Mighty Avengers #25

Yay, it's time to check out the sole non-BENDIS Avengers title. Well, except for The Initiative... As always, I expect greatness from Dan Slott, so hopefully this comic will live up to my lofty expectations.

-This issue begins with a flashback from a couple of years ago involving a conversation between Pym and Bill Foster(the now deceased Black Goliath). Bill had managed to create a device that could open doorways to other dimensions. Bill's design was based on Pym Particles, which means that in a way, Pym had a hand in the device's creation. Don't worry, this will make sense eventually...

-Back in the present, Pym tells his team that thanks to the actions of Jocasta(she was trying to prevent the forces of HAMMER from following them)his lab(which is located in a side-dimension)is going to become lost in about 2 days. Basically what that means is that soon Pym and the Mighty Avengers won't be able to get back to the lab.

-US Agent and Quicksilver leave to do a job for GRAMPA, which is the international organization the Mighty Avengers have hooked up with. Upon arriving in China, Agent and Quicksilver discover GRAMPA seems to believe the Chinese Government may be establishing diplomatic ties with the Inhumans, something GRAMPA doesn't want to come to pass.

-Pym calls Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four in order to get a hold of Bill Foster's blueprints for the dimensional doorway device(the one that was mentioned in the opening flashback. See, I told you that flashback would come into play!). Apparently Bill willed the blueprints to the Thing upon his death. Mr. F outright tells Pym the blueprints are too dangerous to hand to Pym due to his questionable mental state. Mr. F then goes on to say he knows more about Pym Particles then Pym does(!!!)and throws the creation of Ultron in Pym's face(!!!). Pym curses Mr. F out and begins to plan a way to break into the Baxter Building to steal the blueprints.

-This issue ends with Pym outfitting his team with image inducers that will make them look like foes of the Fantastic Four. It appears Pym wants to lure the FF out of the Baxter Building so he can sneak in while they are away battling the phony threats. Tres sneaky Mr. Pym!

I have to say I really liked this comic! The conversation between Pym and Reed was classic! I loved the way it started out civil(well, for the most part)before it devolved into an ugly name-calling exchange. I've never made any secret about the fact that Pym is one of my favorite Avengers(that says a lot about my lack of taste!)and Dan is doing a fantastic job depicting him in this series. All issue long Pym was pulling that understated crazy act that I like so much. Pym is at his best when he is bordering on a nervous breakdown, and it looks like Pym is headed for one hell of a mental collapse.

It's funny how much better this comic was compared to New Avengers #53, which I reviewed a few nights ago. Comparing Dan Slott to Brian BENDIS is like comparing a thoroughbred horse to a rundown donkey! Dan depictions are just so dead-on, while BENDIS' are just all wrong. You can tell Dan was a fan of the Avengers with his knowledge of the team and the characters, while I seriously doubt BENDIS has EVER read an issue of the classic Avengers books. For a score, I'll give this comic a 9 out of 10. If for no other reason, you should read this comic just to see Hank Pym call Reed Richards a "bitch"!