In the last issue of ‘The New Avengers’, the story was focused on Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and their future with the team. It was directly tied into the ‘Avengers vs. X-Men’ crossover event because it featured the team preparing to journey to Utopia to talk to Cyclops. In the new issue, it’s filled with exposition and events from the past, with the focus centered on the Iron Fist, and the only bit taking place in the present is the last page.

One thing that I found difficult to comprehend during my initial read was understanding who the characters were. Since people like Master Yu Ti and Lei Kung the Thunderer aren’t regular cast members in ‘The New Avengers’, it was hard to keep track and figure out who they were and what roles they play in the Marvel Universe. Unless you know your Iron Fist history, then some of the things in this book will be lost to you. However, as long as you know about Danny Rand and the powers that he possesses as the Iron Fist, then you should get the main jist of what’s going on, which is that Yu Ti, after having visions in his dreams, searched for “a girl with crimson hair” who “stands with the thunderer” and becomes a “bird of destruction” hundreds of years ago.

Basically what this issue tells us is that the Iron Fist from back in the day dealt with the Phoenix Force before. Judging by the last page of the book, **SPOILERS** the current Iron Fist, Danny Rand, doesn’t know this information yet. It’ll be interesting how the eventual battle with the Phoenix Force will go down once this information is revealed to the New Avengers.

The good thing about company wide crossovers and their tie-ins is that exposition like this can be revealed without wasting space in the main book. I’m not sure if this will even play into the main title, but it seems like a big deal in the ‘New Avengers’ books, especially after seeing the cover for the next issue.

This book was a good read if you’re one of those people who likes to know everything going on in a huge company-wide event, but it wouldn’t hurt you if you skipped this particular issue, unlike the last issue which laid out the Avengers plan of action and gave insight into what their team leader, Cage, had going on for him. Iron Fist, who steps into the spotlight in this issue, isn’t even in the book, so I could see how this would fall out of favor with some fans. But, as history dictates, after lengthy exposition like that, business is about to pick up. We’ll see how the next issue stacks up once it hits the shelves because, so far, this tie-in is looking to be one that I’d recommend reading once it’s in a trade.

Verdict: Borrow

THE NEW AVENGERS #25
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art by MIKE DEODATO, WILL CONRAD, & RAIN BEREDO
Cover by MIKE DEODATO & MARTE GARCIA