At the end of Bendis' record-setting Avengers run, we should acknowledge the many lasting changes he brought to the team (and we also should acknowledge that, as lynchpin of the Marvel Universe and the focus of many "events," other hands also deserve a share of responsibility/blame here).
The Scarlet Witch went mad, and killed several Avengers. Then she went madder and eliminated most of the worlds' mutants. Oops, never mind, she's better now, and the mutants are back.
Scott Lang was killed. Oops, never mind, he's alive again.
Hawkeye died. Oops, never mind, he's alive now.
The Vision was destroyed. Oops, never mind, he's all fixed.
The Wasp died. Oops, never mind, she's all better now.
Wonder Man went nuts, and decided to destroy the Avengers. Oops, never mind, he just sorta snapped back to normal with no explanation. All better now.
Doctor Strange lost the title of Sorcerer Supreme, and in a very overlong story, it went to Brother Voodoo. Oops, never mind, Voodoo died, and the title went back to Strange.
Avengers Mansion and/or Tower was destroyed at least three times (four? five?), and each time Tony Stark declared he was too broke to fix it. Oops, never mind, somehow it got fixed each time.
Bendis had the Scarlet Witch turn public opinion against the Avengers. And then Tony Stark turned public opinion against (some of) the Avengers. And then Norman Osborn. And then Wonder Man. And then Norman Osborn again. Silly villains--that trick never works!
And let us not forget the massive contributions of new members such as Echo, Quake, Storm, and the Protector! The Avengers would never be the same after their legendary tenures!
Yeah, I'm being a dickweed here. The time for a real retrospective will come later. And it has to be acknowledged that, during his tenure, the Avengers grew larger as a brand than it had ever been, rivaling the weight of Marvel's X-Titles.
But for now, let's just note that Bendis basically undid every single change he had made to the Avengers as he exited.
Maybe that's just being polite--putting all the toys back in the toybox so the next kid can start fresh. Or maybe that's just an acknowledgement that nothing really happened during those 9 years.
6 comments:
Or maybe that's just an acknowledgement that nothing really happened during those 9 years.
Quoted for truth.
Because I'm finishing up Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, I'm guessing a lot of these kinds of shenanigans can better be laid at Editorial/Corporate's feet than the writer's.
Not that it removes Bendis' participation in it.
Siskoid: Fair enough. But if Bendis is going to write a 3-page essay in his final issue celebrating his run, that means he's got to be man enough to take some of the heat, too.
At least when all the toys were put back in the box after, say, Claremont's original X-Men run, they were put back by other writers...
I was thinking these same things as Bendis brought Wonder-Man and Wasp back. Strange he had such a grand scheme from Disassembled through Heroic Age and yet really nothing happened.
Que Wolverine screaming "stop raping me!"
Nuff said
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