Well, this trade was all over the place in terms of quality. It started off really slowly with the "Venom bomb" turning the people of New York City - and some of its superheroes! - into symbiote hosts. But the trail leads the Mighty Avengers to Latveria and Doctor Doom, and things started improving from there - even though there are a ridiculous amount of splash pages in one of the issues.

I like how Bendis writes Doom, and I found myself laughing aloud a few times, especially when he started monologuing to himself. And when he compared himself to Tony and how more people hated Tony than Doom - funny, but also true. It's difficult to not enjoy Doom when he's in good writing hands.

I also like that Clint Barton (who had joined up with the anti-registration New Avengers) tells Tony off right after the Venom bomb attack. It's a small step, but at least someone is still standing up to Tony, especially after Captain America's "death."

But, other than those high points, this trade is largely uneventful. Mark Bagley, who usually does a good job with the pencils, seems off here as well. Maybe the colorist has something to do with it, but the art just looks rushed. Or maybe Mark's style is better-suited to drawing young adults (as he does in Ultimate Spider-Man) rather than adults like Tony Stark. ( )

I like the Iron Man - Dr. Doom parallels drawn. Helps highlight their particular antipathy. A lot of the rest of this reads worse now that "Secret Invasion" is over, simply because it reminds you how sweet it was gonna be and what a letdown it eventually was. But certainly it has its moments, and they are a fun team to play around with. ( )