Neurotrash

New Avengers #18
writer: Brian Michael Bendis
artist: Mike Deodato Jr
published by Marvel Comics

For the most part, much as I naysayed the book beforehand, New Avengers has kicked unholy amounts of booty.
Where I found his run on Daredevil to be talky and at times wholly pointless, he seems to have gotten the gist of what makes a team book like Avengers or JLA tick -- conflicts far beyond the ken of any one hero.
The latest threat brings the new team to Bendis' old stomping grounds of Cleveland, Ohio to confront a mysterious individual named Michael who seems to be not only unstoppable but also possessed of enough power to bring back Ms Marvel's Binary powers with little or no effort on his part...and to spontaneously disassemble Iron Man's armor without even batting an eyelash.
Half of the Avengers are scrambling for those answers on the SHIELD Helicarrier while the other half is getting their asses handed to them in Cleveland. At the end, Spider-Man seems to have figured it out, but Michael's streaking back to the conflict, and it doesn't look good for Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
My theory? Michael's possessed of all those missing mutant powers that Scarlet Witch turned off on M Day. Which means that the lead-up to this summer's Civil War crossover may also finish off the whole House of M/Decimation storyline for good. Considering that the whole thing's been going on for a year, that's probably for the best.