The Marvel Rundown: Earth’s Mightiest hit a milestone with AVENGERS #800

This week, the Avengers hit rarified air with Avengers #800. Plus in the jampacked Rapid Rundown, the team takes a look at Battleworld #5, Dungeons of Doom #1, Logan: Black, White, and Blood #1, and Ultimates #20

Avengers #800/34

Writers: Jed MacKay Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Farid Karami, Mark Bagley
Inkers: John Dell with Scott Hanna
Color Artist: Federico Blee, Frank D’Armata
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit

Avengers #34 (Avengers #800 under Marvel’s Legacy Numbering system) features Jed MacKay’s Avengers run entering the endgame. The issue itself serves as a recap of all the key events from MacKay’s run on the Avengers (and Marvel universe as a whole) as the Avengers, in defiance of Kang’s victory, negotiate for the right to the Grail device. This is an issue that will have more eyes on it thanks to its legacy numbering milestone and the much-advertised return of Bendis to Marvel. Given that, this issue’s structure as a giant recap serves its purpose as a jumping on point quite well.

Despite not being the biggest Avengers fan, I have been checking in on MacKay’s Avengers run these past couple of years. I am comfortable saying that I am in the target demo for this issue and MacKay delivered the recaps quite well. It features each of the principal members of the Avengers stating their case and does well to highlight those missing key moments. For devoted readers of the book, this issue may come off as a clip show, but the ending reveal will leave them excited. The issue is structured effectively in bringing in the reader with the frantic battle against Kang’s forces before delivering the recaps. It never drags too long and MacKay’s dialog and character beats keep the story moving swiftly.

Farid Karami’s art is well executed as it moves from action scenes to what is effectively storybook style splash page summaries of key events like Bloodhunt, Fall of the House of X, One World Under Doom and more. It is no easy task to keep all these moments visually distinct and interesting.

The main draw for this issue for me was the Bendis back-up. Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley team up once again this time to tell a simple Avengers story. The premise of the story is that Captain America has signaled for back up against Madame Hyrda using the Avengers’ classic Membership Card. One by one Avengers young and old come to their aide all while representing the anniversary of the first Avengers Team Up. It is a simple but enjoyable short that you would expect for this kind of anniversary issue. The story takes a backseat to the celebration of the team’s long history.

Bendis uses his signature dialog, that I personally enjoy, as it is quick and snappy. I understand that it is not for everyone, but I have always found it entertaining. The art by Bagley isn’t my favorite by him but it is done well. Considering there are pages with scores of Avengers members present, Bagley successfully executes the job.

As a whole Avengers #34/#800 is a sold recap for lapse readers who want to check back in on MacKay’s run as it comes to its conclusion. It is also a fun throwback for fans of the Avengers from 2005-2012 with the Bendis back-up story. I had a great time with this issue but recognize that it is not for everyone.

Final Verdict: STRONG BROWSE

The Rapid Rundown

• Battleworld #5

  

  • Battleworld was a fun mini-series, but ultimately, I don’t know what Battleworld was about. Was it an early synergy mix for upcoming movies, following Doomsdayand Secret Wars, and the rumored Battleworld movie? My biggest takeaway is its mental health stance, as all of the characters were not at their best, with a very positive message that it’s very much ok to ask for help. And if that’s not a Hank Pym story, I don’t know what is. I miss the concept of him being the Scientist Supreme, and if Marvel decides to bring that back, then writer Christos Gage and artist Marcus To are the team. This book is a Hank Pym project, and Gage gets the tone of this hero who struggles to not only do good, but be good. And To’s art is a fun, high-speed panorama, the characterizations are tight and engaging, along with color artist Rachelle Rosenberg‘s intense palette, Battleworld has some great battle scenes. Readers will have a fun time with the mix and match of characters leveling up and working together. I’m not sure where this book is supposed to fit in the Pantheon of Marvel stories, but it’s funny that this early in 2026, we get two comics in the same week from Marvel that have very cerebral Star Trek – GC3

