I have to wonder... and question... the sanity of Joe Quesada and Brian Bendis' vision for the Avengers. Stan Lee and every scribe that followed him had made it a point to make the Avengers as distinctly different from DC's Justice League.

Then came Joe Q and Bendis. In one fell swoop, they managed to do away with 40+ years of loyal fandom with Avengers Disassembled. From the ashes of the Mansion, a central figure in Avengers mythos, and the bodies of prominent Avengers, came the New Avengers. The only justification they give is that the team was supposed to be 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes', so why aren't made of Marvel best and brightest? To that end, they pooled founding Avenger Iron Man, frequent leader Captain America, resigned Avenger and Marvel flagship Spider-man with the overexposed Wolverine, underused Luke Cage, retired Spider-woman, and “who the hell?” characters the Sentry and Ronin (who would later turn out to be Echo, a minor character in the Daredevil book). That brings the question of: if they really wanted A-listers, where were Thor and Daredevil?!

Obviously, my talking about it now would be moot. The past is past. They've done what they've done and we're now on the second line-up of New Avengers as a direct result of Civil War and Captain America's assassination. Cap, Iron Man and the Sentry have been replaced with Iron Fist, Doctor Strange and Ronin (who would later turn out to be Clint Barton aka Hawkeye). Still no Thor and Daredevil. Spider-woman would later revert to the opposing Mighty Avengers leaving B-lister Echo the only female on the team. Pathetic.

I don't have a problem with the idea of replacing the old guard with something close to the Justice League really.
My only is that:
a. I don't understand the need to desecrate the Mansion, turn the Scarlet Witch into this crazy person and kill off members. In the group's entire history, members have been known to leave. Sometimes the slate is clean enough for several new recruits to come in.
b. If they really wanted an all-powerhouse team, they at least could've been more consistent about it. I agree with a lot of fans who say that the Sentry is indeed a redundant character what with Thor around. Evidenced in the current volume of his solo book, he can die and could quite easily be resurrected.
Why put an already obscure character in the guise of a completely new one? That slot in the original line-up could've easily belonged to Daredevil!
I don't really mind Wolverine since there is a need to tie-up Marvel's two main franchises (Spider-man and the X-men) but I argue that the Fantastic Four should have been duly represented as well. The Human Torch, the only one who has never been an Avenger, could have been perfect for this but I think the New Avengers would have been a great opportunity to boost up the career of Marvel's first lady, the Invisible Woman. Refer to my argument in the previous entry.
As for the token character of color, I'm still uneasy about Luke Cage if only for the lack of a proper costume and codename (would've preferred Power Man actually. If Carol Danvers can revert to Ms. Marvel, why can't he?!), and boring power set. The Black Panther would have been a better choice but the idea is to break away as far from the old Avengers as possible.

So there. I hope to see a line-up like this in the future, maybe after Secret Invasion.

PS. I like Iron Fist and all but I'm not sure if having two “iron” heroes would be sufficiently marketable. Then again, the current Justice League has many blacks, reds and greens.

I love the Avengers. Big surprise.

However, a huge part of me is still a tad disappointed at Stan Lee and co. for not developing a strong enough female character who could flourish outside a team and who's not a knock off of an existing, popular male character. I look at the assortment of Marvel's female heroes and outside of the Avengers, the only ones who have achieved wide popularity are the X-women Phoenix and Storm (Before you say anything, the Invisible Woman is still listed among official Avengers). All 3 women have represented the Marvel universe pretty well, IMHO. Unfortunately, the first female Avengers the Wasp and the Scarlet Witch have not achieved wide recognition outside of the comic-reading populace to even be considered.

That begs the question though: should Marvel's first lady be the Avengers' as well? After all, Marvel's flagship, Spider-man, wasn't included in the initial Avengers lineup despite having debuted around the same time as Iron Man, Hulk and Thor.

