New Avengers #29
Heh, that was a funny solicit line.

Can we get an Illuminati meeting when god-like Breakers and Skyfather-kin attack the Earth? Of course not... but at least they (finally) get together for the Phoenix-Five.

Can we get an Avengers title that spotlights even one member of the title Avengers? Of course n... oh wait, Dr. Strange literally pops in and out so... there's that.

All sarcasm aside, this was an engaging meeting that kept you guessing and hoping at what would be said next. Unfortunately there was a good amount of hogwash said but it was still ended up an entertaining read with the superficial overtones. It has lots of your decent Bendis-dialogue and satisfying Deodato-artstyle. Too bad the point of the meeting was only to convene to have a talk with PF-Namor and not to discuss dealing with the Event beyond, "NO, we will not use the Infinity Gems". Hence the 'stupid' in the solicit.

=Poser cover but it is context so it's fair.
=WWII battle vs Red Skull thrown in would have been sooooo much better if it had been a footnoted/known battle instead of pet peevish generic retcon fight. It really meant nothing other than the aftermath/brotherly bonding of Cap and Namor (that everyone familiar with The Invaders may have been happier with 1 page instead of 4). The prison camp flea market comment read kind of silly.
=Referring to Tony's business as STARK ENTERPRISES was unforgivably premature or post-dated.
=Placing this meeting chronologically is confounding as usual. Presumably, after PF-Cyke said "NO MORE AVENGERS" but before the Avengers became fugitives onthe run (apparently) for weeks and definitely before PF-Namor is taken down in Wakanda. It's a little anticlimactic with this in mind and given where readers are 'IN THE PRESENT' a followup summoning of a depowered Namor by the Illuminati would have been even more 'must read'.
=Tony talked like a a$$. Now, he should not be the saint of the group but his inappropriateness went on for too long here and he offered nothing constructively which really was too bad. And BTW, that Wells Fargo statement better have been another half-a$$ed joke at everyone's expense.
=Professor Xavier was a jerk. [Kitty Pryde was right all along! ] He had the inside track but failed to win over the Illuminati (or me). He selfishly offered no new insight, instead playing the anti-mutant card and ran off the wounded soul.
=Reed Richards was no help. He makes no suggestion of Ultimate Nullifier, Cosmic Cube (real or homemade), Franklin and his sidekick Galactus, Uatu Consultations. Instead, he suggested NOT fixing the sitch or using the Infinity Gems 'cuz things were pretty good right now - save the AvsX bad blood. He is probably just peeved the FF were not invited to the party in the first place.
=Everyone walking out on Cap's faith played out dramatic. The face in the shield was a nice bookend-type story device. There was a moment of real hope when he showed up. Quickly dashed. Then the two 'brothers' plainly ask the other to change and predictably they both refuse. The degree of control that the Phoenix Force has over Namor seems a bit less here than in other issues for such a civil exchange at this point of the crisis. Him leaving peacefully was either confounding or stupid in trying to decipher the nature of this PF-possession. He gives a very poetic parting line.

Didn't like the Illuminati (alleged usefulness) before this. Still don't.


Comments?

well after 3 issues of Kun Lun stuff, 2 with zero Avengers, this was a step up.



I'm assuming this is post issue 6 to mid 7.



It's because this takes place before the P5 lose control. Personally I'm glad Marvel has a non-mutant acknowledge that for a brief time the X-men used the Phoenix to do good things. Honestly before the stuff in issue 9 I wondered if the descent to evil by the P's were because the Avengers "keep poking them with a stick"

My take on the Illuminati:
Captain America: He just seems out of place here, gem or not.

Dr. Strange: Useless, nothing to say. Thor should be here.

Tony Stark: Funny. Like an ass is funny.

Reed Richards: Irresponsible. Replace him with Sue so he can stay in the lab.

Professor X: Sounds suicidal.

Cap/Namor: It's about time but it's out of order, as usual. I guess, before he got ticked at Wakanda.

Captain A will probably be remorseful at the end of all this because like you said the Avengers are poking them with a stick.

If the power was left between the 5 of them then maybe they can control it but as each person falls the control is lost.

From avengers 9 upwards obviously they have to go knock someone out but prior to that I was wondering what the avengers were fighting for.

He transforms into Captain Remorseful everytime he loses anything.




