So who has Bendis offed?

I'm trying to work out how much fucking with the Avengers is too much, and within what context.

I'm conflicted about the current Avengers storyline. I don't really see the point of tearing down a 40 year old institution, and most of the characters seemed, well, out of character or just cardboard cutouts standing around in the background. Tony pulling funding shouldn't automatically force everyone to give up what they've worked so hard at for years, especially if the inspirational heart of the team (Cap) is still willing to make a go of it without the fancy bells and whistles. (OMG! THINK OF JARVIS! WHERE WILL HE GO?!? WHAT WILL HE DO?!?)

That said, I think the method he chose wasn't that bad once you swallow the bitter pill of the basic story premise. It's not as if Wanda hasn't cracked and tried to kill the team before (more than once!). And although it's structurally questionable to have Dr. Strange pop up, lecture the team in their own book, and save the day while everyone else stands around, I have to admit Bendis wrote the good Doctor himself better than anyone has in years. I chuckled when he asked "Why didn't you people come to me when this happened?"

Oh, they might have wanted to mention that Wanda's delusional pregnancy ended up creating the twins out of big steaming chunks of Mephisto while they were at it. And, since Cap, Ms. Marvel, the Wasp, and the Beast were all present they might have brought up the revelation from years back that Wanda's magic wasn't a result of her mutant power, it was granted to her at birth by the elder demon god Cthon so it could use her as a host body and take over the friggin' universe.

Big WTF?!? moments for me were the implication that Cap and Wanda had gotten romantically involved (wasn't Wonder Man standing right there? Has Cap no common sense?), Wonder Man himself not popping like a soap bubble when Wanda collapsed (she brought him back from the dead a while back because she missed him so much!), and Nick Fury mentioning she was Magneto's daughter as if criminal behavior is genetic like alcoholism. (Dude, maybe it wasn't so much being conceived by Magneto as being treated like a hot potato during her formative years and raised by a talking cow and then a band of Gypsies before she was recruited as a mutant terrorist?)

As others have said, my issues with Bendis stem solely from the normal, mainstream Avengers. Ultimates doesn't bug me--I even enjoy it in small doses--but it's meant to be a through-the-looking-glass Avengers.

Avengers, like Justice League, was always supposed to be something more, and Bendis treated it like it was a house of cards, waiting for a light breeze. Hawkeye and Ant-Man dead, characters retconned to where there's been no development for years. I just don't believe it would fall apart that quickly, or easily. The last thing it took to destroy the Avengers entirely was most of them being apparently dead. And I know the team's coming back with a bunch of new members-yawn-but as much as I love Luke Cage, Jessica Drew and Spider-Man, they ain't the Avengers.

Okay, I just re-read IC 1-6, and I'm still stumped.

One question: when Dr. Light attacked Sue, why wasn't Supes with the rest of the JLA?

One question: when Dr. Light attacked Sue, why wasn't Supes with the rest of the JLA?

Any number of reasons. One, he was a part-timer. Two, he could have been back dealing with Hector Hammond while half the team dealt with the emergency on the satallite. Or, he could have just been on his own case. Even then he had multiple titles, after all. (:

Well, I don't suspect Supes, but it just seemed weird -- and since Batman was on the satellite after all, I can't help wondering if Supes was, too, and also got mind-wiped.

Steph, I'd be truly amazed f that were true. Taking down Batman? That's one thing. Strip it all down and he's still just a guy, although on another day I could be convinced of him taking down Zatanna, Green Lantern, etc. The fact that they beat him doesn't bother me in the least. However, them beating Supes that easy? That would bug me.

No, I'm thinking that, while Supes probably has a clue what went on, and kept mum about it, I think he's laregely uninvolved. And other Leaguers weren't there, either--J'Onn, Aquaman, Red Tornado, Hawkgirl, Firestorm. (All depending on timing, of course.)

Victor, totally. It just seemed weird to me.

Can't Zatanna take Superman just as easily as she can Batman?

Well, ita, that's debatable. I'd have to say it would depend on the day. Superman IS vulnerable to magic, and he's more inclined to hold back than Batman is, so it's possible. But even vulnerable to magic, it's still a toss up.