Overall, 'Avengers' is turning out to be a well-crafted story. We're getting information as we need to know it. We have so many interesting characters to keep tabs on. And one of the best things of all, we have a villain who doesn't see his mission as villainous. He wants to help the human race "evolve" because he saw them as "worthy". Ex Nihilo doesn't see what he's doing as evil, and that's a quality in bad guys that immediately makes them more interesting. Though the complexity and sheer magnitude of this title may be a little daunting for brand new fans that are just jumping on to Marvel Comics, it's still a great book to pick up. Read Full Review

The traditional Avengers cast is still wrapped up on Mars, but Hickman's storytelling loses none of its power by relying on secondary Avengers. This comic is, in itself, a well-oiled machine: every component serves its purpose to produce something greater than the sum of its parts. Read Full Review

This second outing may not be as well put together as the first issue, but it is close. Hickman's character work stands out, especially when depicted by Opea. The big ideas might get bogged down with lengthy explanations, but the books is an entertaining read and continues to be the (unofficial) flagship title of Marvel Now! Read Full Review

Though the writing didn't impress me as much as it did last time, I still enjoyed Avengers a great dealcertainly a heck of a lot more than I have in years. There are spurts of the flair that we saw from Hickman last issue, and I hope the magic returns with issue #3. Hickman and Opena are a great creative team, and Opena's flawless visuals are basically worth the cover price alone. You should be reading this title, I've no doubt it will be among the highest sellers each month as it matures next year, and will be considered a “must-read. Read Full Review

Like other new Marvel Now titles like Uncanny Avengers, Thor God of Thunder & Indestructible Hulk, this one’s red hot and I can’t praise it any more than I already did. Make damn sure this is on your LCS’ sub-list. Read Full Review

The next issue can't arrive soon enough. Read Full Review

The rest of the issue centers on a meeting between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers discussing the future of the Avengers. It is a flashback to the past and a tried and true concept of putting a huge team together. While issues like this frustrate some the motivation of each character joining the Avengers should be appreciated. Something that will interest most readers is the strange elusive Avengers machine in which the characters spoke of. A clever reader might refer back to this specific arc of Avengers being called Avengers world and wonder if the Avengers machine ties into the idea or story arc. While many fun character moments are had this issue slowed things down a bit and smelled the roses of the first issue. However there is no need to worry until next month. For now enjoy this era of Avengers written and drawn by forward thinking people. Read Full Review

Unfortunately, my other complaint regarding issue #1 remains true here. Ex Nihilo, Abyss, and the rest of the new villains really aren't that memorable beyond their interesting visual designs. Their motivations and actions feel too reminiscent of other recent storylines like The Dark Angel Saga in Uncanny X-Force or Hickman's own Ultimates work. If anything, the similarities grow more apparent as Ex Nihilo rants about ancient beings who manipulate genetics and seeds that can remake worlds. Hopefully this problem is merely a temporary one. Hickman has made it abundantly clear, both within this book and in various outside interviews, that these early issues barely scratch the surface of what he has planned. Read Full Review

Jerome Opena's artwork is not as strong with this issue, but don't interpret that as saying his artwork isn't beautiful, cinematically charged, and comic-forward. It seems like there's a lot less action in this book, and Opena's composition still makes things interesting though some of the facial expressions aren't consistent with the rest of his work. Opena's art is complimented by the color workings of Dean White, Justin Ponsor, and Morry Hollowell. Panels are toned and flushed with colors that convey a sense of mood while other panels have broad palettes of color. Visually striking, an action packed third issue could lead to high sales as people pick one issue up for reading and another to cut and paste panels onto a bulletin board. Read Full Review

Every Marvel fan should have this in their pull list. Read Full Review

All in all this is once again another great issue which is just a small part of this epic scale world that Hickman is creating. I find myself looking forward to the next issue; which I am sure will be great due to what I believe may be a big battle between the extended team and these bad guys. I am sure the art will also flourish if the next issue is built in that way. If you are an Avengers fan then you really need to check this book out. One of the books of the week for sure. Read Full Review

It's clear Hickman does have a plan here, with characters beginning to show what roles they'll be taking and how the team will be operating from here on out. It's ambitious enough to seem fresh, while retaining everything uniquely Marvel. I'm really looking forward to seeing it all unfold. Read Full Review

And I guess that bi-monthly thing is the deal-breaker. If I'd had to wait a full month for this issue since the last (and another month until the next) I don't think I'd have been quite as unforgiving, but fortnightly instalments help alleviate certain pacing issues. This issue features more exposition and world-building than I'd have expected but it's still exciting and still exhibits such a dramatic shift from the Avengers books I've been reading for the last 10 years that I'm enough in its thrall to forgive most of its slight shortcomings. And at least it's only two weeks until we get to see what this new team of Avengers can do – I'll be saving my deepest breath yet for that one! Read Full Review

For a comic that spends most of its time in flashback, I never once felt like I was getting cheated of a real story. Probably by design, this comic feels like a sequel to the Avengers film, but it also hits so many of the wider Marvel Universe's beats that no long time comic fan could resist it. It reminds me a little bit of Grant Morrison's work on JLA from the late 90s in its unapologetic embracing of the highest powered, wildest elements of what these characters are capable of facing. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Avengers feels like the centerpiece of the entire Marvel NOW! line, and it looks like there's good reason for that. Read Full Review

