New Avengers #46: Review

Oct 2008

Brian Michael Bendis, Billy Tan

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Story Name:

Secret Invasion (part 7)

Synopsis

New Avengers #46 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

1 month before Secret Invasion Madame Masque has been captured by SHIELD. She tries to escape and gets some licks in before her restraints are triggered to shock her into submission. 4 Agents begin interrogation and want to know all about the Hood's gang of super-criminals. 1 of them makes a strange comment that they'd better remove her mask to see what her face looks like if they're going to do a 'switcheroo'. She resists and then Hood teleports in with his 2 guns blazing to kill 2 of them. A 3rd Agent tries to shoot him but Parker Robbins 'ports behind him and shoots him in the head. He's about to kill the last 1 when Whitney Frost alerts him that the 3 dead Agents have turned into green-skinned and green-blooded aliens.

The next day Hood has called his gang together to show them the live captive SHIELD Agent. He wants to know all about Skrulls but the guy keeps insisting he's a SHIELD Agent. The gang have become disenchanted with Hood's leadership. Thunderball reminds him that he failed to get them loads of money. He failed to lead them in defeating the Avengers. The only good thing he seems to be able to do is use his 'demon' powers to break them out of jail. Razorfist points out that super-criminal groups have never worked in the past. And now he's trying to maintain his control by suggesting there are aliens about.

Masque says she saw them too but Wrecker won't take *her* word because she's Hood's girlfriend, which she denies. (The Skrull Agents thought it was true too, but it might not be true *yet*.) To settle the argument she shoots the Agent in the arms and legs, but the pain doesn't make him give in. So she threatens to blow his brains out and he turns green.

Now Hood wants to know how many SHIELD Agents are Skrulls and what they want. The Skrull claims (truthfully) that no-one but Queen Veranke knows all the details, but they have a holy prophecy that Earth will be their new home (after the recent Annihilation Wave wrecked their Empire). He does know that they have infiltrated every other powerful group on the planet, but Hood's gang are an unexpected new element and they were going to send in a replacement for MM. And then he dies.

Cutthroat thinks they should tell someone like Tony Stark, but Thunderball thinks *he's* 1 of them (because of the Civil War). Piledriver worries that there might be a Skrull amongst them, but Masque asks if so why were they so eager to replace *her*? TBall and Bulldozer counter that *she* might be 1. Dr Demonicus reminds Hood that his demonic power enabled him to see through Dr Strange's illusions when they attacked the New Avengers, so Robbins tries that here. He scans the crowd and reports them all clean. But then turns and shoots Slug in the forehead, revealing that *he* was a Skrull. Masque reasons that they must have replaced him within the last 24 hours.

They burn the place down and leave. Hood promises to figure out a plan and flies away, but the group are sceptical. At home he confronts a mirror and demands that his demonic benefactor reveals himself and all the secrets of the magic hood he wears, or he'll throw the hood away. The image in the mirror morphs and reveals himself to be Dormammu, and he offers Parker all the power of the Dark Dimension.

Review / Commentaries

Rating:

New Avengers #46 Review by Rob Johnson (July 20, 2024)

The cover of this issue is based on the Bring On The Bad Guys collection.

The lettering is by Richard Starkings and Albert Deschesne.

The issue is set a month before Secret Invasion.

Apart from the mentioned members of Hood's gang (Bulldozer, Cutthroat, Dr Demonicus, Madame Masque, Piledriver, Razorfist, Thunderball, Wrecker) some others (Blackout, Jigsaw, Living Laser, Wizard) also have speaking parts (plus the Skrull Slug). Others (Answer, a Blood Brother, Centurious, Chemistro, Corruptor, Crossfire, Deathwatch, Griffin, Mandrill, Scarecrow, Vermin and possibly 1 or both of the Brothers Grimm) keep their mouths shut.

Dormammu has obviously been behind the scenes in all Hood's apps since he found the magic hood in his own mini-series. But during that time he was also the main villain in Amazing Spider-Man (1998) #57-58 plus #500 and the 2005 Defenders mini-series.

Hood's gang in general appear here between our Annual #2 (where they fought our team in Dr Strange's disguised house - and were more successful than they realised) and Secret Invasion #6 (where they pitch in to help the heroes fight the Skrulls).

Since An#2 each issue of Daredevil (1998) #101-105 (a Mr Fear storyline) was visited by 1 or more of Hood, Bulldozer, Thunderball, Wrecker and Razorfist. Then B, T and W moved on to ASM #552-553 (part of Brand New Day). The other member of the Wrecking Crew, Piledriver, wasn't with them because he was too busy in the 2nd Valkyrie 1-shot. Meanwhile Answer was in the ASM: Swing Shift 1-shot with lots of (other) villains, and this version of Blackout returned to his Ghost Rider home ground #26-27 of the 2006 series.

Most of Hood's gang will join the fight against the Skrulls in SI#6-8, but before then some of them will have prior engagements. In SI#4 Hood, Madame Masque, Wizard and strangely the Blood Brother will decide to call the rest of the gang together to join the battle. Meanwhile the Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Bulldozer, Piledriver and Thunderball) will take time out to help Jigsaw in Punisher War Journal (2006) #22-23. And not to be left out the Brothers Grimm pop in to Last Defenders #1.

Some of the gang won't show for SI but they'll all rejoin the team in our #50. Centurius, Living Laser, Mandrill and Razorfist will go straight there. But Jigsaw will be the main antagonist in PWJ#18-23 mentioned earlier. And Vermin will infest his regular home for ASM#566-567 and a tale in ASM Extra #3.

::: click cover to ENLARGE it :::

Brian Michael Bendis

Billy Tan

Matt Banning

Justin Ponsor

Aleksi Briclot (Cover Penciler)
Aleksi Briclot (Cover Inker)
Aleksi Briclot (Cover Colorist)