Long waits in between issues of comics is not a new thing. In 1976, in a world before the intranets, Mike Grell’s Warlord had a wait of five months between issues 2 and 3. But of course this was before the ‘net and readers had no way of knowing the series had been cancelled and brought back to life in that time. Nowadays delays are a part of the comics life unfortunately, just look at All-Star Batman and Robin.

Warlord was well worth the wait, and All-Star Batman sadly has not been. I hate to say it, but I think Mighty Avengers #6 falls in with the latter. That said, I truly wish it wasn’t so.

As the story begins, there seems to be a disconnect between here and the end of Mighty Avengers #5. As that issue ends, Ant-Man has flown into battle to confront the Ultron Interface and Ares has, at sub-ant-size, flown into the mouth of the villain with a, ahem, Commodore 64 virus. Pages two and three of MA #6 appear to be before and after that event. Why? My only guess would be that writer Brian Michael Bendis chose not to show Henry (Ant-Man) Pym heroically. His dislike of Pym has been noted before. And we’ll talk more about that later.

It feels odd to see Pym putting on and then taking off his Ant-Man helmet for no apparent reason until you realize where these scenes fit chronologically. Page two is what we’ve seen before and page three is Pym, once gain, explaining the plan of attack. Bendis has been accused recently of writing filler material over in New Avengers, in order to sync the book up with this one. However, what I see on pages two and three –other than the terrific Cho art- is blatant filler, especially considering that ‘what has gone before’ is what page one is for!

As Ares makes his way inside the Ultron Interface with the virus, fighting off her mace-like defense systems with high-powered firearms (nope, not kidding, but Cho does make it look oh-so-cool), the resurrection cycle from last issue begins. First Wonder Man pops up, none the worse for wear from his reversal of ionization last issue, to help the Wasp do apparently nothing. Next Sentry returns from the punch that knocked him clear to Pittsburgh.

Sentry’s mad, and I don’t blame him, mad with revenge at Ultron for murdering his wife two issues ago. Look closely at his eyes and tell me those aren’t the eyes of the Void. I predicted last time that once Ultron was vanquished the Mighty Avengers would have to contend with the Void, but apparently Sentry’s now able to turn off his evil alter-ego like a light switch. I have to wonder if this is sloppy continuity, or a subplot brewing on the backburner.

Then Ms. Marvel makes a sudden return with no explanation of how she survived a nuclear explosion (until later). She returns to only subdue Sentry. Bendis misses some major dramatic opportunities here. The returns of Wonder Man, Sentry and Ms. Marvel from possible death are major things and should have been exploited. Yeah, we know they’re not going to die, but still, missed opportunities. Remember how dramatic and cool it was back in Jim Shooter’s Nefaria trilogy when we found out the Avengers were still alive after having a building dropped on them? That kind of stuff, man.

Another small nit - there is some funny business going on with Sentry in regards to his communication link. Last issue the link went out, but then went back online again. Small matter, it could have been broken in his trip to Pittsburgh, but I’d like some clue, ya know? In other news, the Sentry’s berserker rage could be a problem as well, especially if all the team has to stop him is a punch from Ms. Marvel.

The Wasp’s spectacular save of Ares was quite dramatic however. The fact that this, and previous bits throughout the story arc, lays the groundwork for a possible romance between the Wasp and the former Avengers foe is not lost on me. It’s times like this that I wonder if Bendis is just pushing the envelope just a bit too far simply to mess with us old school fans.

Now, my question is – is there any indication that the Ultron Interface was going to blow up? Why do the Mighty Avengers have to get out of there so abruptly? She does blow up, quite brightly and spectacularly, but apparently with no to little collateral damage. Just looks like a big light flash to me. Is this the fault of the words guy or the pictures guy? Or did I just miss something in all that “WEF 4M (VBUN)” and “N2V OF 42R” nonsense? I was never any good at Basic or vanity license plates.

