As It Stands: Avengers Standoff Recap – Week Eight

Welcome to As It Stands, our weekly recap of everything going on in the Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill spring event. 

The crossover hits the last two tie-ins before next week’s finale!

Previously in Avengers Standoff: Steve Rogers was revitalized by sentient cosmic cube Kobik during a riot in Pleasant Hill. The New Avengers stopped being Avengers and just became AIM when they broke Rick Jones out of S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Songbird revealed herself to be a double agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. The military sent American Kaiju to AIM’s island base, and S.H.I.E.L.D. used the distraction to try to get Rick Jones back.

SPOILERS AHEAD! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

Captain America: Sam Wilson #8

Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, and Steve Rogers talk a lot about Steve being young and powerful again, then help Mach VII to fight off a few villains like Whiplash and the Scorcher. Captain America officially says Sam can keep the shield, and the three Captains America are all best friends again, just in time to join up with the casts of All-New All-Different Avengers and Uncanny Avengers. Meanwhile, agent Avril Kincaid hunts down a weapon in Pleasant Hill’s museum while Kraven The Hunter throws a cute tea party to lure young Kobik out of hiding.

New Avengers #10

While the former New Avengers pilot a giant robot to defeat the American Kaiju, Songbird turns on Hawkeye and tries to recapture Rick Jones. Hawkeye sacrifices himself and is captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. but Rick gets away. At close of the issue, he’s still hiding on the island somewhere as the team runs off to a second base in the Savage Land, where they recruit Sunspot’s best bro, Cannonball, into the new Secret Avengers. Nothing remotely resembling the cover ever happens.

More from Comics

• X-Men: 6 reasons why Marvel’s mutants are the best superhero team
• Harley Quinn renewed for a fifth season on Max (and it’s well-deserved)
• Marvel Comics announces seven important X-Men comic books
• The X-Men were betrayed by Captain America in Uncanny Avengers
• Spider-Man: Miles and Peter team-up for their first ongoing series

This week’s New Avengers seemed to have a little more to do with Avengers Standoff than the last one did, but the link is still tenuous, so I only recommend this issue to people who were already following the title. Sam Wilson continues to be incredible, packed with humor and heart and laced with keen political commentary. The Sam Wilson story beats seem pretty important to the overall story and the Marvel Universe as a whole. As the crossover winds down, it seems pretty obvious that this is a terrific Nick Spencer story to which someone has tacked mildly-related, poorly coordinated lesser titles. Budget-conscious readers are advised to pretend this story only exists in the prelude, the Alpha and Omega issues, and the Captain America: Sam Wilson books.

Next week, Avengers Standoff hits the conclusion in Avengers Standoff: Assault On Pleasant Hill Omega. 

To keep track of our recap coverage, watch this link and see you next week for a last goodbye!