Having just read Joe Casey’s original take on the Avengers in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, I wasn’t sure if I was really ready for another take on the origin of the Avengers.  I decided to go ahead and the give the issue a shot as I’m a huge fan of Phil Noto’s work.  I walked away from the final product more impressed than disappointed.  It appears that this takes place before the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, which gives Casey new ground to show off these characters and tell a story of how they come together for the greater good.  The series will certainly have an interesting villain, and I’m curious to see where it goes.  The one fault that the issue has is with where it fits, and I’m not speaking specifically of continuity.  My comment fits more in line with the fact that while these heroes are in their Silver Age origins, the world they inhabit is riddled with technology like supercomputers, the advent of the SHIELD Helicarrier, and flat screen TVs.  It doesn’t bother me all that much, and Casey’s original take also had lots of technology from out of time, but I could see some readers having a problem with it.

Noto’s art is the star of the show here, and my, oh my, is it lovely.  I’m glad to see him on a regular miniseries.  He has such a simple, clean style and while you wouldn’t think it would work with muscle bound heroes, it certainly does an awesome job in this series.  I’m definitely looking forward to more of his gorgeous work in the coming months.