New Avengers #37: Review

Dec 2007

Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Francis Yu

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Story Name:

The trust (part 6)

Review & Comments

Rating:

New Avengers #37 Review by Rob Johnson (April 6, 2024)

The issues leading up to this 1 have been written as continuously linked and also connected to events in Mighty Avengers. This issue is also written with Annual #2 following immediately after it. But in the Annual Dr Strange is suffering from the events of World War Hulk so that has to happen earlier. So the Marvel Chronology Project had to fit the WWH event in somewhere and the best place is to put it between (the bulk of) this issue and the Annual. Because the Annual begins with Maria Hill commenting that Hood's gang have just escaped custody then they actually put WWH before Hood's jail break in the last few pages of this issue. This means he must have waited some time before executing the rescue, the more so because the MCP took the opportunity to shoehorn in more apps of the team, singly and together.

Hood and his gang don't make any apps in the gap and go straight from here to the Annual, except John King who won't be seen again until Secret Invasion #4 (with Hood a very few of his gang preparing to help fight the Skrulls). And Wizard manages to fit in an app with the Frightful Four in Fantastic Four #547-549.

I'll mention here what other chars do leading up to WWH.

Maria Hill shows up in MAv#11, Ms Marvel #15 and Iron Man: Director Of SHIELD #15 and #18. She's strangely never seen in WWH.

Our team are never seen all together before WWH. As you might expect Spider-Man and Wolverine fit a lot in but Dr Strange is equally well represented. At least Luke Cage and Maya Lopez get 1 app each but Iron Fist and Ronin don't get a look in at all. The MCP's global chronology threads help me sort it all out.

Spider-Man kicks off with Friendly Neighbourhood SM #17-23, the whole of its contribution to his Back In Black era. Then he guests in Blade #10.
Wolverine co-stars in Cable & Deadpool #43-44, the 1st 2 issues in which Cable is (Marvel-)dead and DP teams up with a succession of guests.
Then follows the closest we get to a NAv app as Logan joins Dr Strange, Luke Cage and Maya Lopez for cameos with the MAv and the Fantastic Four in New Warriors #2. Wolvie stays for a bigger role in #3.
Then Dr Strange gets busy. He's the co-star in C&DP#47, with lesser roles in #46 and 48. Then it's on to FF#550 where Invisible Woman and Mr Fantastic return to the team and their replacements Black Panther and Storm leave. He stays with them for their Annual #33 with Clan Destine and follows the Clan into the Daredevil Annual and the Wolverine Annual, which of course includes the title char.
Then Spidey makes 1 more app before WWH when he gets mixed up in Av: Initiative #3.
And then we're knocking on the door of WWH.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

New Avengers #37 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

At the end of last issue the New Avengers discovered the lair of Hood and his gang after they'd robed a bank. They attacked the villains, appearing to be backed by many other heroes including some from the rival Mighty Avengers.

This issue has a voiceover of SHIELD Deputy Director Maria Hill questioning the captive Wrecker as to what happened.

We see the villains panic. Outside the building Wrecker himself begins to realise that the extra forces are illusions but meanwhile Luke Cage hits him with a mailbox followed by a car. (In the present Dirk Garthwaite complains that he can beat Thor so Cage couldn't have beat him without Dr Strange's help.) Inside some of the villains want to make a stand but Hood tells them all to scatter. Bulldozer and Piledriver want to help their fellow member of the Wrecking Crew until Spider-Man (and some illusions) prove Hood's point by putting 'Dozer to sleep. Hood tells his assistant John King to take the bank money and hide.

Other real and imaginary heroes enter including Stephen Strange casting spells. Piledriver punches a big hole in the floor which drops lots of the combatants through only to be met by Wolverine and mixed others. The fight continues on the lower level as the Sorcerer Supreme confronts Hood about the demon that empowers him. He warns him that he doesn't know what he's doing and the magic power will kill him from within. In reply Hood transforms into the demon until Cage hits it. Faced with might as well as magic Hood teleports away.

The illusory chars have faded away so now it's just the NAv vs the gang. We see Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Maya Lopez, Ronin, Spider-Man and Wolverine deal with Bulldozer, Chemistro, Madame Masque, Piledriver, Thunderball and Wizard and locate John King with the money. Wrecker is still trapped outside. The heroes leave them for the police with a note saying "From your friendly neighbourhood Avengers".

Now Maria Hill wants to know who the man in the hood was, but Wrecker and the rest aren't talking so she leaves them to stew. But Hood arrives to free them as he promised and they escape leaving a trail of dead SHIELD guards. He swears vengeance on the Avengers.

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