Avengers #30 Review
Hawkeye and Spider-Woman take down a villain trying to steal some heavy metal and work through some relationship issues in the newest issue of The Avengers!
Avengers #30
While the Avengers seem to be busy dealing with the Phoenix, Mr. Negative leads his demons to a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. warehouse where the organization has impounded hundreds of the Red Skull’s mechs from the whole deal with the the Serpent. They are met there by Hawkeye and Spider-Woman who take on the gang and defeat them while having a little lover’s spat. When Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor learn of the battle, they head out to find the duo victorious. Spider-Woman reveals she was given a tip about this raid from Madame Hydra who then calls Jessica to more or less thank her for distracting everyone while she and Hydra attack another base where some Skrulls are being kept.
There are some problems I found with this issue. As a little story about Hawkeye and Spider-Woman, I’m not terribly displeased with it. If it had been a Free Comic Book Day story or some kind of free downloadable issue, it’s not too bad, but having it more or less fill the gap between the AvX issues and the final arc for longtime writer Brian Michael Bendis, it’s not that great. Not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, just not spectacular.
I’ve always admitted that I’ve, for the most part, enjoyed the AvX tie ins. They haven’t detracted from the main story. They haven’t fallen into that thing where you need to have read Avengers #whatever to know what’s going on in Avengers Vs. X-Men #8 and so on. However, despite an impressive two page spread from Walt Simonson, there’s next to nothing connecting this story to AvX. At first you think this is going on while the big showdown in Avengers Vs. X-Men #11 is happening, but that can’t be the real case because Hawkeye and Spider-Woman were there battling Cyclops, so they can’t really be here too. Also, Thor, Rogers, and Stark are kickin’ back and relaxing have a job well done. So… This is happening after AvX? If that’s the case, Mr. Negative is a dumbass for not doing his due diligence to know at least some Avengers have returned to New York City. A modicum of research on his part would have had him better prepared, methinks.
The next thing that bothered me a little more than the first was the blase quipping between Hawkeye and Spider-Woman. Four good men from S.H.I.E.L.D. lie dead in the next room and they are having this little lover’s spat that is supposed to be cute and funny. If Absorbing Man and Titania were having this spat while some people were dead in the next room, yeah, I could understand that. What would they care about those agents? But for two heroes, it’s not endearing. It’s taking the more human qualities out of characters that, while we don’t really care about as a whole, Hawekeye and Spider-Woman WOULD care about and giving all those “everyday joes” qualities to the two main characters. It comes across as a bit distasteful. I will say that I found myself chuckling at Mr. Negative’s reaction to it because I was reading the comic through his eyes.
Yeah, I agree Mr. Neggy… It’s a little unbelievable that we also have to listen to these two people needing to either screw each other or break up while they take out your army and punch you in the face. Talk about rubbing salt in the wounds.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| As a story, it’s not a bad idea. Art is good. If this was a free comic, I’d say this was about what I could expect. | Confusing continuity with AvX. Distasteful characterization of two heroes. Ultimately felt like $4 filler. |
| Rating |
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2 Comments
I agree with everything you said, though I must admit I did have some fun reading their exchange – though not much. What really pissed me off about it was actually how Wanda was portrayed; I mean, yeah, you can say that’s because it’s Spiderwoman’s jealousy talking, but it sounded like she was describing Emma Frost, Wanda is not that much of a b*tch. Also, I really can’t think of what unresolved issues between her and Hawkeye would mean, other than the one-night stand in Wundagore that may or may not have been with the real Wanda and not a doombot.
You’re right about Wanda. I didn’t even bring it up because I was so distracted by these two kinda thinking the room full of dead S.H.I.E.L.D. agents was no big thing.
But yes, clearly this is coming from Spider-Woman’s scorned POV, but I would think Wanda’s A) got some bigger fish to fry than whether or not she’s going to hook up with Hawkeye again and B) probably realizes that if that was her that Hawkeye had the fling with, she’s not that person anymore. I sometimes think Bendis has a hard time giving female characters their own consistent voice and tends to use the plot/situation to dictate how they will act.