If I were to do what Bendis did – reconstruct the Avengers, reintroduce the first Spider-woman to the Marvel universe and put her in the center of the post-disassembled Avengers mythos, even going so far as declaring that she IS Marvel's Wonder Woman, I'd probably look elsewhere. Aside from being an “almost knock-off” of Spider-man (her character was developed independently of Spider-man; she even has a different power set) and having been absent for close to 20 years before the New Avengers, dear Jessica Drew is not a product of the early stages of the Marvel Age, which I believe is a very important criteria. Oh, and yeah, until retconned in future issues of Secret Invasion, she's also a Skrull.

Before the Marvel Age, I don't think there was any female hero who, like Captain America, Namor the Sub-mariner and the original Human Torch, were prominent enough to be brought into the current age (as evidenced in the Avengers/Invaders). The Agents of Atlas' Namora and Venus just wouldn't cut it – the former is a knock-off of Namor and the latter is just boring!

That criteria takes out two currently prominent characters in different Avengers universes: Ms. Marvel and Storm. Sadly, Ms. Marvel is still a knock-off of Captain Marvel, even if she has spent her entire career of 20+ years outside of his shadow. During that time, Carol Danvers has exhibited her inability to stick to a codename and costume - making her difficult to market.

Storm is another thing altogether. As seen in Marvel Adventures Avengers, she could work well within the Avengers framework. Even if she's not a prodigy of the onset of the Marvel Age, her character is not a knock-off of anyone else. However, it's her close association with the X-men and lack of an ongoing solo series that would turn out to be a problem. Then again, that hasn't stopped Wolverine, despite having his own series. Still, I think I would've preferred her in the line-up of the original New Avengers in place of Wolverine AND Spider-woman. Possibly, with the addition of Daredevil.

The same arguments can be said of Marvel Girl/Jean Grey/Phoenix, despite her origins dating back to the beginning of the Marvel Age – identity shifts, close X-men association, no solo series, in addition to her many deaths and resurrections, not to mention the damsel-in-stress, weak link role she had played in her early years.

That leaves me with Susan Storm-Richards. Like Phoenix, she has also seen the the Marvel Age bloom. In fact, she was there at the very beginning! Technically, she's also not a knock-off but, for the longest time, she played second fiddle to her partner Mr. Fantastic, much like Phoenix (and the Wasp as well). In recent years, she had grown out of that funk (even upgrading her name from Invisible “Girl” to “Woman”) and had even taken more aggressive stances (see Civil War).

That said, the post-disassembled Marvel U would've been a perfect time to position her as the Wonder Woman of the Avengers (instead of Spider-woman). Like Spider-man, she signed up for the Avengers some time ago so she's not exactly a NEW Avenger. I believe that she and the Avengers of the present status quo could have reaped loads of marketing benefits off each other. With the spider and the X logos now prominently side-by-side, the 4 symbol shouldn't be left behind if Bendis and Joe Q's vision is to forge the Avengers into Marvel's Justice League.

So, what of the Fantastic Four association? Refer to the Wolverine paradigm. And no solo series? Well, a regular appearance on a team book with a small, fixed cast can be considered her own book! Besides, Bendis has done wonders with Spider-woman. I'm sure he would've thought of something.

Oh wait. She's also been a Skrull in recent history. Crap!

Just got a copy of the 14th issue, which ties up to Marvel's mega-event SECRET INVASION, and like the past 13 issues and an annual, it's mind blowingly brilliant!

I've been saying it this past year and I'm gonna say it again - Avengers: The Initiative is more an Avengers book than the New, the Mighty or the NEW New Avengers are. Probably the only good thing to come out of the Civil War.

Short premise: The Initiative takes place after the Super-hero Registration Act is enforced and the super-powers now have Camp Hammond to train would-be heroes, as well as formerly-introduced heroes with the intent of placing them on 50 teams covering all 50 states.

Some fans liken the series to DC's Legion of Superheroes considering its large (and expanding) cast. Speaking of the cast, Slott and Gage does a good job of maintaining the diversity of their characters - both old and new. Aside from introducing new characters (Cloud 9, Hardball, Komodo, Trauma) into the Marvel universe in the initial story arcs, which comprise about 12 issues and an annual, the series also delves into Marvel's half-a-century worth of stories, plucking both obscure (Gargoyle, Bengal) and widely-popular-but-underused (Constrictor, Taskmaster) characters, and giving each enough time in the spotlight for fans to care for them. AM I RIGHT, BUTTERBALL FANS?

