"Return of the Illuminati" or "Has anyone seen my Infinity Gem?"

Avengers #8: Return of the Illuminati


I had previously dropped this title because I am not a fan of the work John Romita jr. has been doing on this book. Romita's style is not a style I would put on a more mainstream book as the Avengers, I prefer his more cosmic stuff like his run on the Eternals. The blocky look to his drawings make it hard to distinguish who is who apart from the costumes. Even though I dislike the art style I decided to pick this book up for several reasons, I tend to enjoy Bendis' writing style, master of the superhero banter, and I wanted to see what they were going to do with the Infinity Gauntlet.

The issue opens with Iron Man waiting for the rest of his Illuminati cohorts to arrive. The interactions between this group of "hero masterminds" are spot on with the slight distrust due to the events of the past. The last to arrive was expected to be Black Bolt but his wife Medusa of the Inhumans comes in his stead with news that Black Bolt is dead. Before anyone can show grief for the loss of Black Bolt, Iron Man steps in and says that the reason he called the meeting is too important to delay. Someone has stolen two of the six Infinity Gems.

The rest of the issue retells the events that led Tony (Iron Man) to discover that someone is trying to gather all the gems. So far the thief, Who we know is Parker Robbins (the Hood), has stolen one from the Inhumans old home in the Himalayas, Attilan, and one from an unopenable pocket dimension safe at the Baxter building. The Illuminati journey to Attilan to look for clues but just as they are making some discoveries the Illuminati are interrupted by Avengers led by Steve Rogers. Steve asks one question that sums up his feelings on the Illuminati, "Tony...What are you doing?"

This was an enjoyable issue and I look forward to seeing how things play out. I like Parker Robbins being the big bad villain after the Infinity gems because unlike Thanos from the Infinity Gauntlet series, Parker is just a power hungry villain who is very motivated and resourceful. I am also interested in how Captain Steve and the other Avengers are going to react to the whole Illuminati thing and these select few "leaders" deciding the fate of the Universe. Are they the best people for the job?

For more info on the Infinity Gauntlet series watch for our podcast reviewing it coming soon .