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Avengers (1998) (Single Issues) #23-34, 1.5
Avengers Assemble, Vol. 3
The crisis of the Eighth Day is followed by Triathlon's first day as an Avenger, which takes the team south of the border and back in time thousands of years! And how does the mystery of Madame Masque match the curse of Count Nefaria? Guest-starring Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Citizen V, the Crimson Cowl and Scourge! Includes an untold tale of the Avengers' earliest adventures! Collects Avengers #23-34, #1½, Thunderbolts #42-44.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published July 26, 2006
4 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Kurt Busiek
1,867 books625 followersKurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.
Busiek did not read comics as a youngster, as his parents disapproved of them. He began to read them regularly around the age of 14, when he picked up a copy of Daredevil #120. This was the first part of a continuity-heavy four-part story arc; Busiek was drawn to the copious history and cross-connections with other series. Throughout high school and college, he and future writer Scott McCloud practiced making comics. During this time, Busiek also had many letters published in comic book letter columns, and originated the theory that the Phoenix was a separate being who had impersonated Jean Grey, and that therefore Grey had not died—a premise which made its way from freelancer to freelancer, and which was eventually used in the comics.
During the last semester of his senior year, Busiek submitted some sample scripts to editor Dick Giordano at DC Comics. None of them sold, but they did get him invitations to pitch other material to DC editors, which led to his first professional work, a back-up story in Green Lantern #162 (Mar. 1983).
Busiek has worked on a number of different titles in his career, including Arrowsmith, The Avengers, Icon, Iron Man, The Liberty Project, Ninjak, The Power Company, Red Tornado, Shockrockets, Superman: Secret Identity, Thunderbolts, Untold Tales of Spider-Man, JLA, and the award-winning Marvels and the Homage Comics title Kurt Busiek's Astro City.
In 1997, Busiek began a stint as writer of Avengers alongside artist George Pérez. Pérez departed from the series in 2000, but Busiek continued as writer for two more years, collaborating with artists Alan Davis, Kieron Dwyer and others. Busiek's tenure culminated with the "Kang Dynasty" storyline. In 2003, Busiek re-teamed with Perez to create the JLA/Avengers limited series.
In 2003, Busiek began a new Conan series for Dark Horse Comics, which he wrote for four years.
In December 2005 Busiek signed a two-year exclusive contract with DC Comics. During DC's Infinite Crisis event, he teamed with Geoff Johns on a "One Year Later" eight-part story arc (called Up, Up and Away) that encompassed both Superman titles. In addition, he began writing the DC title Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis from issues 40-49. Busiek was the writer of Superman for two years, before followed by James Robinson starting from Superman #677. Busiek wrote a 52-issue weekly DC miniseries called Trinity, starring Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Each issue (except for issue #1) featured a 12-page main story by Busiek, with art by Mark Bagley, and a ten-page backup story co-written by Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, with art from various artists, including Tom Derenick, Mike Norton and Scott McDaniel.
Busiek's work has won him numerous awards in the comics industry, including the Harvey Award for Best Writer in 1998 and the Eisner Award for Best Writer in 1999. In 1994, with Marvels, he won Best Finite Series/Limited Series Eisner Award and the Best Continuing or Limited Series Harvey Award; as well as the Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story (for Marvels #4) in 1995. In 1996, with Astro City, Busiek won both the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best New Series. He won the Best Single Issue/Single Story Eisner three years in a row from 1996–1998, as well as in 2004. Busiek won the Best Continuing Series Eisner Award in 1997–1998, as well as the Best Serialized Story award in 1998. In addition, Astro City was awarded the 1996 Best Single Issue or Story Harvey Award, and the 1998 Harvey Award for Best Continuing or Limited Series.
Busiek was given the 1998 and 1999 Comics Buyer's Guide Awards for Favorite Writer, with additional nominations in 1997 and every year from 2000 to 2004. He has also received numerous Squiddy Awards, having been selected as favorite writer four years in a row from 1995 to 1998,
Busiek did not read comics as a youngster, as his parents disapproved of them. He began to read them regularly around the age of 14, when he picked up a copy of Daredevil #120. This was the first part of a continuity-heavy four-part story arc; Busiek was drawn to the copious history and cross-connections with other series. Throughout high school and college, he and future writer Scott McCloud practiced making comics. During this time, Busiek also had many letters published in comic book letter columns, and originated the theory that the Phoenix was a separate being who had impersonated Jean Grey, and that therefore Grey had not died—a premise which made its way from freelancer to freelancer, and which was eventually used in the comics.
During the last semester of his senior year, Busiek submitted some sample scripts to editor Dick Giordano at DC Comics. None of them sold, but they did get him invitations to pitch other material to DC editors, which led to his first professional work, a back-up story in Green Lantern #162 (Mar. 1983).
Busiek has worked on a number of different titles in his career, including Arrowsmith, The Avengers, Icon, Iron Man, The Liberty Project, Ninjak, The Power Company, Red Tornado, Shockrockets, Superman: Secret Identity, Thunderbolts, Untold Tales of Spider-Man, JLA, and the award-winning Marvels and the Homage Comics title Kurt Busiek's Astro City.
In 1997, Busiek began a stint as writer of Avengers alongside artist George Pérez. Pérez departed from the series in 2000, but Busiek continued as writer for two more years, collaborating with artists Alan Davis, Kieron Dwyer and others. Busiek's tenure culminated with the "Kang Dynasty" storyline. In 2003, Busiek re-teamed with Perez to create the JLA/Avengers limited series.
In 2003, Busiek began a new Conan series for Dark Horse Comics, which he wrote for four years.
In December 2005 Busiek signed a two-year exclusive contract with DC Comics. During DC's Infinite Crisis event, he teamed with Geoff Johns on a "One Year Later" eight-part story arc (called Up, Up and Away) that encompassed both Superman titles. In addition, he began writing the DC title Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis from issues 40-49. Busiek was the writer of Superman for two years, before followed by James Robinson starting from Superman #677. Busiek wrote a 52-issue weekly DC miniseries called Trinity, starring Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Each issue (except for issue #1) featured a 12-page main story by Busiek, with art by Mark Bagley, and a ten-page backup story co-written by Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, with art from various artists, including Tom Derenick, Mike Norton and Scott McDaniel.