My only gripe is that there isn't enough emphasis on the Camp Hammond staff who ARE genuine Avengers of the old guard. Would love to see more of Tigra, Hellcat and Stingray. Although, I did pick up the title back when it was announced as a 6-part mini-series because of War Machine who hadn't seen light in any Avengers title since the Heroes Returned way back in 1998.

Art is better in Casselli's hands than in part-timer Steve Uy's, I'd have to say.

Surprise! Surprise!
I'm a big fan of Marvel Comics' Avengers.
Because it's a team book, I get to play favorites.
And here are two of them.

IRON MAN

So far, he's the only Avenger who is a Founding Avenger, a West Coast Avenger, a New Avenger and a Mighty Avenger.
Not to mention being one of the Big 3.

Sorry, Alec, but between him and Cap, I'd go with the tin man anytime. Although, admittedly he's kinda a jerk right now.

Oh well.




SPIDER-WOMAN

Of all the Post-Disassembled Avengers, I strongly believe that only Spider-Woman would have fit in perfectly with the old guard.

Then again, if she had joined during the classic years, the new breed wouldn't have a strong, popular female character.

She's probably the only thing that Bendis has done right during his run IMHO. He made her such an interesting and pivotal character.

She's a Founding New Avenger, a New Avenger and a Mighty Avenger.

Yesterday, I placed an order online for Rittenhouse's Complete Avengers Trading Cards from a store in Ohio. I got the base set and the Greatest Enemies set.  I was able to pay for it through a service provided by the website Philpay.net.

Now, for the 2-3 weeks wait. If everything goes well, I might consider doing more online purchases.

Last night, after checking to see if the iTunes store will allow me to buy the Ultimate Avengers movies soundtracks and failing, I discovered a Spanish blog that posted links to where I can download them for free - album art and all!

Now, I'm not an advocate of piracy but I'm sorry - I would've gladly paid for it had the service been availble in the country. That is, if my current salary met the minimum requirement for getting an international credit card.

Add to that the Ultimates Vol. 2 hardcover i finally got my hands on over the weekend at a less expensive price from Druid's Keep, ASSEMBLING just got a whole lot sweeter!

Happy Avenging to me!

Apr. 13, 2008
UPDATE!
My cards arrived last Mar. 12 - almost a month ago! They're now enclosed in protective plastic and stored in two tin cans from the Avengers VS Collector's set.

Next up in the hunt is the 40 Years of Avengers DVD. Druid's Keep is offering it but on a per-order basis and I have yet to make the travel there.

Flashback: October 2000
I just turned 19, was home studying and living off my dad's ATM card. I decided to get a new comic and since nothing new was happening with the X-universe at the time (they had just wrapped up "The Twelve" storyline and introduced a new roster several months prior), I decided to give another team book a check. I walk up to Filbar's Robinson's Galleria and saw the cover to Avengers vol. 3 no. 34 with Count Nefaria in it. I remembered there was an Avengers/Thunderbolts crossover at the time. I asked if I can check it out and the lady behind the counter hands me the comic. Lo and behold! I just flipped the cover and immediately I wanted to buy it! The art was amazing and I saw more than a dozen characters crammed into one panel! At the time, I wasn't familiar with George Perez yet and I had thought Joe Madureira did the best art ever! So I got the book, read it and immediately the voices in my head started talking:
"Must get next issue!"
"No! The reason you got the book was the art and no. 34 was George's last issue"
"But I wanna see more characters"
"Once you start monthly, you can never turn back! Heck, you just get X-books if there are big crossover storylines"
"Fine! I'll only collect the comic books - it's just one title anyway unlike the X-books! I promise not to go beyond the comics!"

