Norman Osborne is creating a new team of Avengers to replace the former one that was disbanded after the secret invasion of the alien Skrulls. But few heroes want to join this team. So Osborne draws from reformed villains from the Thunderbolts, a few real super heroes and a lot of villains in order to create a team that looks almost as real as the real Avengers. Will Osborne impose his dark vision of the Avengers on the world?

Sometimes, what sound cool on paper doesn’t make much sense in a comic book. The effort with which Osborne try to find ciphers for the real Avengers looks smart but it’s not. First, many of the legacies he borrows from already exist. There is a Ms. Marvel flying around already. Wolverine’s son, Daken is here calling himself Wolverine. Venom also masquerades as Spider-man. The main problem with the fake Wolverine and Spider-man is that both are considered villains. Just this week, in Amazing Spider-man, the police shot Spider-man. Why then would an Avengers’ team trying to look respectable, welcome a fake Spider-man sanctioned by the government? Much of what Bendis writes has structural inconsistencies that his editors fail to point out. The concepts he introduces are interesting but they are rendered useless by poor execution.

Here, Deodato tries to make Osborne look like Richard Nixon. I guess that when a villain of the day is needed, Nixon’s the man to ape. I don’t like how Deodato poses his characters. Their gestures feel painful and stretched. If I were ever to stand like any of them, I would have chronic back pain. He’s also the type of illustrator that has muscles always in a pumping mode, never relaxed. Well, looking at his work did not relax me. Hopefully this series can end quickly once this crossover is over.