New Avengers #64
Written by Brian Bendis
Art by Mike McKone
So as New Avengers rushes towards it’s final issue next month, and it’s relaunch a month later, Bendis is wrapping up plots that are obviously not getting carried over. Case in point: The Hood. Now, Parker has been more or less the core villain of this book since Civil War came and made the book almost purely street level. His gang of super powered hoods has been a constant thorn in the sides of the New Avengers, and it seems that with the Heroic Age approaching, and with them having been backed by Osborn, that it’s time to put the toys back in the box.
That isn’t to say that I’m spoiling this for you, I mean, here’s your spoiler, Hood doesn’t die. This issue covers what is apparently his final meeting with Norman Osborn before the Siege, and then his battle during it. There’s a ridiculously unfunny scene after the crash, following up on last issues cliffhanger of Ronin seeing Mockingbird’s hand sticking out of the rubble and screaming “Bobbi!”. This was of course made into a joke, as Hood saw Madame Masque’s hand and yelled “Whitney!”. So Bendis made a Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston joke. Seriously. That’s in this issue. Look, I’ll show it to you.
Alright, I’m being unfair. It’s obviously Bendis trying to show a parallel between Clint and Parker, and it…..kinda works? I dunno, can anybody tell me where his girlfriend and daughter are?
Anyway, the book isn’t all bad humor. It’s entirely Hood centric, so we get to see, as mentioned, the meeting with Norman. Where Norman tells him to tell his boys that they’re going to be the new Thunderbolts, and Hood will be in charge. He sells it almost like the Fifty States Initiative….but with the Thunderbolts and para-military and…alright, we got it, ‘Stormin’ Norman is batshit loco. Hood trusts him though, Norman hasn’t lied to him. Hood’s boys are relatively split on the matter until he uses his new fancy Norn Stones to strip one of their power boost for not going along with it.
But what Loki giveth…..when Hood’s powers were replaced a few months back with the Asgardian Norn Stones, I knew that he had been labeled with a shelf life. That wasn’t hard to see coming, especially since the source of his powers are gift from Loki. When besides the Wrecking Crew has one of those ever lasted? But yeah, big action, but it’s all set up for next months issue, the final in this run of New Avengers….
“Whatever Happened to the Hood?”
Now in regards to the art, I’m a big Mike McKone fan, so I was happy to see his pencils, and they definitely boosted the issue. The characters all look distinct, the action is crisp and clear, and even the obligatory (this week at least) image of the Void fighting with people looked pretty awesome. I’ve never been one that excels at describing the art, so you’ll have to go by the images I’m throwing in, but yeah, Mike McKone? Awesome. Can’t wait to see him on Avengers Academy.
So was it all worth it? If you’ve been reading New Avengers, then yeah, this was a great issue despite it’s bad joke that I will not forgive due to simply how damn dated it is. If you haven’t been following along, then you’re going to be pretty lost.
All in all?
7.5/10
