Avengers Prime #2 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Alan Davis (penciller)

The Story: The Avengers’ Holy Trinity of Iron Man, Thor and Captain Am- er, Steve Rogers, have been separately transported to somewhere in the Nine Realms of Asgardian lore.  As they do their best to survive and find their way to each other, Thor is confronted by his old foe (and flame), the Enchantress.

What’s Good: Avengers Prime once again proves that it’s by far the most successful of Bendis’ Avengers offerings so far.  The writer channels some of the best Avengers’ writers of yore and tells a nice, old-fashioned tale of the Big Three stuck in a fantastical world they know nothing about, yet the plot and execution never feel old-fashioned in a negative way.  The writer especially seems to be having a blast with Iron Man’s scenes, playing up the arrogance and cockiness of Tony Stark and then throwing him into a conversation with trolls and a big lizard guy who have no patience for either.  Bendis’ cross-cutting between the three heroes’ scenes toward the end, building up to a big reveal, was also a nice touch and significantly amplified the suspense.  No easy feat when all three scenes were filled with talking heads.  Selling Bendis’ script and making this issue work in a way that no one else could have is, of course, Alan Davis.  The penciller’s work, along with Mark Farmer’s inks, looks better than it has in years, and it’s never not looked great.  Davis’ energetic figures and faces are the foundation of this comic book, and I’m elated that such a fine artist is supplying the visuals for this.