I grabbed this title for the sake of
the podcast, but also because I like these characters. When it comes down to
it, I have a noob’s sense of the Avengers, and the past incarnations of the
teams don’t interest me much. New Avengers has a cast of great
characters, but seems really crowded with all the a-list heroism. Avengers
Prime has the atmosphere of a musketeers book. Three men who are top of
the class, and are able to overcome great odds due to working together for so
long. While New Avengers feels crowded like a Freshman 101 class, Avengers
Prime feels like a 404 advanced class with only 10 students. Here,
Professor Bendis can break down the basic elements of the story, and show us
the character study of who these men are, what they do, and what they are
capable of.

Tony Stark appears to get the worst of
it in this issue. Last issue the three were sucked into a vortex left behind
from the broken Rainbow Bridge that helps transport the Gods between Asgard and
Midgard. Now the nine worlds are open, and our three heroes had to figure out
where they were, and how to find one another. Tony follows his instinct with
his talent of hubris, name drops his way into trouble, and without his armor
demonstrates to the readers his mortality. Steve Rogers had acquired a familiar
shield and scale mail last issue, but is seduced by a local lady, all while
Thor is piecing together how the nine realms are collapsing in on each other,
and who is behind it all.

Alan Davis’ pencils are fantastic,
giving us a sense of familiarity with the character posing and visuals we are
given. Sexy ladies, and men in heroic gestures help illustrate the “return” of
the classic feel Marvel once had, and the “heroic” feel they are trying to
reestablish. Bendis seems to be able to flex his more advanced writing
techniques, weaving the three storylines together and building to the stress
point. Davis does a fantastic job cutting and placing the frozen scenes
together, and by use of color and perspective the panels converge to bring the
drama to its height. Those pages are what makes me love comics.