"Avengers" #2 may not have a great deal to do with the feature film, and the layman coming into comic shops looking for the silver screen team might be put off by the cover price or double-shipping schedule, but there is simply no denying that Hickman has a plan. As the plan begins to take shape and the characters start to settle in to their roles, "Avengers" is a wonderful offering from Marvel NOW! It's the one title I'm actually damn glad to spend eight dollars on a month for what I get, especially since it's so far a story worthy of the "Avengers" brand. Hickman proved his mettle on "Fantastic Four" and his investigations of the perimeter of the Marvel Universe in this title pick up where that left off, adding more depth to the universe around the Avengers. I may not be exceptionally keen to the inclusions and exclusions on this team, but I trust Hickman will continue to make a strong enough case for me to appreciate the work he's done. Read Full Review

This title continues to impress. Pick this up – you'll be missing out on a great story if you don't. Read Full Review

This issue definitely has its flaws in the way some characters are introduced to the story, and although that was unfortunate, I think that Hickman has managed to lay a lot of the groundwork for the over-arching story in a very eloquent, well written way. It will certainly be interesting to see how Hickman deals with having so many different characters on board and whether he is able to successfully give each member of this new, very large, Avengers team their own time in the spotlight in this series. I do hope it doesn't turn into another Captain America, Thor and Iron Man title with a bunch of small appearances by twenty minor characters -- I hope he is able to give each of those lesser known characters their own time in the sun, at least a little bit. Still, an overall pretty solid issue of AVENGERS that left me looking forward to issue #3. Read Full Review

I have to be honest: I'm somewhat bugged by the bi-weekly frequency of the book, something that I hope doesn't last too long, but other than that, the issue brings the same thunder that #1 did without losing too much momentum. I'll be interested to see how (if at all) the upcoming moments of Peter Parker and Carol Danvers' books affect this story, and I think that the inclusion of Wolverine feels very much sales-driven, but overall #2 doesn't drop the ball that #1 so ably put into play. Avengers #2 looks good, reads well and has a lot of good character stuff to play with, earning a very nicely done 4 out of 5 stars overall. Assuming this first arc to be six issues long, I think we're precisely where we need to be at this point in the story, and Hickman seems to have a lot of arrows in his storytelling quiver for this big relaunch... Read Full Review

But Hickman has taken that in stride, and given some very compelling in story reasons for a bigger team, and deftly manages to tie in, somewhat, the core team from the film as the core team here. We also get a glimpse at Tony's big board of names, and some easy to spot names such as Brian Braddock (Captain Britain), Bonita Juarez (Firebird), Marc Spector (Moon Knight) and Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk) are listed as potential future members of the team, and fit into what Hickman has said in various interviews, which is that the team will expand and change over time. This, in terms of scope, feels almost too big. This, unfortunately, continues the trend of Marvel making all non-Mutants Avengers, and no longer having unaffiliated heroes. But that is not Hickman's problem; he has to create a functional team and an exciting book with the characters at his disposal. And for the most part, he does that quite well. Read Full Review

There's still a long way to go to make Avengers the title it ought to be. While Jonathan Hickman seems to have a grasp on where he wants to take the team, these first two issues have seemed more like a means to an end, rather than a blockbuster opening volley. Issue three will be a crucial point; now that the Avengers are assembled, it's time to see them in action. Avengers #2 continued the previous issue's build up. Now, let's see Earth's Mightiest Heroes really earn that mantle. Read Full Review

A decent issue, but not as good as the previous. I would still recommend this issue, but mainly to Avengers or Hickman fans. Otherwise I would recommend waiting to see reviews for the remainder of the story before buying, and either getting back copies, or the collected trade paperback, if you think it's for you. Read Full Review

During MarvelNow! the Avengers have been able to see a rebirth with Avengers #2 being a clear example of this. Even with its slow moments Jonathan Hickman is able to show the importance of the Avengers always being around and a valid reason for the team to expand its roster. The mixture of former Avengers, X-Men and Secret Warriors is makes the mission to save the captured Avengers from Ex Nihlo even more important. If you want to pick up a team book that has blockbuster event feel with every issue than pick up Jonathan Hickman's Avengers. Read Full Review

The issue is mostly just a whole lot of talking. Ex Nihilo talks a lot, getting his origin out of the way without much fanfare. Hickman seems to introduce some new wrinkle to Marvel's cosmic history, which comes off more as presumptuous than actually interesting. So Ex Nihilo was birthed by the earliest civilization in the universe? Good for him. Ex Nihilo has no depth beyond his polite desire to evolve the human race. The recruitment scenes are entertaining, but short. And most of the characters were already Avengers before Marvel Now! So I don't see why Cap would have to re-recruit the likes of Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel or others. When did they stop being Avengers? Seeing new characters like Cannonball, Sunspot and Manifold was more entertaining. Hickman seems to have a lot of big ideas for this series, but the actually implementation of those ideas is utterly generic. Read Full Review

This whole inspiring Avengers World idea is rather sinister in context. This issue was fun. The highlight was Spider-Man's recruitment. And Hickman's love for Sunspot is apparent, even back then. I honestly completely forgot about the builders beyond their role in Infinity, so I relearned a bunch here. I understand why I forgot about the builders...