REVIEW: New Avengers – The Reunion #’s 1-4

Wed, Jun 24, 2009

I’ve always been a HUGE Avengers guy, and Hawkeye’s always been one of my favorite Avengers. So, I was thrilled back in the 80’s when Hawkeye, aka Clint Barton, was given his own mini-series, in which he met super-spy Bobbi Morse, aka Mockingbird. That mini was written and penciled by the late great Mark Gruenwald, and was full of fun banter, beautiful artwork, and ridiculous villains, ending with Hawkeye and Mockingbird’s having been married after a whirlwind courtship. That mini led to Hawkeye and his new bride being founders of the West Coast Avengers, with Hawkeye being the Chairman of this new group. Alas, during a battle with the Devil of the Marvel Universe himself, Mephisto, Mockingbird was struck down, making Hawk a widower in Avengers West Coast #100.

West Coast Avengers Cover Or was she? Turns out the Mockingbird that was killed was just a Skrull in disguise, as revealed during the Secret Invasion. The REAL Mockingbird was held captive, along with other kidnapees of the Marvel U, on the Skrull Homeworld. But now she’s back, and struggling to come to terms with not only her ordeal during her captivity, but also her marriage to Hawkeye, which had been on the rocks when she was abducted. Wow, complicated, huh?

Hawkeye Cover New Avengers: The Reunion details her reactions to a world she doesn’t recognize anymore, and her relationship with Hawk, a man she’s no longer sure she wants to be with, not to mention a man who’s no longer Hawkeye anymore. He’s taken the identity of Ronin, though he’ll always be Hawkeye to me. I thought the writing on this series was done well, as I appreciated the banter between the two of them as they fell easily into making fun of each other and flirting, much as she wanted to resist. The characterizations were spot on, especially Clint’s struggle to give Mockingbird her time to work out what she was keeping from him. There were also some great one-liners in this series, (Mockingbird to female villain: “This isn’t a catfight. This is me kicking your ass!”). I liked the spy-slant to the story, and Clint and Bobbie’s bickering took on a Mr. And Mrs. Smith style of one-upmanship. The villain, along with the plot she was trying to carry out, was TOO much of an afterthought, in my opinion. I know that this is more a story about Hawkeye and Mockingbird, but still…

New Avengers Cover I didn’t appreciate the artwork as much, finding it a bit too Manga-influenced and really hating the washed-out looking colors. Clint looked SO baby-faced when out of costume to the point of distraction, but I did like the redesign of Mockingbird’s costume. I don’t think the artist, David Lopez, is suited for action packed stories like this one. He seems like he’d be perfect for a title like Runaways. Despite my misgivings about the artwork, I thought the covers by Jo Chen were very attractive and dynamic.

All in all, I liked this series more than I thought I would after the first issue. Despite my misgivings to play spoiler, I wasn’t thrilled with the open style, though hopeful, ending. Here’s hoping that this will lead to more stories starring these characters… I’d love to see a revamp of the West Coast Avengers… and that Hawkeye will finally be spotlighted in some stories worthy of the character. Not the best, but not bad.
(my rating for this mini-series)

Item Reviewed: New Avengers - The Reunion #'s 1-4 Marvel Comic Book Mini-Series
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Reviewer: Don Chiavon
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2009
Summary: "The writing on this series was done well." "I didn’t appreciate the artwork as much." "Not the best, but not bad."