Busiek's work has won him numerous awards in the comics industry, including the Harvey Award for Best Writer in 1998 and the Eisner Award for Best Writer in 1999. In 1994, with Marvels, he won Best Finite Series/Limited Series Eisner Award and the Best Continuing or Limited Series Harvey Award; as well as the Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story (for Marvels #4) in 1995. In 1996, with Astro City, Busiek won both the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best New Series. He won the Best Single Issue/Single Story Eisner three years in a row from 1996–1998, as well as in 2004. Busiek won the Best Continuing Series Eisner Award in 1997–1998, as well as the Best Serialized Story award in 1998. In addition, Astro City was awarded the 1996 Best Single Issue or Story Harvey Award, and the 1998 Harvey Award for Best Continuing or Limited Series.
Busiek was given the 1998 and 1999 Comics Buyer's Guide Awards for Favorite Writer, with additional nominations in 1997 and every year from 2000 to 2004. He has also received numerous Squiddy Awards, having been selected as favorite writer four years in a row from 1995 to 1998,
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 27, 2022
The Avengers have to help save the Juggernaut. The Triune Understanding subplot continues to drag on and on, with Triathlon eventually joining the team. The team almost completely turns over. Hellcat shows up in the annual. I did like the return of old Conan villain, Kulan Gath. The real shining star is the crossover with the Thunderbolts. Count Nefaria is an underrated villain. Busiek uses it as an opportunity to clean up some of Madame Masque's continuity as well. This also marks the end of George Perez's run on the title.
June 25, 2020
Can Marvel stop torturing Janet van Dyne? Christ *sighs eternally*
Okay, so this was just not good. The last one was okay for the most part but this one just made me aware of how tone deaf white writers can be when trying to tackle issues of race and representation. I'm not sure if this was some Tina Fey, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt shit where the writers read criticisms that their team was too white and tried to combat with something praising themselves? Or if they were trying to be proactive and had good intentions but fell into this trap? Either way, this was just awful.
I'm sure some people hated it because they thought it was SJW bullshit but trust me, even my crowd doesn't want this. This reads as a total "What Not to Do When Discussing Race" handbook.
Where to start:
Okay, so the Triune of Understanding is a very cult like organization that calls itself a church. They've been the nefarious hands behind a lot of the Avengers' bad press and they created a black superhero: Triathlon. When we meet Triathlon, he's very defensive about people criticizing the Triune because they took a chance on him when no one else would. However, he's nice for the most part.
Jump ahead a few months and the Avengers are getting crucified in the press for being anti-church, pro-mutant (from bigots) and having too white of a roster. Thor takes great offense to all of this because "How dare you suggest that the color of one's skin should matter to me?" We follow that ignorant ass interpretation with Iron Man blatantly saying "I don't give a damn about equal representation" and we even have Cap sarcastically saying "Tell the press I made the call because I'm racist" or some shit. *Sighs*
*Sighs*
*Sighs some more*
6 hours later
Look, these guys are my idols. I believe Busiek's run of Iron Man to be the overall best (only Director of Shield comes close) but this makes me question things. What ever gave the impression that Iron Man would say this? I get that it's supposed to reflect white men being ignorant of their own biases but to have Iron Man blatantly say he doesn't give a shit is just... wrong.
Also, Thor expresses the same bullshit arguments against Affirmative Action programs. As if having a roster with more diversity automatically meant all the people of color were chosen because they're people of color. It doesn't! It just means that you were more open to selecting qualified candidates from different backgrounds. To argue differently implies that all the white people are qualified and the people of color just weren't talented enough. The only combat against this bullshit, tired ass belief (that I endured in my university because people assumed I got in because of my race but I was in the top 8% of my HS class so kiss my ass) is Jan's comment of "I know there's no merit to these allegations but maybe we have been selecting only white people".
However, that doesn't super help because they make a point of showing them asking old Avengers of color and they all conveniently can't come back. As though they were trying to say "See, we tried? It's not our fault we only have white people here." Come the fuck on.
Also, all the attempts at being subversive and self aware came across as offensive really quickly. Falcon says "I've had enough of being Earth's Mightiest token". There are signs from protestors saying "Earth Whitiest Heroes". I will admit, one made me chuckle with "Of Color does not mean red plastic". Triathlon has a big chip on his shoulder because the Avengers have dragged his church through the mud and when he joins, Iron Man gives this great spiel about how he doesn't want Triathlon on the team because he doesn't trust him and the fact that he's black shouldn't mean all that gets ignored or something that mentioned his race a lot so Triathlon is just a dick to them. And not everything he says is wrong but they intentionally portray him as an asshole so a white lady, Carol, can tell him to knock it off.
This is fucking bullshit.
Never have a white character tell a black man to be nicer to the white folk. Especially when he had a pretty damn good reason for not liking them. What was the goal of this story?
The biggest offense is that the people asking for greater representation are presented as being just as angry and unjustified in their anger as the anti-mutant bigots and that's a big problem. There is only one panel of one member of the former group saying "Don't lump us in with you, racists" to the anti-mutant crowd but the image remains: both of these groups are perceived as equally "villainous" to the Avengers who are "just trying to do their jobs".
Ugh, so this was just annoying. I enjoyed Jen becoming fast friends with Triathlon and Nefaria was interesting but this is not a recommend.
Don't call it SJW bullshit because even the liberals think this book is full of crap.
Okay, so this was just not good. The last one was okay for the most part but this one just made me aware of how tone deaf white writers can be when trying to tackle issues of race and representation. I'm not sure if this was some Tina Fey, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt shit where the writers read criticisms that their team was too white and tried to combat with something praising themselves? Or if they were trying to be proactive and had good intentions but fell into this trap? Either way, this was just awful.
