SPOILERS BELOW
Up until this point I've enjoyed Mark Millar and Leinil Yu's Avengers vs. New Ultimates, whether it directly tied into "The Death of Spider-Man" or not. However, there are too many examples of lazy storytelling in issue #5 to really come away satisfied with the experience.
Issue #5 picks up the action by traveling back in time to five days prior, where Nick Fury leads his Avengers team to the home of Bruce Banner's mentor, Tyrone Cash, looking for the Hulk serum. You can immediately see where this is all heading -- Nick Fury was hopped up on the juice before being shot and isn't as dead as last month's cliffhanger would have us believe. The issue then flashes back to present day and features a massive throw-down between Gregory Stark and a hulked-out Nick Fury, who's aided by the rest of his Avengers buddies, who are also 'roided out on Hulk serum. It's all a bit silly, and that's coming from a man perfectly aware that he's reading a book about men and women who play dress-up in tights to thwart crime.
If that convenient plot twist wasn't enough, Millar does it again at the issue's conclusion to get all the players in line for next issue's big climax. You'll be scratching your head and wondering how those characters got there when a few panels earlier they were clearly losing a fight somewhere completely different. Millar also fails to explain why a Chinese Spider-Man is leading a group of super soldiers in a rampage through Pyongyang, North Korea. We're left to assume what the situation is, which I gather is meant to spark an international incident. But again, it's not clearly laid out for the reader, just vaguely hinted at.
The only real consistent part of Avengers vs. New Ultimates #5 is the art of Leinil Yu and Stephen Segovia. Much like in previous issues, Yu provides mostly layouts while Segovia handles the finishes. But honestly, you wouldn't even notice this unless you looked at the issue's credit page. Yu and Segovia's work lines up so smoothly that you can't tell where one stops and the other begins. But if I had to point out one flaw in the art, it's that the coloring by Sunny Gho is rather drab.
Avengers vs. New Ultimates #5 is the most disappointing issue of the series yet. We know Mark Millar is a better storyteller than this. He uses easy outs for nearly every story beat in this issue. He's a creative guy, he could have thought up better threads to move his pawns into position. The only thing lifting this book up is the art by Yu and Segovia. If you must buy this issue, get it for the art, just don't think too hard about the logistics of the plot.
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