Avengers Standoff: Welcome to Pleasant Hill #1
Nick Spencer (w), Mark Bagley (a)
Marvel Comics

Liz says: The dust may have only just settled on Secret Wars, so for those reluctant to hop back on the event book rollercoaster just yet, I implore you: Do it anyway, you’ll thank me.

Standoff started out as Nick Spencer’s idea for a Sam Wilson: Captain America subplot and eventually snowballed into an all-out Avengers crossover. Having read the first issue I can understand why; confining such a neat concept to a single title would feel like a waste.

After a vague bit of setup that clues us into some reality-altering technology in the possession of S.H.I.E.L.D., an amnesiac (whose identity isn’t clear throughout the better part of the issue) wakes to find himself in a seemingly idyllic small town, where the friendly townsfolk embrace him and help him to build a new life. But nothing is quite as it seems, and something dark lurks just beneath the town’s sunny exterior. It’s an idea you’ve seen before, or at least you think you have– until you get to a twist that will make you slap the last page down, bang your fist on the table and read the whole thing over again because it was just that satisfying.

Spencer is one of the best writers working at Marvel; he knows how to throw his readers for a loop, and that’s just what he’s managed to do here. So whether or not you bother picking up every tie-in issue, don’t skip out on the main book. This is one event that you won’t want to miss.