I'm sure some people hated it because they thought it was SJW bullshit but trust me, even my crowd doesn't want this. This reads as a total "What Not to Do When Discussing Race" handbook.
Where to start:
Okay, so the Triune of Understanding is a very cult like organization that calls itself a church. They've been the nefarious hands behind a lot of the Avengers' bad press and they created a black superhero: Triathlon. When we meet Triathlon, he's very defensive about people criticizing the Triune because they took a chance on him when no one else would. However, he's nice for the most part.
Jump ahead a few months and the Avengers are getting crucified in the press for being anti-church, pro-mutant (from bigots) and having too white of a roster. Thor takes great offense to all of this because "How dare you suggest that the color of one's skin should matter to me?" We follow that ignorant ass interpretation with Iron Man blatantly saying "I don't give a damn about equal representation" and we even have Cap sarcastically saying "Tell the press I made the call because I'm racist" or some shit. *Sighs*
*Sighs*
*Sighs some more*
6 hours later
Look, these guys are my idols. I believe Busiek's run of Iron Man to be the overall best (only Director of Shield comes close) but this makes me question things. What ever gave the impression that Iron Man would say this? I get that it's supposed to reflect white men being ignorant of their own biases but to have Iron Man blatantly say he doesn't give a shit is just... wrong.
Also, Thor expresses the same bullshit arguments against Affirmative Action programs. As if having a roster with more diversity automatically meant all the people of color were chosen because they're people of color. It doesn't! It just means that you were more open to selecting qualified candidates from different backgrounds. To argue differently implies that all the white people are qualified and the people of color just weren't talented enough. The only combat against this bullshit, tired ass belief (that I endured in my university because people assumed I got in because of my race but I was in the top 8% of my HS class so kiss my ass) is Jan's comment of "I know there's no merit to these allegations but maybe we have been selecting only white people".
However, that doesn't super help because they make a point of showing them asking old Avengers of color and they all conveniently can't come back. As though they were trying to say "See, we tried? It's not our fault we only have white people here." Come the fuck on.
Also, all the attempts at being subversive and self aware came across as offensive really quickly. Falcon says "I've had enough of being Earth's Mightiest token". There are signs from protestors saying "Earth Whitiest Heroes". I will admit, one made me chuckle with "Of Color does not mean red plastic". Triathlon has a big chip on his shoulder because the Avengers have dragged his church through the mud and when he joins, Iron Man gives this great spiel about how he doesn't want Triathlon on the team because he doesn't trust him and the fact that he's black shouldn't mean all that gets ignored or something that mentioned his race a lot so Triathlon is just a dick to them. And not everything he says is wrong but they intentionally portray him as an asshole so a white lady, Carol, can tell him to knock it off.
This is fucking bullshit.
Never have a white character tell a black man to be nicer to the white folk. Especially when he had a pretty damn good reason for not liking them. What was the goal of this story?
The biggest offense is that the people asking for greater representation are presented as being just as angry and unjustified in their anger as the anti-mutant bigots and that's a big problem. There is only one panel of one member of the former group saying "Don't lump us in with you, racists" to the anti-mutant crowd but the image remains: both of these groups are perceived as equally "villainous" to the Avengers who are "just trying to do their jobs".
Ugh, so this was just annoying. I enjoyed Jen becoming fast friends with Triathlon and Nefaria was interesting but this is not a recommend.
Don't call it SJW bullshit because even the liberals think this book is full of crap.
October 6, 2008
Its books like these that make people think comic books are for kids. Cheesy dialogue and poorly exectuted arcs lead the Avengers through uninspired territory that only fans of the 80's could enjoy.
March 3, 2013
Hey, a 3rd volume of Busiek written Avengers!
Ugh.
Ugh.
August 16, 2023
Busiek shakes things up in this volume with a new Avengers roster, social and media difficulties and a big Count Nefaria story. This volume contains the following issues:
#23 - Vision's identity crisis reaches the boiling point. He's been feeling less and less of a real person since Wonder Man returned, and his relationship with Wanda brings a confrontation between the two where they address their issues. At the same time, protests have begun against the Avengers line-up being made up of only white people (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Justice and Firestar). Several of the Avengers start feeling uncomfortable with this, as they don't want to introduce racial quotas and have members because of their race instead of their ability and character.
#24-25 - A sequel to the Eighth Day storyline where the Avengers fight the avatars of god-like beings. Juggernaut used to be one of them, as he's the Avatar of Cyttorak. The Avengers and Juggernaut are joined by Goliath, Wasp, Spider-Man, Quicksilver and Hercules in order to take them down. One cool thing about Busieks Avengers is that he often has former/inactive members join in the teams adventures.
Throughout this story, the protests against the Avengers lack of representation grows, infuriating Thor and making Captain America quit the team due to not being able to fight this kind of public relations battle. He feels that he can lead the team to fight villains and world-ending threats, but he's not able to lead them against this kind of battle against the public and the media.
#26 - A one shot where a makeshift team of Avengers, including Warbird, Ant Man, Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell) and Silverclaw infiltrate the Triune Understanding, a shady religious movement who the Avengers suspect may be behind the public hostility. This leads to a battle against Taskmaster.
#27 - Due to the mounting pressure of two lots of protesters, one protesting against the Avengers all-white roster and another protesting against mutants on the team, it's time for the Avengers roster to change. Captain America and Vision have already left, and Thor is fed-up with the public caring more about skin-colour than the Avengers saving the world. Some members also need a break. While the Avengers don't want to include non-white Avengers because of their skin colour, they decide that a compromise would be to call in former non-white members for a return first before asking others. Unfortunately none of them can return. However, Triathlon is interested in joining, but he's a member of the Triune Understanding and they might be using him as a spy. This puts the Avengers in a difficult situation where it's hard to tell what the right thing to do is.
#28-30 - A story where the Avengers go up against Kulan Gath, who has enslaved Silverclaw's mother, Peliani, and has taking over her village of Costa Verde. The new team starts to work together and develop relationships with their new members. A new mystery starts to form where a new Yellowjacket appears.
