Artist: Greg Land
I wasn't originally planning on getting this series, as although I am happy to see Luke Cage back in a major comic book series, I couldn't fit it into my budget. I have however since been able to get the first couple of issues and hope to get the series at least during Infinity, but probably won't be getting the series on the release date.
Plot
Luke Cage has been working with the Heroes for Hire, but when Thanos' army attacks the Earth he must form a new team of Avengers... Mighty Avengers.
Review
This was a very good start for the series, as although it wasn't outstanding, it did a brilliant job of re-introducing the characters for this series. Now Al Ewing isn't a writer that I'm familiar with, so I didn't know what to expect. Ewing would however show throughout this issue that he has an understanding for the characters, as well as a good imagination, even if some of the developments were a little too weird. Ewing also did a decent job of fitting this in with the Infinity crossover, as a lot of new series can be ruined due to events, whereas this one handles it in a calm way, with it naturally progressing into the events developments.
The artwork in this issue was also good, as although I'm not a huge fan of Greg Land's work this has to be some of his better work, showing that he can be a good artist. The issue does however still have the regular Land problems, with every woman looking like a super model, and smiles looking as awkward as possible. Land did however produce some amazing layouts, which were very dynamic, adding a lot of depth to the issue. The layout also helped to make the action sequences more exciting, also helping the issue to flow a lot smoother. The backgrounds however were a bit plain, but I could easily live with that as it wasn't a huge problem.
This issue would start with Luke Cage and a group he's assembled doing some Heroes for Hire work, which the Superior Spider-Man gatecrashes. Now I loved that Ewing decided to give this a Heroes for Hire feel to it, as although it was fitting that it would eventually turn into a Avengers team book, it was nice to see Cage in his iconic role of Hero for Hire. I did however also enjoy the interaction between Cage and Spider-Man in this, as although I haven't been the biggest fan of the whole Doctor Octopus becoming Spider-Man, Ewing managed to show the change in characteristics perfectly, without making it too obvious, and overall the interaction between these two characters was very entertaining.
Cage would be working with White Tiger and the current Power Man (Victor Alvarez) during the Heroes for Hire part of this issue, and hence it would have two Power Men involved. Now when I first heard about this new Power Man I was very interested to see how Cage would react to him, and although due to not reading the character in anything before I don't know whether this has happened yet. I was however happy that it did here, and the interaction was amazing. I just loved how the difference in both characters age gap was obvious, and the fiery attitude of Alvarez added brilliant tone to the issue.
Now usually with a new team book I would talk about the team, and what I thought of the choices, but this issue the team wouldn't form until the end of the issue, and even then it didn't feel quite like a full team. Anyway I already said how I enjoyed Cage and Superior Spider-Man being a part of this series (even though I don't think Spider-Man will be a good fit in the long run), but the addition of Spectrum (Monica Rambeau) and a mysterious male would make things even more interesting. I especially found the mysterious man to be intriguing, and his choice of outfit was both humorous as well as weird, and I look forward to finding out his true identity.
Final Verdict
This was a good issue, and although it wasn't outstanding, it was better than I dreaded it would be, being a brilliant starting issue for the series. It also tied in with the Infinity event nicely, and although there were some weird moments it was overall an enjoyable issue. Due to this I'd recommend this issue, but it isn't the best Avengers issue, so only if you have spare cash after getting the main part of Infinity.
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