The Iron Man hospital scene has some nice characterization and use of thought balloons for once. Interesting that Black Widow isn’t more up front at his bedside, or maybe that’s just the Ultimates getting into my head, but still, they are friends from waaay back, right? Also at the bedside, and doing his scientist/doctor shtick is Reed Richards. Wait, Reed was where when Ultron attacked? If he was here, the Fantastic Four couldn’t be far behind – what were they doing, playing cards while the Ultron Interface threatened to plunge the planet into nuclear annihilation? And the question does come to my mind, why do you need Reed when you already have Hank Pym? Just more Bendis disrespect for Hank, I guess. Grrr…

Sentry is not there in the hospital, when next we see him it’s at the Watchtower/Stark Tower/Avengers Tower, so we have no idea what he was like when he recovered from Carol’s punch. In his quarters he finds his wife Lindy alive and well – apparently, according to him, but not according to the art, because he touched her. I smell Skrull. It was never really clear about where she came from to begin with, now was it? Now or then, I’m thinking Skrull, and while I’m at it, a Sentry able to push back the Void is a bit Skrully too, isn’t it?

The Wonder Man and Ms. Marvel bit was… a bit odd. Simon giving ultimatums is also a little Skrully. I’m surprised Carol kept quiet. No reaction, not even a thought balloon. Curious. And I know Bendis and Brian Reed are good buddies, but shouldn’t this be in her title, not Mighty? If it plays out here, fine, but having been doing hit or miss reading Ms. Marvel, it’s hard for me to judge.

The page with Jan and Hank felt like another exercise in beating on Pym, among other things. Skulliness factors aside, I don’t think Bendis understands the Wasp, and he’s got it in for poor Hank Pym, and what –exactly- does Bendis have against Tigra? I have a very bad feeling that Greer is going to find herself stuffed in a refrigerator in a Bendis comic one of these days.

In one panel Ultron appears on screen in Hank’s lab (apparently on board the SHIELD helicarrier if I’m reading the art correctly) then blinks out. What does this mean exactly? More darkness and disrespect for Pym? Is Pym a Skrull? Maaaybe. Is he keeping Ultron on his computer merely to send it into space to join with the Phalanx and decimate the Kree? That’s what Ultron is doing right now in Annihilation Conquest, a mini-series that takes place after this issue. It’s temptingly logical, after all who else hates the Kree that much, except the Skrulls, right?

We know that Hank Pym is headed somewhere bad. Bendis doesn’t like him, and Bendis is currently the guiding force in the Avengers universe nowadays. In a recent Marvel Podcast, writer Dan Slott stated that in the upcoming Initiative #8, Hank makes the biggest mistake of his life. What could be bigger than hitting his wife, creating Ultron or betraying the Avengers? Perhaps setting Ultron loose on the entire universe, maybe? So maybe Hank isn’t a Skrull, and just destined to become Marvel’s ultimate screw-up. Again, only time will tell.

Last page, hey, we’re starting to catch up… finally, Spider-Woman arrives with the corpse of Skrullektra. I just hope when Mighty Avengers and New Avengers are finally in sync, Marvel editorial will provide us with an order in which to read these stories. I’m sure it works much better in order. And while we’re talking Skrulls – the potential Skrull watch for this issue includes Hank Pym, the Wasp, Wonder Man, Ms. Marvel, Black Widow, Ares (as always), Sentry, and Lindy. Hmmm, just about everyone but Iron Man and Spider-Woman…

Yes, the waiting is the hardest part, but sometimes the result isn’t so worth the wait. I give Mighty Avengers #6 three stars out of a possible five, and those three are mostly for Frank Cho. Throughout this entire story arc, where even the words fail, Cho’s visuals were always consistently top notch and phenomenal. You’ll be missed, man.

	Glenn Walker
	Glenn has been a fan of Marvel Comics' Avengers since the early 1970s, when their current adventures were chronicled by Steve Englehart and their early exploits by Stan Lee in classic reprints featured in Marvel Triple Action. He has persevered through many incarnations of the team and he still loves the Avengers to this day.