#31-45, Thunderbolts 42-44 - A massive 7 issue story (with one of them being double-sized) where the Vision returns and warns the team about a meeting between Maggia leaders being set up by the Grim Reaper. This leads to a team up with the Thunderbolts against a suped-up Count Nefaria with an enslaved and empowered Wonder Man and Atlas at his side.
This volume also includes Avengers #1.5, which is a story written by Roger Stern. It's set in the Avengers early years with the original line up against Doctor Doom.
This is a fantastic volume, and it's great seeing a traditional lineup change and a new cast of characters brought in. Busiek ties up the character arcs for the leaving Avengers while starting new ones for the new and returning members. New conflicts emerge due to their problems with the public and with the Triune Understanding.
A know a lot of people didn't like how Affirmative Action was seen as problematic in these stories, but it makes sense in this context. Affirmative Action is complex, and sometimes can be seen as a "ends justify the means" method. The outcome of greater representation is good, but choosing people because of the colour of their skin is bad. This is highlighted in here due to the traditional hero mindset of good ends can never justify bad means. It makes sense for characters such as Captain America and Thor battle with this. They just can't bring themselves to give membership out due to a persons skin colour. It's admirable that Busiek didn't take the easy way out by having one of the non-white members conveniently rejoin the team, forcing the team to have to deal with this complicated no-win situation.
Unfortunately, this story couldn't be written today, with society so politically charged and polarized, and with social media being what it is. It's great to be able to revisit stories like this where we can see issues brought up with the complexity warranted, instead of the simplified and parroted political preaching we get today.
#23 - Vision's identity crisis reaches the boiling point. He's been feeling less and less of a real person since Wonder Man returned, and his relationship with Wanda brings a confrontation between the two where they address their issues. At the same time, protests have begun against the Avengers line-up being made up of only white people (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Justice and Firestar). Several of the Avengers start feeling uncomfortable with this, as they don't want to introduce racial quotas and have members because of their race instead of their ability and character.
#24-25 - A sequel to the Eighth Day storyline where the Avengers fight the avatars of god-like beings. Juggernaut used to be one of them, as he's the Avatar of Cyttorak. The Avengers and Juggernaut are joined by Goliath, Wasp, Spider-Man, Quicksilver and Hercules in order to take them down. One cool thing about Busieks Avengers is that he often has former/inactive members join in the teams adventures.
Throughout this story, the protests against the Avengers lack of representation grows, infuriating Thor and making Captain America quit the team due to not being able to fight this kind of public relations battle. He feels that he can lead the team to fight villains and world-ending threats, but he's not able to lead them against this kind of battle against the public and the media.
#26 - A one shot where a makeshift team of Avengers, including Warbird, Ant Man, Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell) and Silverclaw infiltrate the Triune Understanding, a shady religious movement who the Avengers suspect may be behind the public hostility. This leads to a battle against Taskmaster.
#27 - Due to the mounting pressure of two lots of protesters, one protesting against the Avengers all-white roster and another protesting against mutants on the team, it's time for the Avengers roster to change. Captain America and Vision have already left, and Thor is fed-up with the public caring more about skin-colour than the Avengers saving the world. Some members also need a break. While the Avengers don't want to include non-white Avengers because of their skin colour, they decide that a compromise would be to call in former non-white members for a return first before asking others. Unfortunately none of them can return. However, Triathlon is interested in joining, but he's a member of the Triune Understanding and they might be using him as a spy. This puts the Avengers in a difficult situation where it's hard to tell what the right thing to do is.
#28-30 - A story where the Avengers go up against Kulan Gath, who has enslaved Silverclaw's mother, Peliani, and has taking over her village of Costa Verde. The new team starts to work together and develop relationships with their new members. A new mystery starts to form where a new Yellowjacket appears.
#31-45, Thunderbolts 42-44 - A massive 7 issue story (with one of them being double-sized) where the Vision returns and warns the team about a meeting between Maggia leaders being set up by the Grim Reaper. This leads to a team up with the Thunderbolts against a suped-up Count Nefaria with an enslaved and empowered Wonder Man and Atlas at his side.
This volume also includes Avengers #1.5, which is a story written by Roger Stern. It's set in the Avengers early years with the original line up against Doctor Doom.
This is a fantastic volume, and it's great seeing a traditional lineup change and a new cast of characters brought in. Busiek ties up the character arcs for the leaving Avengers while starting new ones for the new and returning members. New conflicts emerge due to their problems with the public and with the Triune Understanding.
A know a lot of people didn't like how Affirmative Action was seen as problematic in these stories, but it makes sense in this context. Affirmative Action is complex, and sometimes can be seen as a "ends justify the means" method. The outcome of greater representation is good, but choosing people because of the colour of their skin is bad. This is highlighted in here due to the traditional hero mindset of good ends can never justify bad means. It makes sense for characters such as Captain America and Thor battle with this. They just can't bring themselves to give membership out due to a persons skin colour. It's admirable that Busiek didn't take the easy way out by having one of the non-white members conveniently rejoin the team, forcing the team to have to deal with this complicated no-win situation.
Unfortunately, this story couldn't be written today, with society so politically charged and polarized, and with social media being what it is. It's great to be able to revisit stories like this where we can see issues brought up with the complexity warranted, instead of the simplified and parroted political preaching we get today.
October 13, 2019
So this is what happens when an all-white team is given freedom to deal with criticism about having a too-white roster in the Avengers. If you are interested in how badly comics used to deal with race issues, this is a must read but it'll also make you lose faith in humanity.
Protesters asking for representation are lumped in with anti-mutants bigots and it's heavily implied that all of them are planted by the shady Triune to deliver a PR blow to the Avengers. Because obviously no one in their right mind would ever think of criticising Earth's mightiest heroes. The whole arc culminates in Thor (a Nordic god, so no far-right connotations at all...) attacks a journalist for questioning whether the Avengers might be unconsciously biased against superheroes of color, so they have to accept Triathlon among their ranks, ridiculizing affirmative actions. It's really bad. Especially when the Thunderbolts of the same year (Hawkeye & the Thunderbolts, Vol. 2) are dealing with the same issues in a much, much better way.