Wondering if they will bother to mention in-story why/if Tony would not just attempt/arrange to zap the PF again with a 'Phoenix-Killer Ray', as a fallback option, to at least hopefully separate it into more managable itty bitty pieces. What have they got to lose if the Illuminati are a lost cause. Also, wondering now, if the ousted Black Bolt if peeved not to be recalled to voice his opinion - if not also his unique power - vs the PF.

Pretty sure that's the point. This place is an abandoned part of Stark Enterprises, not Stark's current project.



Definitely before Wakanda. Probably shortly after Xavier's meeting with Scott on Utopia.



I really don't like how the gems are being used by current writers. They are not uncontrollable. They are not things to be feared. They were used for ages with no problem, whatsoever, except for Warlock's Soulgem. They also do not abide not being used. Putting them away on some shelf should be impossible. They would go elsewhere.



Professor Xavier was RIGHT! So, he completely gets a pass.



Well, I do kind of agree that he was not much help. He seemed kind of like an armchair quarterback. However, he was 100% correct. So, he gets a pass. Ultimate Nullifier would not work. Franklin would not work. Cosmic Cube would not work. Galactus would not work. Uatu? That's a laugh. Uatu soils his toga over the Phoenix. Phoenix is above all of those things you list.

Nope. Him and Cap should fight to the death for the 6th chair.

With Namor's fall from grace (and considering he destroyed and decimated the sovereign nation of Wakanda), will he lose his place on the Illuminati? Will his gem be reassigned? I hope T'Challa steps up now - it would be poetic to see him replace Namor after Namor destroyed his country.

I always thought it was reckless of them to trust Namor. He has fought against the heroes as often as he has fought with them. Smart people should know better.

As someone who has read and remembered Thanos Quest, the Infinity Trilogy and Warlock and the Infinity Watch, I am annoyed by the constant cry for the gems to be used.

First of all, the Elders who had the gems before Thanos did not realize their full potential, second the most powerful beings in the universe gathered together to keep the gems from being used together by Thanos and later Adam Warlock. Third the Infinity Watch were constant targets because people knew they had the gems. And fourth the gems themselves caused alot of problems for the watch members.



Most of them aren't. Pip was good for the space gem because he was simple enough to only access basic teleportation. Gamora and Thanos were "good" guardians for time and reality gems because they could protect their gems without using the gems.



used by Elders of the Universe, most of which had no clue of what each gem could truly do. Some only used the gems subconsciously.



outside of the Ultraverse story, no clue how you got this, sure they keep winding up in people's hands who utilize them, but the Illuminati's plan is at least a temporary solution.



If not used right, which isn't hard they are. Also if the rest of the universe figures out they are on Earth, maniacs like Thanos will come to get them. Using them to stop the Phoenix will paint a bullseye on Earth.

If I heard correctly, Black Bolt has a few more wives. Do we know how Medusa reacted to this?

Well she seemed okay with it - or royally proper in expression - when it happened
http://www.comicboards.com/php/show.php?msg=fantasticfour-2011072803120772
but AFAIK there has been little satisfying introspective followup by Medusa on the issue of polygamy unless she is sincerely and Inhumanly fine with it. Plus, Black Bolt has not said anything about the marital details/duties yet. Okay, that last sentence started as j/k but with the 2(!!!) recent methods of actually speaking safely has been presented, revelations could happen that the readers hear from the horse's-husband's mouth.

Nothing about that said or showed why they shouldn't be used. In fact, they show why the gems should definitely be used.



Used TOGETHER. "Together" is the key word there. But they should be used.



The whole Illuminati gem story began with showing what happens when the gems aren't used. They collected the gems that, at the time, had no owners. The gems move themselves to where they want to be. The mind gem, for instance, retreated to the psionic plane.




They can easily discover this anyway. It's already been proven that the Illuminati's plan does not work. They hid them away, and they were still stolen. Because other people knew they had them anyway. The only way to protect something is to do it forcefully.

... her being part of a Fantastic Four title in the upcoming months, without him.


TJB

Now I know that BB isn't gay or anything (Not a problem.), but that seemed very-off too me. I get that Bendis was trying too express emotion with that scene, but, I don't know. This just reads, too me anyway, as dam awkward, and way out of character.

That looks promising. I didn't know that BB had more than one wife. Also, is Maximus still a "good guy", or did he return back too being a villian again? Thanks.