concerned. Then again, I didn't know Iron Man's secret identity status going in, so maybe there's a detail I'm missing. But it's certainly unclear to those of us who are just coming in for this storyline.
The "greatest moments" montage consists of a beautiful series of two-page spreads by a variety of artists who you wouldn't necessarily associate with Avengers (Gary Frank has at least done superheroes before, but Eric Powell, of The Goon fame?) All of the spreads are very well done. Bendis stumbles, however, in who's narrating which scene. Several Avengers pick moments when they weren't even on the team, which seems unlikely. Falcon even admits he's surprised that Hank Pym didn't pick the moment Pym finally defeated his rogue creation Ultron. So why not write it that way? I suppose Bendis might have been going for a "even the Avengers are awed by the Avengers" idea, but it falls flat.
What does ring true is the final few pages (drawn by the peerless George Perez), where the Avengers toast all of their members who have fallen in service to the team, then head outside to greet the crowd of mourners. It's affecting without going to far over the top.
As I've said, "Disassembled," as a whole, is a mixed bag. I know it was just a deck-clearing exercise, but I think a little more thought and care could have been put into it, to even out the rough spots. The Avengers team probably deserved a better send-off. New Avengers could still go either way. Let's hope Bendis can pull it off.
It's a few months after the last chapter of "Disassembled" and the remaining Avengers have gathered at the ruined mansion to take stock of their lives. Several members depart, and Tony Stark admits that he can no longer personally fund the Avengers, since his private fund has been bankrupted by the damage incurred during "Disassembled." The remaining Avengers reminisce about their greatest moments at a team, then head outside to greet a candlelight vigil held in their honor.
Much like "Disassembled," Finale is a mixed bag. It's a neat idea for Tony to have the ruined mansion left as it is as a memorial, but I'm unclear how Tony can say he's been able to "put the genie back in the bottle" as far as his secret identity is concerned. Then again, I didn't know Iron Man's secret identity status going in, so maybe there's a detail I'm missing. But it's certainly unclear to those of us who are just coming in for this storyline.
The "greatest moments" montage consists of a beautiful series of two-page spreads by a variety of artists who you wouldn't necessarily associate with Avengers (Gary Frank has at least done superheroes before, but Eric Powell, of The Goon fame?) All of the spreads are very well done. Bendis stumbles, however, in who's narrating which scene. Several Avengers pick moments when they weren't even on the team, which seems unlikely. Falcon even admits he's surprised that Hank Pym didn't pick the moment Pym finally defeated his rogue creation Ultron. So why not write it that way? I suppose Bendis might have been going for a "even the Avengers are awed by the Avengers" idea, but it falls flat.
What does ring true is the final few pages (drawn by the peerless George Perez), where the Avengers toast all of their members who have fallen in service to the team, then head outside to greet the crowd of mourners. It's affecting without going to far over the top.
As I've said, "Disassembled," as a whole, is a mixed bag. I know it was just a deck-clearing exercise, but I think a little more thought and care could have been put into it, to even out the rough spots. The Avengers team probably deserved a better send-off. New Avengers could still go either way. Let's hope Bendis can pull it off.
posted by Jeff at 10:33 AM
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