Broken Frontier

A final confrontation in Japan ensues between the Silver Samurai, the Hand and the Avengers, but will both sides find the answers they seek? Find out in this concluding story arc.

They say all good things must come to an end, and in this case the final issue to the Ronin story arc came to a conclusion. The story also marked the final appearance of artist David Finch, who is leaving the series to work on the upcoming Moon Knight mini. Finally, this story arc was also noted for the appearance of the mysterious avenger named Ronin, and the big reveal with the character at the end may not be what readers expected.

The story opens with the big showdown between the Avengers, the Hand and the Silver Samurai going down in Japan. There is some confusion in the beginning of the melee, but the team quickly dispatches various members of the Hand leaving the Silver Samurai defenseless. Captain America wants answers as to why the Silver Samurai was released from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, but Cage reacts prematurely and decks him. Cap gets enraged and he orders Luke to stand down, since something isn’t right about the situation.

The Samurai blurts out that he believes America is rotten to the core because S.H.I.E.L.D. is corrupted, and of course his statement doesn’t sit well with the New Avengers. The team just seems to be getting more questions than answers, but they have no just cause in detaining the Samurai and forcing him back to the States. Instead, they take Madame Hydra back with them and while riding in the Quinjet, Spider-Woman acts aloof and basically causes the escape hatch to open. Madame Hydra ultimately escapes and thus more mystery surrounds this mission, and now Spider-Woman’s motives become questionable.

I am not sure this arc was as good as most people think. In fact I find Brian Michael Bendis to be self indulgent as a writer, and at times it shows in his scripts. I found this story arc to be very ineffective, and it didn’t at all resemble the classic adventures this team has been known to go out on in the past. The only positive out of this whole arc was the mystery behind Ronin, and although the big reveal at the end wasn’t what I expected I did enjoy it for the most part. It will be interesting to see if Ronin remains a member and joins the team for future missions. The flip side to the writing saw competent art from David Finch, but I still feel his work in general doesn’t fit a team-oriented book like Avengers. David’s work is grittier in feeling and I think he will be way more suited to a book like Moon Knight instead. I will be looking forward to the next issue with Frank Cho chronicling the team’s adventures for the next two issues.

Overall I don’t have much to say about the New Avengers. I think this is the kind of book where you will either love it or hate it and I am leaning towards dropping the title from pull list. I guess the only reason I don’t is because I have been a longtime Avengers fan, and I still hope this team can return to those glorious days.