Just like ‘Avengers’ #18, the latest issue of ‘New Avengers’ spins out of the first installment of the latest Marvel event, ‘Infinity’. And as predicted, Jonathan Hickman has divided the two warfronts between his two regular books, so while Captain America leads the Avengers in joining the Galactic Council in their war against the Builders, Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, and the rest of the Illuminati are stuck with an invasion of Earth by Thanos’ forces.
When we last left off in ‘New Avengers’ #8, the issue acted as a prelude to ‘Infinity’ that found Wakanda and Atlantis at war with one another, while something fishy is brewing in Attilan with Black Bolt and his brother Maximus. Now, with Thanos’ generals touching down on Earth and terrorizing each member of the Illuminati, the heroes each have their hands full as their enemies search for the last remaining Infinity Gem.
While I haven’t actually written about this book since issue four, I assure you that I have been interested in what Jonathan Hickman has been doing with ‘New Avengers’. More often than not, I find myself perplexed in regards to how and why things are happening, but I’ve been following along as best I could and enjoyed the ride. And with the latest developments in the new issue, I find myself even more excited for what’s to come, especially when it comes to the Inhumans.
King Black Bolt and the rest of the Attilantian royal family have always been fascinating characters. Despite not knowing very much about them, whenever they’d pop up in my books, I always enjoyed what I read. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still enjoying the things happening with them, but I suspect some very sinister acts abound in ‘New Avengers’ in the Inhuman camp. I suspect that Black Bolt’s actions are being carried out on account of his guilt, but he must have made some extremely rash decisions for Medusa to react the way that she did. So yeah, even though I’m concerned for Doctor Strange, I think that it’s safe to say that I’m most interested in what’s going on with Black Bolt and his people.
The other thing that concerns me is Namor. He’s constantly teetering on the edge of hero and villain, and he’s been known to be a douche from time to time, but I don’t think that he’s ever thrown an ally under the bus this badly before. Of course, T’Challa isn’t without fault in this. I’m not saying he’s innocent. I’m saying that Namor has crossed a line. Ugh, this one is going to be hard to argue. Basically, it’s a messed up situation when it comes to the Black Panther and the Sub-Mariner right now. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how this plays out with a full-scale alien invasion going on at the same time.
From the very beginning, Hickman’s run on ‘New Avengers’ has dealt with some pretty dark stuff. Something tells me that things are bound to get even darker before they get any lighter and that thought just has me anxiously waiting for the next one.
Final Score:
NEW AVENGERS # 9
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Mike Deodato & Frank Martin
Cover by Mike Deodato & Laura Martin
