New Avengers #36: Review

The symbiote fight here is a cut-down version of the battle in Mighty Avengers #8. The cause there is described as a virus not a chemical agent. But presumably Luke Cage's skin is proof against that too. Iron Man, Ares, Ms Marvel, Wonder Man and Sentry are immune because of armour, godliness, Kreeness, ionicness and allround superness respectively. Black Widow has none of these and so succumbs in MAv#8 before Cage joins them, unlike what is shown here. Spider-Woman is also taken over, and is 1st shown here recovering afterwards. Or maybe as a secret Skrull she only mimicked the effect. The shower scene and the accompanying Mighty Avengers appearance must happen before the MAv leave for Latveria at the end of MAv#8. When the Hood scene was shown last issue the TV report of the MAv deep in battle with the symbiotes claimed to be live, which was presumably why Hood considered this a convenient time to go out for a spot of villainy. This time round the TV screen still says 'Live', but that no longer makes sense. This particular Deathlok is considered by the Official Index to be a duplicate, not the real Luther Manning as claimed by Owl in #33. As such he ends here. Next issue doesn't fit into our Library system, so I'll summarise it here. The horde of superheroes turns out to be a Strange spell, but the real NAv still take down Hood's mini-gang and leaves them for SHIELD to find. But Hood escapes and later teleports into the Raft to rescue his comrades. This leads into Annual #2 where Hood's whole gang come for revenge. But World War Hulk gets in the way 1st, so the OI suggests that the breakout doesn't actually happen until after that. It also suggests that Wizard escapes under his own steam earlier, to appear in Fantastic Four #547-549.

Team members will have some other appearances before WWH, except Iron Fist and Ronin. Strangely Dr Strange is busier in the interval than Wolverine, and has as many apps as Spider-Man. Spidey has some side-adventures in his Back In Black period in Friendly Neighbourhood SM. #17-19 sees him help Sandman clear his father of murdering an alternate Uncle Ben! In #20-22 Peter David wraps up JM Straczynski's The Other storyline. Then in #23 there's a confrontation with J Jonah Jameson. Meanwhile Wolverine battles Deadpool and Hydra in Cable & Deadpool #43-44 (the title now misnamed after Cable's 'death'). Then Logan, Strange, Luke Cage and Echo have a cameo in New Warriors #2, but Wolvie investigates further through #3 because he recognises some of the new NW team. They are ex-mutants depowered by M-Day, with new tech-based powers. Then Dr Strange appears in the still misnamed C&DP#47-48 (after 1 last page entrance in #46). He needs DP to resolve a multiversal problem Wade created when he killed his mystical enemy T-Ray. Then he's in on the climactic battle to save Eternity in Fantastic Four #550, and goes on a time-journey in the out-of-sequence FF Annual #33 (2012) with Human Torch and Thing getting involved with the ClanDestine. His adventures with ClanDestine continue in 2 more Annuals from that year Daredevil #1 and Wolverine #1. Needless to say Wolverine's in that 1 too. Meanwhile Spider-Man runs into Blade in BLADE #10, and then gets attacked in Avengers : Initiative #3 by some Initiative heroes who want to remove his powers with Stark's new SPIN-tech.

Then comes World War Hulk. Jessica Jones is obviously busy keeping baby Danielle safe. In WWH#1 Dr Strange agrees a truce with Iron Man, and rallies the Registration outlaws to help in AvIn#4 including Luke Cage and Spider-Man. Then Wolverine and the rest of the X-Men try to stand between Hulk and Prof X in the WWH:XM mini-series. After that he and the X-Men stay out of it. LC and SpM help with the evacuation of Manhattan in WWH#1 and IM#19. They see IM arrive in his Hulkbuster armour in WWH#1, and watch the fight there and in IM#19. Then later in WWH#1 they see the fall of Sentry's Watchtower and the defeat of IM. In WWH#2 DrS keeps Echo, Iron Fist and Ronin in his Sanctum while looking for an opportunity to invade Hulk's mind. Then LC, SpM and others get defeated by Hulk and his Warbound in WWH#2, watched by Sally Floyd in WWH: Front Line #2 and the Initiative trainees in AvIn#4. DrS also sees Ghost Rider fight Hulk in GR#13. Finally in WWH#2 DrS fails to get into Hulk's mind. In WWH#3 DrS succeeds in invading Hulk's mind, but it ends with Hulk crushing his hands. In Hulk #109 Amadeus Cho and Scorpion see LC and SpM among the captives under Madison Square Garden. Back in WWH#3 the Warbound capture Echo, IF and Ronin, while DrS drinks the essence of the demon Zom. The issue ends with Zom-DrS facing Hulk. In WWH#4 Hulk defeats Zom-DrS, watched by Amadeus Cho's Renegades in Hulk #111. Later (in WWH#4 and WWH:FL#4) DrS is brought out into the Madison Square Garden Arena with the other Illuminati to fight a monster, watched by LC, IF and SpM amongst others. Finally the Illuminati have to fight each other. WWH#5 starts off with the end of that fight, and finishes with everyone picking up the pieces after the Hulk/Sentry battle. Throughout we see often indistinct depictions of the other spectator heroes, including LC, IF and SpM.

After it's all over LC and SpM try to stop the Warbound escaping from SHIELD custody in WWH: Aftersmash. DrS, IF, LC, Ronin and SpM are joined by Wolverine helping Damage Control clean up Manhattan in the WWHA:DC limited series, and LC follows the Warbound into the 1st issue of their WWHA:WB mini-series.