Previous Post Hey folks..... For years I've heard that the Avengers, weren't the Avengers of old....that these Bendis Avengers were an All Star team...but without the heart of the past. I will agree with that to a point....but I've enjoyed the progression of the Avengers with Bendis. It's nice to have Spidey on the team. Luke Cage has surprised me with how much I like him. Wolverine is admitted extraneous, and stretched thin timewise....but I don't mind. I do enjoy the classic runs of the past. Shooter/Perez, Stern/Buscema, Busiek/Perez,Davis,Dwyer.....but I'm glad for Bendis bring the Avengers to the forefront of the Marvel Universe. Like it or not, Bendis saved the Avengers from being a 2nd tier title for some time to come at least. My favorite storyline was the Hood's saga. Thought that was very interesting. I am however tired of Osborn and his Hammer friends. Looking forward to the future!

1. We are in the era TPBs and mega-crossover events. The reult is a constant "state of change". Change has always refreshed the team. However, now there is little more than change.

2. The original concept was to put the solo stars into a team book. This seems long forgotten. We had two,and only two, monthly chances to see our faves in action.How many times can we see Wolvie, Spidey, Cap, Storm??? 3,45? This makes the title LESS special.

ex: Any char on 2 con-current teams is unacceptable IMHO.
Imagine this 1963 team: Sgt.Fury, Iceman, Thing, DumDumDugan, MarvelGirl, Invisible Girl...sounds riduculous and superfluous.

3. Too many teams? Not when using the Avengers/WCA model.
"Separate But Equal"
a. Each team has its own Big three
b. Crossover ONLY once a year
c. Unique chars + unique storylines = unique teams.
ex: I can read more than three issues of Academy and know that changes are consistent within the title.

4. Team size. I prefer 7, limit to 8.
Currently*: Av=12; SA=12; NA=11(SquirrelGirl=12);AvAssemble=6**
*Wikipedia(yes,Cap counted 4 times)
** reluctanlty have to give AAssemble a pass since it's 100% marketing.