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Artist John Romita Jr
[rating:2/5]There are few character I hate; you’ve probably noticed this. But holy crap, do I hate The Hood. Don’t get me wrong, he was pretty cool at first. He seemed like a typical everyman villain who had just stumbled over some powers, and that kind of thing is pretty interesting. But it’s been several years now, and he’s basically been revealed to be a sniveling, whining wuss who seems to get ahead solely because Bendis likes him. Let’s be honest, if you threw The Hood into another Marvel U title at this stage in the game, he gets his ass handed to him in 3 panels, hands down. And in his current quest to obtain all of the Infinity Gems, he’s soaring over the moon in terms of arrogance and annoyance. He’s simply put a villain I hate.
There’s more to this issue to dislike. First off, aside from 2 pages near the end, the ENTIRE BOOK is composed of splash pages. Splash pages are really cool when you use them sparingly, but this issue just looks like a big picture book aimed at three year olds. And while I’ve stated that Romita’s art is definitely hit or miss for me, it’s a flat out miss for me here from his rendition of The Hood who is awkwardly proportioned and posed to his Uatu the Watcher who seems to have eaten Kingpin.
This is by far the weakest issue of the current Avengers series so far, and a weak chapter in the current story. This one is definitely a slower, drawn out story that is a clear case of padding out a story for the trade to come out down the road. The splash pages look cool at times, but are used so much that their effect is diminished drastically, and the story itself is held back by this practice, turning what should be a sharply written action packed issue into a juvenile feeling story. This is definitely one to pass.