Good things:
- the Hellcat Annual was different both in art style and story (very Archie-like!) and I enjoyed it, especially as a continuation of the Thunderbolts Annual from the same year
- the Count Nefaria crossover event with the Thunderbolts, mainly because of the Thunderbolts
Bad things:
- racism very badly handed
- the return of Yellowjacket after everything Janet went through during Avengers Forever
- Taskmaster and the Triune are not going anywhere, a big reveal is not going to save this arc
- Juggernaut, the Exemplars and the Eighth Day crisis plotline are just boring and blandly written
I did not mind Kulan Gath and Silverclaw's arc, but it felt like filler in the sense that it wasn't written with care or with any consequence in mind. It was merely a fun adventure for the Avengers that doesn't fit with the tone of the rest of the trade, but it was okay.
If the Avengers did not drive the story in the Marvel Universe I would stop reading them. They should be fun and thrilling but they feel like a chore in their best moments and are a constant source of second-hand embarrassment because of how they deal with delicate issues like feminism and racism. I'm really looking forward to not having to read more Busiek's Avengers.
Protesters asking for representation are lumped in with anti-mutants bigots and it's heavily implied that all of them are planted by the shady Triune to deliver a PR blow to the Avengers. Because obviously no one in their right mind would ever think of criticising Earth's mightiest heroes. The whole arc culminates in Thor (a Nordic god, so no far-right connotations at all...) attacks a journalist for questioning whether the Avengers might be unconsciously biased against superheroes of color, so they have to accept Triathlon among their ranks, ridiculizing affirmative actions. It's really bad. Especially when the Thunderbolts of the same year (Hawkeye & the Thunderbolts, Vol. 2) are dealing with the same issues in a much, much better way.
Good things:
- the Hellcat Annual was different both in art style and story (very Archie-like!) and I enjoyed it, especially as a continuation of the Thunderbolts Annual from the same year
- the Count Nefaria crossover event with the Thunderbolts, mainly because of the Thunderbolts
Bad things:
- racism very badly handed
- the return of Yellowjacket after everything Janet went through during Avengers Forever
- Taskmaster and the Triune are not going anywhere, a big reveal is not going to save this arc
- Juggernaut, the Exemplars and the Eighth Day crisis plotline are just boring and blandly written
I did not mind Kulan Gath and Silverclaw's arc, but it felt like filler in the sense that it wasn't written with care or with any consequence in mind. It was merely a fun adventure for the Avengers that doesn't fit with the tone of the rest of the trade, but it was okay.
If the Avengers did not drive the story in the Marvel Universe I would stop reading them. They should be fun and thrilling but they feel like a chore in their best moments and are a constant source of second-hand embarrassment because of how they deal with delicate issues like feminism and racism. I'm really looking forward to not having to read more Busiek's Avengers.
September 17, 2022
Album zawiera materiał z Avengers #23-34 (1998), #1½, Thunderbolts #42-44 (1997).
Epicka epopeja Buśka nadal trwa i choć czuć tu miejscami naftalinę i tą taką pulpowość, jaka cieszyła młode mordki w dzieciństwie, tak już teraz czuć aż za bardzo wyraźnie. Dla jednych minus, dla drugich nostaligia. Mi to nie przeszkadza to na tyle, aby ukończyć lekturę. Niemniej będzie ona miejscami bardzo siermiężna.
A wątków mamy tu istne zatrzęsienie, zarówno tych obyczajowych, jak i tych powiązanych z walką. Początek jest chyba najfajniejszy, kiedy to grupka przeciwników w Kamiennym Statku Powietrznym uprowadza... Juggernauta. W tle mamy uczucia Wandy, co do postępków własnego ojca i brata. Za bramą rezydencji bohaterów stoi tłum roszczeniowców, którzy żądają kogoś o ciemniejszym odcieniu skóry w ekipie Avengers, albo wydalsnia wszystkich mutantów. Do tego mamy Kapitana Amerykę, który zdaje sobie nie radzić z problemami.
To zaledwie ułamek tego co się tutaj dzieje. A jest tu jeszcze ekipa z Thunderbolts, do której dołączy Hawkeye i która będzie musiała połączyć siły z Avengers w małym wydarzeniu, jakie jest zawarte w tym albumie, a mianowicie "The Nefaria Protocols". Nasi herosi zmierza się w nim z hrabią Nefaria, który jakimś cudem przejął władze na Wonder Manem i Atlasem, a który ma na podorędziu niezła bombkę...
Starsze komiksy mają ten specyficzny sznyt, który młodego czytelnika może odstraszyć. Rysunki takiego Niecezy już troszkę się zestarzały, czego nie mogę powiedz o Bagley'u, ktory zajmował się zeszytami Thunderbolts. Jak ktoś kojarzy serię Ultimate Spider-man, to wie czego się spodziewać. Szkoda tylko, że twarze rudych kobiet są tak do siebie podobne. Myślałem, że tu wszędzie walczy Mary Jane Watson...
Choć wiele rzeczy z tego zbioru można skwitować jednym 'meh', to są tu aspekty historii bardzo dobre. Nie bez kozery to już są klasyki. Warte zobaczenia, aczkolwiek nie dla każdego.
Epicka epopeja Buśka nadal trwa i choć czuć tu miejscami naftalinę i tą taką pulpowość, jaka cieszyła młode mordki w dzieciństwie, tak już teraz czuć aż za bardzo wyraźnie. Dla jednych minus, dla drugich nostaligia. Mi to nie przeszkadza to na tyle, aby ukończyć lekturę. Niemniej będzie ona miejscami bardzo siermiężna.
