Although the first three issues of this series felt like they were self contained and had a definitive beginning and an end, it is clear that Hickman has a bigger picture that he is playing with, and we see a glimpse of that here/ The being that the Avengers are introduced to at the start of this series plays an important role not only in this issue, but in this story in general. It's great to see Hickman circle back to a concept we saw previously, something I think that is essential to the story he is trying to tell. The dialogue is fantastic: it sets up the story in a compelling way and it clues us into the direction that Hickman plans on taking this series. Not only do we get a great story, but we have equally gorgeous art, too. Hickman manages to teeter between executing a story that is compelling and complex while still accessible to new readers. Read Full Review

If you haven't been following this series, you're going to regret it. Read Full Review

I've been loving Hickman's Avengers so far, and this is simply another very strong issue. I love Hickman's insistence on introducing us to his new characters, as it gives us a good chance to become familiar with them as we move forth into the next few issues, where the team deals with the White Event, which is what both this series and New Avengers has been leading to. It's definitely an exciting time to be an Avengers fan, and these next few issues will further prove just that. Read Full Review

It's really fascinating to see how many storylines Jonathan Hickman can juggle. I admire very much the scale of the story and all the planning that went into this before pen could even touch paper, and that's only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to good things about this book. Under his guidance, Earth's Mightiest Heroes are grander than ever before, and things haven't even gotten fully started yet. I feel like a transition from zero to sixty is coming really soon, and I'll be welcoming it with open arms. Read Full Review

Adam Kubert's art and Frank Martin's colors are fine. I still miss Jerome Opea, but Kubert is consistent and that counts for a tremendous amount in a comic that's come out three times in four weeks. As things go haywire in this arc it will be interesting to see if he changes up his panel layouts at all. They're very linear, which works for now but will be less appropriate as chaos ensues. Read Full Review

I have enjoyed these last 3 issues immensely as they have spotlighted characters that I would not have read about otherwise. This particular issue seems to link in very nicely to the next story arc we will be seeing in this series. As of right now there is quite a bit of darkness surrounding what it all means, but I trust Hickman to tell a great story with it. Whatever it is, it feels like it is going to be huge. Read Full Review

Avengers is moving forward again after spending the past two issues delving deeper into characters who will likely feature somewhere, somehow down the line. While issue #6 also focuses on a new character, the plot points involving Captain Universe and its host that point to an immediate and urgent threat that could destroy all life could be the reason for justifying the Avengers title's premise which is building a bigger team to deal with bigger threats. Read Full Review

The real difference to the formula of these past few issues is that there's less question of how this new Avengers recruit fits into the larger picture. Hickman caps off this pseudo-arc by circling back to the larger events covered in issue #3 and a major new development that provides the spark for the next story. These character-focused issues have been enjoyable, but it'll be good to see what path the series takes from here. Read Full Review

As for the big surprise at the end, older comic fans will see the significance and gasp a little, but there's enough information here so people who don't get the reference will still understand that something big is happening. It's a sharp, neat little twist and in hindsight it fits in well with what was already presented in "Avengers" #1-3. Hickman does a great job here, and he and Kubert turn a quiet story into one that's still captivating. I've never been a big "Avengers" reader in the past, but comics like this continue to make me a fan. Well done. Read Full Review

dam Kubert and Frank Martin look as polished and painterly as I've ever seen them, which makes the small emotional moments " Shang eying the most powerful person in the universe intently, or Spidey giving a nasty smirk " some real oomph. Combined with a nice cliffhanger, this was a fun read. Read Full Review

Side note: Hickman printed an alphabet to his Hickmanese characters. Hopefully someone will go back and decipher all of Nightmaskdialogue. Read Full Review

After a somewhat lackluster last issue, Hickman delivers a solid end to his series of character introductions, and opens the next leg of the Avengers universe-spanning adventures on a tense cliffhanger. Team dynamics come into some play here as Spider-Man butts heads with Canonball and Sunspot, and Tony has to play parent to the teammates quarrelling under his roof. These scenes balance the dramatic, otherworldly tone of the Captain Universe story, showing the very flawed, human side of this large and formidable team. Kuberts pencils are solid throughout and provide a cinematic sense of movement through the story, especially during Captain Marvels meditation scenes with Shang-Chi. Overall a very satisfying issue. Read Full Review

Hickman is quickly becoming Marvel‘s Grant Morrison, and while that may turn off some readers, those that have stuck with Morrison over the years have come to realize that despite heady subject matter, confusing chapters, and massive stories, there can also be a greater sense of satisfaction at the end. Avengers is going to be a very big and very long story, and readers that are patient with Hickman will ultimately be rewarded. If you're looking for a series that is going to get a lot of mileage I would suggest this one, because re-reads will definitely be necessary along the way, making that $3.99 bi-weekly price tag a little more bearable. Read Full Review

Overall, however, I just don't think I'm a fan of Hickman's jumbled storytelling. For all his talk about putting together a bigger, better team of Avengers, he has done very little to actually build the team dynamic and character interactions. But maybe that's the point. He's kind of just relying on the idea of the Avengers rather than actually focusing on the team or the characters. I guess that might work. We'll see. I'm just not yet convinced of Hickman's greatness on Avengers. Read Full Review

This issue is one of the better issues of the series, but the problem is the pacing. It's been six issues and we've not been moving too much toward any real plot. Again, we've had a three-part arc followed by individual character-driven issues. We have a pretty neat cliffhanger, but considering how much the characters are sitting around and talking, standing and talking, and eating and talking, it's really betraying the pace of this book and is more approximating to what it must be like to be an Avenger on an off day than any serious build toward this cosmic event. Read Full Review

It's not as good as the last issue, but a decent outing nonetheless with art that comes as something of a relief. Read Full Review

If you don't know, the White Event was what caused the New Universe to launch back in the eighties and Nightmask was one of the characters that was featured promenently in the universe. What does it mean? Not sure yet but I can tell you that my interest in the Avengers has increased greatly after this issue and it went from a five out of ten to a solid seven. That is how excited I am for this development. Read Full Review

It would be easy to just copy past what I said about issue 5 here and change a few names. This book just doesn't feel like an Avengers book, it's more like one of those old anthology series where every book featured a different hero. We just keep getting "Oh yea this guy you've never heard of before, yea he's cool and here's why he's important to you" and well no, just no. I want to see Hulk smash, and Captain America punch people in the face. Read Full Review

And now we get a full alphabet... While not as good as last issue, the new Captain Universe's origin was tragic enough. I, for a brief moment, forgot that Spider-Man was Ock at this point. There's no indication of that change. You'd just have to know why Spider-Man is a dick now. And what a dick he is, it's great. Not to mention, the New Universe stuff is neat. It's kind of ridiculous how much Hickman (and later, Aaron) seem to care about the New Universe. I don't, typically. It's this run that made me care, what little I do. So, maybe this re-read will make me care an adequate amount.

Not as smashing as the prior issue but solid regardless.