Flashforward: October 2006
I just turned 25, was in great company among fellow geeks and living off my payroll ATM account. I had just gotten myself the first of many forays into crossing the threshold beyond the comic books - Dorling-Kindersley's The Ultimate Guide to the Avengers. Exactly a year later (give or take a few days), despite the schizophrenic conversation I had with the angel and demon on my shoulder 7 years ago, not only had my Avengers comics almost filled up an entire comic box even if they had gone to branch out into other titles, my collection now includes action figures, posters, trade paperbacks, hard covers, a collector's edition VS System TCG deck, the complete Avengers Minimates, DVDs and VCDs. 

Aug. 6, 2007
12:20pm

This morning, I was watching what I presume is an old episode of the Ellen Degeneres Show on Star World. Her guest was Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy, Roswell) who was talking about how she used to have a crush on Grey's co-star Patrick Dempsey and now she's working with him. I guess everyone has such stories.

My recent one happened a week ago.

It all started in 2000 when I got hooked on "The Avengers" (the comic books, not the '60's British TV show turned '90's American movie).Anyway, I was turned into a major fan and started collecting anything related to the comics. At some point, my brother brought home a copy of MTV Ink magazine. Lo and behold! There was an article there about "The Avengers" and their DC counterpart, the JLA, and what-was-at-the-time the upcoming Avengers/JLA crossover.  God bless Kurt Busiek and George Perez! The article and its accompanying artwork was done by someone by the name of Oliver Pulumbarit. I cut out that article and up until now, it's inserted in my Avengers folder at home.

Every now and then, I flip open that folder and marvel (pardon the pun) at Oliver's artwork. I actually spend time naming the Avengers he had drawn in there. I still do it until now.

Last March, I decided to form a Friendster group about... what else? The Avengers. I invited everyone on Friendster who listed "The Avengers" among their favorite books and called the group "Avengers Mansion Philippines".

*Can you honestly say you don't see where I'm going with this?*

I discovered Oliver on Friendster because of the invites. Thankfully, he accepted and joined the group. I sent him a message about how I kept the clipping and he responded with a link to his blog where an updated, higher resolution version of the same image was posted. I was in fanboy heaven! Having taken out the JLA using Photoshop, Oliver's Avengers now sits as a wallpaper on my desktop PC and my Palm E2!

*On a similar note, I've had a letter I sent to Marvel printed on Kurt Busiek's farewell issue and I've had one of my X-men comics signed by current New Avengers artist Leinil Yu!*

Having visited his blog, I found out that Oliver was actually at New Worlds: Transformed - the event me and my friends at the New Worlds Alliance organized. I responded to his blog and told him had I known, I could've met him. Small world! He was there to support his friend Benedict who I knew from Alec - both are part of Cybertron Phils.  Ben was cosplaying as Bumblebee (for the nth time). Oliver responded by saying he's sure we'll meet one of these days. That was three weeks ago.

Talk about surreal. Two weeks later, I was at a Fandom Inc. meeting at Fandom Cafe - the dream me and my friends at the NWA built. Ben dropped by to pick up a few prizes for winning 3rd place in the Cosplay competition and he brings along who else? Oliver! The heart of the geek boy in me started racing double-time! I mean, here I was shaking hands and talking to the person whose article and artwork I cut up years ago! I felt exactly the same way in that minute or so when I was having Leinil sign my book. I didn't know where to begin shooting my mouth off with geeky references to this and that!

Nevertheless I tried to play it cool.

*Sighs*

It's a small world after all!

My circle of geek friends, particularly those who share my gravitation towards superheroes, knows that I'm a fan of the Avengers. Make that a big fan. I can't claim to be the greatest fan because I'm not likely to indulge in expensive back issues that covered either the almost twenty years prior to my own coming into this world nor the nearly twenty years after until Kurt Busiek and George Perez started their award-winning, critically-acclaimed and well-received run on the series.

However, I do find that my fantasies during idle HOURS involves forming the best Avengers team line-up or what a new Avengers animated series is gonna look like. Although, the subject of movie hasn't crept into my fantasies yet.