A wątków mamy tu istne zatrzęsienie, zarówno tych obyczajowych, jak i tych powiązanych z walką. Początek jest chyba najfajniejszy, kiedy to grupka przeciwników w Kamiennym Statku Powietrznym uprowadza... Juggernauta. W tle mamy uczucia Wandy, co do postępków własnego ojca i brata. Za bramą rezydencji bohaterów stoi tłum roszczeniowców, którzy żądają kogoś o ciemniejszym odcieniu skóry w ekipie Avengers, albo wydalsnia wszystkich mutantów. Do tego mamy Kapitana Amerykę, który zdaje sobie nie radzić z problemami.
To zaledwie ułamek tego co się tutaj dzieje. A jest tu jeszcze ekipa z Thunderbolts, do której dołączy Hawkeye i która będzie musiała połączyć siły z Avengers w małym wydarzeniu, jakie jest zawarte w tym albumie, a mianowicie "The Nefaria Protocols". Nasi herosi zmierza się w nim z hrabią Nefaria, który jakimś cudem przejął władze na Wonder Manem i Atlasem, a który ma na podorędziu niezła bombkę...
Starsze komiksy mają ten specyficzny sznyt, który młodego czytelnika może odstraszyć. Rysunki takiego Niecezy już troszkę się zestarzały, czego nie mogę powiedz o Bagley'u, ktory zajmował się zeszytami Thunderbolts. Jak ktoś kojarzy serię Ultimate Spider-man, to wie czego się spodziewać. Szkoda tylko, że twarze rudych kobiet są tak do siebie podobne. Myślałem, że tu wszędzie walczy Mary Jane Watson...
Choć wiele rzeczy z tego zbioru można skwitować jednym 'meh', to są tu aspekty historii bardzo dobre. Nie bez kozery to już są klasyki. Warte zobaczenia, aczkolwiek nie dla każdego.
January 27, 2026
Bardzo nijaka pierwsza połowa, trochę się zniechęciłem. Seria połączona z Thunderbolts za to świetna, z jedną z najlepszych komiksowych walk, jakie dotychczas widziałem!
Najlepiej nierówny poziom widać po tym, że pierwszą połowę czytałem prawie 2 tygodnie, a drugą łyknąłem prawie całą w jeden dzień.
Zeszyty w antologii:
Avengers (Vol. 3) #24
Avengers (Vol. 3) #25
Avengers (Vol. 3) #26
Avengers (Vol. 3) #27
Avengers (Vol. 3) #28
Avengers (Vol. 3) #29
Avengers (Vol. 3) #30
Avengers 2000 #1
Avengers (Vol. 3) #31
Thunderbolts #42
Avengers (Vol. 3) #32
Thunderbolts #43
Avengers (Vol. 3) #33
Thunderbolts #44
Avengers (Vol. 3) #34
Najlepiej nierówny poziom widać po tym, że pierwszą połowę czytałem prawie 2 tygodnie, a drugą łyknąłem prawie całą w jeden dzień.
Zeszyty w antologii:
Avengers (Vol. 3) #24
Avengers (Vol. 3) #25
Avengers (Vol. 3) #26
Avengers (Vol. 3) #27
Avengers (Vol. 3) #28
Avengers (Vol. 3) #29
Avengers (Vol. 3) #30
Avengers 2000 #1
Avengers (Vol. 3) #31
Thunderbolts #42
Avengers (Vol. 3) #32
Thunderbolts #43
Avengers (Vol. 3) #33
Thunderbolts #44
Avengers (Vol. 3) #34
February 13, 2023
Me pareció un buen comienzo para adentrarme de nuevo y bien a todo el mundo de los cómics de Marvel.
Me emocionaron cada uno de las historias, el arte es hermoso y la trama no para de ser entretenida, adictiva y divertida.
Es un primer tomo de esta colección espectacularmente bien hecho, está muy completo y explicado, la información extra que te da, la cronología, datos curiosos, recomendaciones y todo para que te quedes con ganas de más pero sin abrumarte si entras de lleno en el mundo de Marvel y sus cómics.
Me emocionaron cada uno de las historias, el arte es hermoso y la trama no para de ser entretenida, adictiva y divertida.
Es un primer tomo de esta colección espectacularmente bien hecho, está muy completo y explicado, la información extra que te da, la cronología, datos curiosos, recomendaciones y todo para que te quedes con ganas de más pero sin abrumarte si entras de lleno en el mundo de Marvel y sus cómics.
September 9, 2018
If these issues aren't quite as exciting or thrilling as the ones that immediately preceded them, its not because they're poorly written or drawn. Its simply that the villains are less interesting and the plots a little more threadbare. These are still great Avengers comics though.
September 28, 2021
Ah, here we are, the dregs of the Busiek run. Just a lot of meh storylines, some of the Vision existential crisis bits are fun, but I can't say anyone is waiting on pins and needles for The Nefaria Protocols movie adaptation.
December 9, 2018
These comic was totally amazing.
May 3, 2020
this one dragged a little, but the ending arc dealing with count nefaria was cool!
April 8, 2022
Enjoyed the ending bit with Nefaria and wonder man/atlas and the thunderbolts But didn’t start out well with the Triune understanding. Overall enjoyed but slow start
August 16, 2023
Busiek shakes things up in this volume with a new Avengers roster, social and media difficulties and a big Count Nefaria story. This volume contains the following issues:
#23 - Vision's identity crisis reaches the boiling point. He's been feeling less and less of a real person since Wonder Man returned, and his relationship with Wanda brings a confrontation between the two where they address their issues. At the same time, protests have begun against the Avengers line-up being made up of only white people (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Justice and Firestar). Several of the Avengers start feeling uncomfortable with this, as they don't want to introduce racial quotas and have members because of their race instead of their ability and character.
#24-25 - A sequel to the Eighth Day storyline where the Avengers fight the avatars of god-like beings. Juggernaut used to be one of them, as he's the Avatar of Cyttorak. The Avengers and Juggernaut are joined by Goliath, Wasp, Spider-Man, Quicksilver and Hercules in order to take them down. One cool thing about Busieks Avengers is that he often has former/inactive members join in the teams adventures.
