Before you even open the book, you get one hell of a reveal on the cover. I can imagine the part of the fandom that ships Hawkeye and Widow collectively screeching when they see the cover of ‘Avengers Assemble’ #5.

On another note, this series is my first introduction to the Guardians of the Galaxy, as I’m sure it is with many other fans as well. I’ve only heard of them before, but now that I got to see them in action in this issue, I’m curious to see more. Specifically, I want to know they’re history with the Avengers. While they were exchanging pleasantries, there were indications that their paths have crossed before, be it with the team or without, and I’m curious enough to go looking for those times when, say, Thor and Gamora met in the field of battle, which could be taken literally or otherwise. Thor has many ways of discovering that she is “a fine warrior” after all.

Another random thought that I had while reading was that I could see Danny DeVito being the voice of Rocket Raccoon in the movie version of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. I know that this is the first time I’m being exposed to the character, but he just strikes me as a character DeVito can play.

Overall, it was a good issue. It let us know what we needed to know about Thanos and why he’s here, and it gives us an idea of what these two pretty different teams plan to do together to stop the Mad Titan. Needless to say, this series hasn’t gotten old for me yet. Also, the nod to Joss Whedon with the General Whedon character was a nice touch. Cheers, Mr. Bendis.

Verdict: Buy

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #5
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art by MARK BAGLEY, DANNY MIKI, and PAUL MOUNTS