Reviewer: Tim Stevens
Story Title: Breakout: Part 1
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencilled by: David Finch
Inked by: Danny Miki
Colored by: Frank D’Armata
Lettered by: Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
To steal a quote from The Negotiator, That’s the bus. The bus is going down the street.
Avengers Disassembled is on the bus. Let it leave. I myself was left rather unimpressed by it, proving to be the exact audience that Bendis said would be the worst outcome. I was not moved to scream bloody murder or to declare my ever dying love for the storyline. I pretty much just shrugged and filed it away in my long box. I know it is tempting to hold out to your feelings from “Chaos” but this is a whole new bag and it will just be easier for you not to bring that baggage to the table. Just a helpful suggestion.
Alright, advice done with, let’s get to the book.
The issue opens with another shadowy figure (goodness, they seem to bedeviling the Avengers (classic or New) as of late, don’t they) hiring Electro to raise hell at an unspecified target. The mystery man figures with most of the superhero world in shambles, the proverbial iron is right for the striking.
In other goings on, Matt Murdock (you know, the blind lawyer from Hell’s Kitchen, also, allegedly, that hornheaded fellow), Foggy Nelson, and Luke Cage, (the man with impenetrable skin, not the cocky martial artist from Mortal Kombat. His name is Johnny), have flown out to the supervillain prison, The Raft (a trip that leaves Foggy more than a little nervous). Foggy and Matt are meeting with a possible client and Luke is there in his capacity as Matt’s bodyguard. Jessica Drew, the first Spider Woman, is there as well as a SHIELD escort to the trio.
It becomes readily apparent that The Raft is Electro’s target and quickly chaos (no, not that “Chaos”) ensues, drawing in two more soon to be “new” Avengers. The issue concludes on the introduction of another, who is found in an unexpected location. Much like New Thunderbolts, the team is not formed by issue’s end, but most of the pieces are set in place.
At this point, I must acknowledge that the prison break is hardly a unique prospect in the world of comics. Knightfall, Acts of Vengeance, Judas Traveller threatening Spider-Man with the prospect of releasing the inhabitants of an asylum for the criminally insane during the clone sage, Nightwing seizing control of Lockhaven during No Man’s Land, Daredevil #154, and countless others, I am sure, have featured variations of this theme. I have read enough of them to realize that I am a sucker for this sort of thing, especially when the hero(es) are trapped in the prison with the freed inmates. The feeling of claustrophobia, the insurmountable odds, that all just works for me. In some way, nearly all stories are clichés, the important thing is how you tell them.
So far, I have to say I am enjoying how Bendis is weaving this tale. Electro is looking the most formidable he has since “Light up the Night”, there is a strong sense of danger and scope instilled when we see the number and power of the freed villains, and the last reveal of a future “new” Avengers member is a shock, carrying an emotional wallop and a nice sense of foreboding to it. This is only the first issue, so I don’t know where this is going yet, but I am definitely aboard.
The best part of the art, bar none, is that Finch manages to make Electro look impressive. Electro has a very unique costume design and that mask can be the ruin of artists, but Finch makes it work. I thought his Avengers work was an improvement over his Ultimate X-Men work and his penciling here is an improvement on both of those. The rushed quality that undermined those runs is not found here. The only issue I had with the heart (which many online have pointed out) is that it takes a panel or two to realize Matt Murdock is Matt and not Scott Summers (he of optical blasts). The script pretty quickly clears that bit up anyway, so the confusion will only last a moment even if you cannot figure it out from the art.
Undoubtedly, a large heap of thanks should also go to D’Armata’s colors. His work here reminds of me of Laura Depuy’s on JLA; not so much for style (D’Armata favors a darker palette), but for impact on the title. Given my love for Depuy’s JLA coloring, this is a high compliment indeed.