• 

  Dungeons of Doom #1

  • Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Benjamin Percy, Dungeons of Doom #1 is a macabre thriller, a mix of political intrigue, horror, and good old fashioned action. The issue is broken into vignettes following multiple parties vying for control of Latveria and Dr. Doom’s secrets in the wake of his death in One World Under Doom. Each story is compelling in its own right, short as they are, and each party represents their own brand of hubris and political violence. Like much of both Johnson’s and Perch’s work, this grapples with the moral costs and weight of violence, as each character descends into hell. The art team, including line artists Justin Mason, Robert Gill, Carlos Magno, Georges Janty, and Karl Story lean into heavy blacks to set the eerie mood. They are each called upon to draw gruesome scenes of monsters and torture, and the book is full of sickeningly gorgeous work. Most poignant, though, is how the artists imbue Doom’s underground dungeon with a sense of scale, with tiny figures dwarfed by the massive rock walls and sculptures. Helpless sinners doomed in a devil’s playground. The colors by Guru-eFX dont just these narrative threads together but are critical to the mood and storytelling. This is a dark book dripping with foreboding, all but completely sapped of warm colors or the light of day. Every part of the visual, including the letters by VC’s Travis Lanham make this book drip with palpable tension. This is a gripping first issue, that leverages the current status quo to do something unique and fascinating. – TR

• Logan: Black, White & Blood #1

  

  • Right now, Marvel seems committed to publishing at least two of these black, white, and red anthologies on a monthly basis. Last week was Marvel: Black, White, Blood and Guts. This week we getLogan: Black, White, and Blood joining this line up.There is a solid enough set of stories here though nothing that reads as essential to knowing the character. All of the stories take place in at a different point before Logan becomes the superhero Wolverine. And for a character with a long lived shady past, that’s kind of perfect. The idea offers possibilities in terms of genre that at least in this issue the creative teams seem inspired by. In terms of quality, the best story has to be the Larry Hama and Dave Watcher collaboration “Red Claws”. Hama, maybe the longest tenured writer on the character after Chris Claremont, knows how to craft a compelling short with this mostly silent story of a post-Weapon X Logan. Watcher is one of the best artists at Marvel right now and his ability to capture body language proves especially useful for this experiment in form. He uses a lot of white space here to convey both the beauty and cruelty of nature at the heart of Hama’s script. Someone should get these two to collaborate on a longer Wolverine story. Current Wolverine writer Saladin Ahmed and legendary Wolverine artists Adam Kubert tell what turns into a pretty silly noir with the character in the 70s. And the opening story by Tom Waltz and Alex Lin tries to tie in Logan’s history with another character. Waltz gets the tone of the character right even if the reveal at the end seems less revelatory than he wants. At least, Lin draws some fun violence. Ultimately though, this is about placing the character in different settings and experimenting with the limits of a black, white, and red palette. In that respect, it at least succeeds even if the stories never turn this into a must read. – DM

• Ultimates #20

  

  • Ultimates #20, written by Deniz Campand with art by Phil Noto, continues to be a real treat to read. Even if this one was a bit wordier, it still presented the war between the Ultimates and the Maker interestingly by focusing on the newly introduced Vision. This rendition of Vision is markedly different from his main Earth-616 counterpart, and the twist to his character fits perfectly within the world of the Ultimates. Especially when compared to the role of Nick Fury in H.A.N.D. Camp does an excellent job placing the two as foils in this issue and continues to showcase how grand-scale the war of the world has become without losing the primary focus.
    The art is relatively simple, and many characters share a similar facial structure. However, Noto’s art really captures some of the key moments of the issue, especially near the end, when the action ramps up. I’m partially biased towards the end, since all the cards are finally flipped over. While Ultimates doesn’t focus on the interconnected team dynamics I’d like, it is still one of the best books Marvel is putting out right now, just from how well it plays with the universe. It’ll be interesting to see what comes next month in the Avengers/Defenders War. -LM