Mighty Avengers #21

Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Khoi Pham
Publisher: Marvel

The words "how the mighty have fallen" were the last dialogue spoken in the pages of the previous issue of Mighty Avengers. With the advent of Norman Osborn's Dark Reign, and the formation of his Dark Avengers, it would appear that those words would be a perfect epitaph for the Avengers. Dan Slott uses his first issue as the new writer of Mighty Avengers to prove that appearances can be deceiving.

It is clear from the outset that Slott's Mighty Avengers is going to be an obvious departure from Brian Bendis' take on the team. Bendis, the man responsible for Disassembling the Avengers several years ago (an event from which the franchise has yet to recover) had left readers with two teams of Avengers (Mighty and New). Neither team or book has seemed to have much direction or constancy - and neither team really seemed worthy to carry the name "Avengers". Slott's initial offering breaks cleanly with the recent wilderness-wandering that had plagued the Avengers titles, and takes the Team back to its roots. I won't reveal the final roster of the new team, but suffice it to say that this team will be extremely recognizable to long-time fans.

The writing is good, but not great. There are times when the dialogue seems to lose focus, and the story is a little bit contrived. However, after his great work on the Initiative, I am more than eager to give Slott a few issues to find his voice on this title. Of course, part of the problem may be that there are so many things going on in this issue, and the story is so ambitious, that it just feels a little cramped.

The artwork by Pham is very good, though the detail in the book is a little spotty at times. Still, I loved his run on Incredible Hercules, and I expect huge things out of him on this title. His work has just the right blend of beauty and power needed to maintain the high standards fans of any Avengers title have come to demand.

This issue reminded me a lot of older, vintage Avengers tales - but part of that may be the roster. Regardless, I think this team is precisely what the Avengers franchise needs at this moment in time, and I am anxiously awaiting Slott's next outing.