I'm not a collector either for the same reasons stated above but my collection includes comic books (DUH!), trade paperbacks, hardcover collections, a few action figures, DVDs and VCDs of the animated movies and TV shows, a deck of VS cards, the Ultimate Guide book and my latest baby - a poster by current New Avengers artist, Leinil Yu, who happens to be a Filipino. Oh, any wallpaper is half of Oliver Pulumbarit's updated JLA/Avengers artwork (care to guess as to which team I cut out?), 3 of my shortcuts icons on my desktop are Thor, Iron Man and Captain America, and my mouse cursors are also Avengers. Yup, not a collector, not the greatest fan - just a BIG fan... and modest too.

Here are photos of my fabled "collection".

All that almost became the subject of a major melancholy induced by a stupid accident last Sunday.

Back Story: Civil War split the Avengers into two teams in three titles (New, Mighty and The Initiative). Naturally, I was gonna follow all. I wasn't gonna follow the Initiative if War Machine hadn't been there. Anyway, May started with me splitting my wage to paying dues and debts leaving me with not enough resources to buy the latest issues. Thankfully, Druid's Keep, which just had to be in Magallanes, sells comic books for a cheaper price. The plan was simple: wait until all 3 books are out and buy them in bulk at Druid's Keep, which is a departure from where I buy them regularly week after week - Comic Odyssey in Robinson's Galleria.

Last week, I got my pay and found out that Druid's Keep is also selling the Leinil Yu poster. No choice - will have to get it along with the 3 new issues. Come Saturday, I went to Druid's Keep planning on getting 3 comics and a poster but left with 4 and, well, the poster. I just had to get Fallen Son: The Avengers, which detailed the reactions of the 2 Avengers teams to the death of frequent Avengers leader, Captain America.

Come afternoon the next day, I bought a huge illustration board, plastic cover and a mounting tape so I can put the poster up on a wall of my room. The process again was simple: lay down illustration board on floor, put plastic cover on and measure then cut, then put the poster in between. Since the poster was rolled up til that point, it required some straightening out. Again, simplicity exemplified: my 3 Avengers Assemble! hardcover collections and the Ultimate Guide on each corner to press down on the cover and the poster and straighten them.

Since this was gonna take a while, I decided to geek out and relax. Put my Avengers: United They Stand DVD on my PC so I can watch some episodes while re-reading my 4 new comics. After I finish, the poster and plastic would be straight already.

Mistake no. 1: Having coffee in bed where I'm reading my comics.
Mistake no. 2: Putting put said cup of coffee on table beside bed where the yet-to-be-re-read comics were.
Mistake no. 3: Putting cup beside comics on chair where I also settled a portion of my butt while I checked out why the DVD stopped or skipped.

After the conundrum with Windows Media Player, I seemed to have forgotten where the cup or the comics were. I don't think I need to narrate what happened next.

So potential casualties would be:
A. The new issues I just bought the previous day
B.The Ultimate Guide book which I got for my birthday last year
C. 3 expensive hardcover collections of the Busiek/Perez run
D. Lienil Yu's poster which i had just gotten

Fortunately, I know when to be OC-OC with my things. The comics were still in their polybags (thanks, Penny) and their backing boards, the hardcovers were still in the original wrapping they came in when I bought them, the guide book was covered and the poster was under the plastic cover. Puddles of coffee weren't on any of the items - just a few splotches here and there.

Had to be very careful in cleaning the comics, though coz I didn't want any moisture seeping in. Thankfully, I also had spare plastics and backing boards because while the comics were spared, there was still a minor breach and the backing boards were compromised (the Trekkie in me demands release).

Immediately after realizing what had just happened, I was in a state of shock but I acted swiftly and decisively to prevent further complications. Yes, it sounds like a fire had just consumed our house and it may as well have - the gravity of it would still be the same. Of course, I say that now...

By the end of the day, I've reread the new issues, watched a few episodes and put up the poster. It's now on my workstation with the Avengers looking down on me while I watch TV, go online, read my books, or simply do whatever geeky thing it is I do.

Sigh!