Throughout this story, the protests against the Avengers lack of representation grows, infuriating Thor and making Captain America quit the team due to not being able to fight this kind of public relations battle. He feels that he can lead the team to fight villains and world-ending threats, but he's not able to lead them against this kind of battle against the public and the media.
#26 - A one shot where a makeshift team of Avengers, including Warbird, Ant Man, Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell) and Silverclaw infiltrate the Triune Understanding, a shady religious movement who the Avengers suspect may be behind the public hostility. This leads to a battle against Taskmaster.
#27 - Due to the mounting pressure of two lots of protesters, one protesting against the Avengers all-white roster and another protesting against mutants on the team, it's time for the Avengers roster to change. Captain America and Vision have already left, and Thor is fed-up with the public caring more about skin-colour than the Avengers saving the world. Some members also need a break. While the Avengers don't want to include non-white Avengers because of their skin colour, they decide that a compromise would be to call in former non-white members for a return first before asking others. Unfortunately none of them can return. However, Triathlon is interested in joining, but he's a member of the Triune Understanding and they might be using him as a spy. This puts the Avengers in a difficult situation where it's hard to tell what the right thing to do is.
#28-30 - A story where the Avengers go up against Kulan Gath, who has enslaved Silverclaw's mother, Peliani, and has taking over her village of Costa Verde. The new team starts to work together and develop relationships with their new members. A new mystery starts to form where a new Yellowjacket appears.
#31-45, Thunderbolts 42-44 - A massive 7 issue story (with one of them being double-sized) where the Vision returns and warns the team about a meeting between Maggia leaders being set up by the Grim Reaper. This leads to a team up with the Thunderbolts against a suped-up Count Nefaria with an enslaved and empowered Wonder Man and Atlas at his side.
This volume also includes Avengers #1.5, which is a story written by Roger Stern. It's set in the Avengers early years with the original line up against Doctor Doom.
This is a fantastic volume, and it's great seeing a traditional lineup change and a new cast of characters brought in. Busiek ties up the character arcs for the leaving Avengers while starting new ones for the new and returning members. New conflicts emerge due to their problems with the public and with the Triune Understanding.
A know a lot of people didn't like how Affirmative Action was seen as problematic in these stories, but it makes sense in this context. Affirmative Action is complex, and sometimes can be seen as a "ends justify the means" method. The outcome of greater representation is good, but choosing people because of the colour of their skin is bad. This is highlighted in here due to the traditional hero mindset of good ends can never justify bad means. It makes sense for characters such as Captain America and Thor battle with this. They just can't bring themselves to give membership out due to a persons skin colour. It's admirable that Busiek didn't take the easy way out by having one of the non-white members conveniently rejoin the team, forcing the team to have to deal with this complicated no-win situation.
Unfortunately, this story couldn't be written today, with society so politically charged and polarized, and with social media being what it is. It's great to be able to revisit stories like this where we can see issues brought up with the complexity warranted, instead of the simplified and parroted political preaching we get today.
#23 - Vision's identity crisis reaches the boiling point. He's been feeling less and less of a real person since Wonder Man returned, and his relationship with Wanda brings a confrontation between the two where they address their issues. At the same time, protests have begun against the Avengers line-up being made up of only white people (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Justice and Firestar). Several of the Avengers start feeling uncomfortable with this, as they don't want to introduce racial quotas and have members because of their race instead of their ability and character.
#24-25 - A sequel to the Eighth Day storyline where the Avengers fight the avatars of god-like beings. Juggernaut used to be one of them, as he's the Avatar of Cyttorak. The Avengers and Juggernaut are joined by Goliath, Wasp, Spider-Man, Quicksilver and Hercules in order to take them down. One cool thing about Busieks Avengers is that he often has former/inactive members join in the teams adventures.
Throughout this story, the protests against the Avengers lack of representation grows, infuriating Thor and making Captain America quit the team due to not being able to fight this kind of public relations battle. He feels that he can lead the team to fight villains and world-ending threats, but he's not able to lead them against this kind of battle against the public and the media.
#26 - A one shot where a makeshift team of Avengers, including Warbird, Ant Man, Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell) and Silverclaw infiltrate the Triune Understanding, a shady religious movement who the Avengers suspect may be behind the public hostility. This leads to a battle against Taskmaster.
#27 - Due to the mounting pressure of two lots of protesters, one protesting against the Avengers all-white roster and another protesting against mutants on the team, it's time for the Avengers roster to change. Captain America and Vision have already left, and Thor is fed-up with the public caring more about skin-colour than the Avengers saving the world. Some members also need a break. While the Avengers don't want to include non-white Avengers because of their skin colour, they decide that a compromise would be to call in former non-white members for a return first before asking others. Unfortunately none of them can return. However, Triathlon is interested in joining, but he's a member of the Triune Understanding and they might be using him as a spy. This puts the Avengers in a difficult situation where it's hard to tell what the right thing to do is.
#28-30 - A story where the Avengers go up against Kulan Gath, who has enslaved Silverclaw's mother, Peliani, and has taking over her village of Costa Verde. The new team starts to work together and develop relationships with their new members. A new mystery starts to form where a new Yellowjacket appears.
#31-45, Thunderbolts 42-44 - A massive 7 issue story (with one of them being double-sized) where the Vision returns and warns the team about a meeting between Maggia leaders being set up by the Grim Reaper. This leads to a team up with the Thunderbolts against a suped-up Count Nefaria with an enslaved and empowered Wonder Man and Atlas at his side.
This volume also includes Avengers #1.5, which is a story written by Roger Stern. It's set in the Avengers early years with the original line up against Doctor Doom.
This is a fantastic volume, and it's great seeing a traditional lineup change and a new cast of characters brought in. Busiek ties up the character arcs for the leaving Avengers while starting new ones for the new and returning members. New conflicts emerge due to their problems with the public and with the Triune Understanding.
