Avengers vol.
4 #2
Avengers vol.
4 #2
Title: “Breakout! Part two”
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: David Finch
Inker: Danny Miki with Mark Morales
Colors: Frank D’Amarta
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Captain America and Spider-Man watch as a very distant Electro flies into the air with an unknown companion. Spider-Man says that he has the red tights on and no ride home. Cap tells Spider-Man to let the SHIELD agents take position first. Spider-Man leaps into the blown out hole. He tells Cap that he loves him like a really, really older uncle, but that he has this whole guilt thing about putting other people in harm’s way. He looks down into the black abyss and realizes that he is in deep trouble. He looks and sees a room filled with super-villains. Spider-Man is blasted back by Count Nefaria. Nefaria says, “Freedom, finally…” Nefaria says that he has the power to end Spider-Man’s life in a thousand different ways, but that today nothing could be more satisfying than this. Nefaria knocks Spider-Man down the hole into the room full of villains.
Tombstone says, “@#@$, it is Christmas!!” The villains swarm over Spider-Man. Typhoid Mary says that they need Spider-Man as a hostage. The villains pull his mask off. Jigsaw asks Spider-Man if he remembers him. Peter asks if they dated in high school. Jigsaw says that he is always with the funny. He grabs Peter’s arm and breaks it.
In
the sub-basement level, Jessica tells Matt that they should just get out of
there. Matt tells Mr. Reynolds that they could really use his help. He calls out
to Sentry again, but Sentry doesn’t even look up. Two of the soldiers tell Agent
Drew that they don’t have a protocol for this. They ask her what they should do.
Jessica uses a bit of her venom blast to light the room. Matt says to point him
to the stairs. He quietly says that the smoke is killing his senses. Foggy says
that he didn’t want to come to this hell hole in the first place. He asks Matt
to get him out of there before something insane… Foggy trails off as he realizes
Carnage is standing right behind him. Matt shields Foggy as Carnage swats them
aside. He asks which $%^&$ he has to thank for his ticket out of there. Luke
Cage’s shirt is torn by one of Carnage’s tendrils. Carnage sees Jessica and
tells the “Spider-Skank” that he is going to rip out one of her organs before he
leaves. Matt pushes Foggy into Sentry’s cell and slams the door. He tells him
not to open the door no matter what. In the dark, Foggy peers back at Rob
Reynolds.
Jessica warns the others not to let Carnage touch them and that Carnage feeds off people. Cletus says that is damn right and that he is damn hungry. Carnage sees the soldiers and says, “Hey, easy snacks!” Jessica zaps Carnage in the back and Luke tells Carnage that his skin is unbreakable. Matt tells Jessica to just grab the guards and get out of there. He says that they can’t win against that. Mister Hyde stands and looks down at Matt Murdock. He says that it has been a year since he has seen a human face and that the first face he sees is Murdock’s. Matt drives his feet up into Hyde’s face, but Hyde just punches him.
On the main floor, Foolkiller, Crusder, and Cutthroat are among the villains pounding on Spider-Man. Captain America tosses his shield into the fray and backs them off Peter. He shouts that this ends now.
Foggy nervously talks to Rob Reynolds. He says that he is law partners with the man he was talking to before, Matt Murdock. Foggy says that Matt is a good guy and that they came there as a favor to Reed Richards. He says that they know that he is there because he asked to be put there. He asks him if he knows that he is only there because he asked to be. He says that when the most powerful super hero on Earth says that he needs to be locked up that Fury isn’t going to argue. He says that they are there to try and help him figure out what happened with his wife, but that now they really need his help. Foggy says that his friends outside are truly amazing people, but that all the criminals in this place running loose is more than they can handle. There is silence. Foggy asks Sentry to please help his friends.
Murdock
ducks Hyde’s punch as Hyde hits the wall. Hyde shouts that Murdock is the one
that put him there. Murdock says that Hyde actually put himself there, but that
he can see why he might not see it that way. Cage says that he doesn’t even know
what he is fighting. Jessica says that it is Carnage and that he is one of
Spider-Man’s. Cage says to get him down there then. Carnage says that he would
love that, but that Cage is first. Jessica blasts Carnage and says that they
still don’t know what happened. She says that there are 87 convicted felons in
this prison. She says that they have to get out of there and call for
reinforcements. Suddenly Sentry’s cell door bursts open. Carnage shoots a
tendril at Sentry. Sentry grabs it and flies straight up through each floor
until He flies straight up into the sky and into space. Sentry tears Carnage
into pieces.
Cage grabs Sentry’s prison door and smashes it into Hyde’s face. Jessica says that at least now they have a way out. Jessica tells Foggy that she can fly a little. She says that she will get him out of there, but that it might take a few tries. Foggy asks where all this water is coming from. He asks if they are sinking. Hydro-Man says that they aren’t, but that they are drowning. They are all washed away. Jessica grabs Foggy as Hydro-Man’s water blasts all the way up to the surface.
Peter Parker, with a webbed up arm, sees Matt Murdock and
asks him what he is doing there. Matt asks Spider-Man how he is doing. Peter
asks how he looks. Matt says that he dropped his mask and that it isn’t a good
career move. Jessica sees Cap and says that it isn’t that she isn’t thrilled to
see him. Cage says that he isn’t thrilled about any of this. Cap asks if anyone
knows how this started. Spider-Man says that he doesn’t, but that they can blame
him if they want since everyone else will. Cap says that they have to contain
this and keep as many as they can from escaping. Ironclad grabs Captain
American
and tosses him into the air. Iron Man catches him in the air and says that it
has been a long time, no see. He asks Cap how it is going. Cap says that he
doesn’t even know. He says that he was on his way to a security conference in
Washington DC. Iron Man says to look at all this and that he guesses that they
shouldn’t have broken up the Avengers. Cap says, “We didn’t. You did.”
Purple Man stands behind Luke Cage as he punches Jigsaw in the face. He stands there eating an apple. He asks Cage to do him a favor. He tells Cage to kill all the hero friends of his and then kill himself. Cage stares at Purple Man with a distant look in his eye.
Avengers Files rating: 9 out of 10
My first problem with this issue is that I want to know how Nefaria went from blowing up in Busiek’s last usage of him to being imprisoned in a prison for super-villains. I was going to complain about Bendis having Jigsaw break Spider-Man’s arm, but it turns out that was a mix up on Finch’s part. Other than those two little nitpicks, I loved this issue. It’s great to see Sentry back in action. I can’t wait until there is more on his front. As much as I feel like Bendis is pressing his usuals into the Avengers, I really like Cage on the team. It was cool to see him fighting Hyde. I’m guessing that we’re going with the Cage that’s on par with Ironclad and not the “one ton strength” Cage. Fun book. Initially I was pretty unhappy that my traditionalist Avengers were getting decompressed and modernized, but so far I’ve really enjoyed it.Review and pictures by The Leader