A know a lot of people didn't like how Affirmative Action was seen as problematic in these stories, but it makes sense in this context. Affirmative Action is complex, and sometimes can be seen as a "ends justify the means" method. The outcome of greater representation is good, but choosing people because of the colour of their skin is bad. This is highlighted in here due to the traditional hero mindset of good ends can never justify bad means. It makes sense for characters such as Captain America and Thor battle with this. They just can't bring themselves to give membership out due to a persons skin colour. It's admirable that Busiek didn't take the easy way out by having one of the non-white members conveniently rejoin the team, forcing the team to have to deal with this complicated no-win situation.
Unfortunately, this story couldn't be written today, with society so politically charged and polarized, and with social media being what it is. It's great to be able to revisit stories like this where we can see issues brought up with the complexity warranted, instead of the simplified and parroted political preaching we get today.
March 19, 2017
Triathlon joins/is foisted upon the Avengers with a chip on his shoulder. Crossover with the Thunderbolts. A stupid trip to South America to help Silver Claw save her village. Mostly wonder what I read it for but the clash with Count Nefaria was decent, even if Madame Masque's internal dialogue was woeful.
August 10, 2018
Look...honestly, I generally love Kurt Busiek's writing, but this Avengers run wasn't his finest hour by a long chalk. Points for getting shots in at Scientology, but, man, the Triune Understanding is dull, dull, dull. Then we have the diversity and relevance angle...and, hoo boy, Kurt whiffed that one painfully. Triathlon is pretty much a caricature Angry Black Man, Silverclaw is a parody of a young South American woman, and Duane...my God, Duane. Duane started out as a sweaty bag of nerves and got worse, and worse, and worse, and by this point he's...oh God, I'm a white bloke, and I can't say it. I'll just settle for saying that Duane wouldn't be out of place in certain 1930s movies.
*sigh*
The rest of this volume is pretty much typical Avengers trouble and strife, with members coming and going and huge threats having to be handled (usually by hitting them a lot.) There's also a crossover with The Thunderbolts.
Next volume: Maximum Security or where the hell is Snake Plissken when you need him?
*sigh*
The rest of this volume is pretty much typical Avengers trouble and strife, with members coming and going and huge threats having to be handled (usually by hitting them a lot.) There's also a crossover with The Thunderbolts.
Next volume: Maximum Security or where the hell is Snake Plissken when you need him?
June 21, 2023
If you were to tell me that a book culminating with the Avengers facing the likes of Count Nefaria would make for a key event to anchor a story, I'd normally dismiss that as something silly. But instead, it turns out this collection is yet another solid one that nicely interconnects the Hawkeye-led Thunderbolts stories with those of the Avengers.
And I did not fully appreciate how serious a baddie Count Nefaria can be based on his other appearances in later comics. But here he is quite the contender indeed and it feels like the team spends a good chunk of this collection barely keeping pace with his plans and other ministrations involving the control of other ionically charged individuals.
Fun stuff.
And I did not fully appreciate how serious a baddie Count Nefaria can be based on his other appearances in later comics. But here he is quite the contender indeed and it feels like the team spends a good chunk of this collection barely keeping pace with his plans and other ministrations involving the control of other ionically charged individuals.
Fun stuff.
January 6, 2009
Another hit and miss volume, but more hit than miss. Busiek's missteps include breaking up Scarlet Witch and Vision in favor of a clunky, uninteresting Scarlet Witch/Wonder Man relationship and trying to introduce new villains (good impulse) but introducing a forgettable team based on the Juggernaut, plus more of the underwhelming Triune Understanding.
On the upside, there's also a pretty good crossover with the Thunderbolts, the use of classic (but not overused) villains like Kulan Gath, Count Nefaria and Taskmaster and some gorgeous guest art from Stuart Immonen.
On the upside, there's also a pretty good crossover with the Thunderbolts, the use of classic (but not overused) villains like Kulan Gath, Count Nefaria and Taskmaster and some gorgeous guest art from Stuart Immonen.
August 6, 2017
This is Avengers story-telling in the best traditions of the old school, around 2000, with great Perez (mostly) art, epic stories, and all-around goodness. The cross-overs with the Thunderbolts (under Nicieza & Bagley) make me want to see collections of that work, too. As much as there's great stuff going on in both Avengers and Thunderbolds in the present time, it makes me miss those old days a lot.
July 7, 2024
Honestly, I am here mostly for the out of this world George Perez artwork. And that alone is worth the price of admission. Perez’s superhero artwork is absolutely stellar.
Kurt Busiek writes a great superhero story, but oh my god the dialogue! It’s like because there are 8 characters in the scene Kurt has to find something for all 8 of those characters to say before moving on. It was exhausting at times.
Kurt Busiek writes a great superhero story, but oh my god the dialogue! It’s like because there are 8 characters in the scene Kurt has to find something for all 8 of those characters to say before moving on. It was exhausting at times.
May 3, 2025
A bit of a step down from the previous volume, with stories featuring the Juggernaut (in a followup to a potentially interesting minor crossover that's not really been followed up on again), Conan/X-Men foe Kulan Gath, and the Thunderbolts. They're perfectly fine stories, but not among the Avengers' (nor Busiek's) best. Meanwhile, the Triune Understanding/Triathlon subplot contributes some awkward moments. (B+)
August 7, 2012
Great stuff, all the way through. Trumps the previous volume because of the consistent Perez/Busiek work instead of having some fill-ins (though the Hellcat annual will be wiped from my memory), and the Nefaria Protocols crossover with the Thunderbolts at the end is superb. I like how Busiek still has loads of little subplots bubbling away - this is how you do Avengers properly.
March 11, 2014
Il rapporto tra Wonder-Man, la Visione, Scarlet Witch sembra esplodere, mentre si avvicina la minaccia degli esemplari dell'ottessenza. In seguito lo scontro con Kulan Gath, e il ritorno di Nefaria. Ospiti i Thunderbolts.
Busiek pesca a piene mani nella mitologia Marvel continuando a creare storie ottime per George Perez.
Busiek pesca a piene mani nella mitologia Marvel continuando a creare storie ottime per George Perez.
December 10, 2008
Another amazing volume.
July 14, 2014
Busiekovská telenovela se svými klady i zápory
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