Avengers: the Initiative #27 - Marvel

I thought this was an interesting issue. I thought that the way Christos Gage put this story together was rather inventive. King Blastaar has taken over 42, the Negative Zone prison. Taskmaster needs villains to fill the 52 state Initiative. So, if he doesn't do something about 42, he's going to be stuck with every scumbag petty thief that comes along in order to fill the numbers. He's obviously going to have to go in, but he wants to soften up the competition first. He's gathered together all the losers that have come along to join the Initiative and told them that they would be joining the Shadow Initiative and going on a special mission. But like he tells the Constrictor, this new Shadow Initiative is really just another word for cannon fodder. So anyways, to show us what these guys are going through, Christos introduces us to Johnny Guitar and Dr. Sax. They're 2 petty thieves that have joined the Initiative with hopes of joining the 'big-show'. They've basically been losers their whole life, and this is their chance to become part of something bigger. When they're told they're going to be joining an elite group for a special mission . . they jump at it. But then Johnny finds out the truth about why they're being sent in. Johnny hasn't told Dr. Sax what's going on, so he ends up sacrificing his friendship by hurting him, to save his life. That's probably the most noble thing he's done . . ever. Anyways, the point is . . this whole group is filled with guys with similar stories. The details may be different, but they're basically all the same . . 'little-shots' trying to be 'big-shots'. And . . they pretty much all die during the battle. That pretty much takes up the whole story. The rest is spent showing how Bengal, Komodo and Butterball end up making it through all of this by keeping their heads. Also Hardball ends up helping them out when he releases Dragon Man into the fray. Dragon Man has a crush on Komodo, so . . when he sees her getting hurt he's quick to jump to her aid. By the time Taskmaster, Penance, Scorcher, and others arrive they just have to mop up . . for the most part. Hardball gets some special recognition from Taskmaster for helping them out. And the Brothers Grimm get the message that Tigra sent to them last issue. They return with their brother and find her note . . "You're next. XX - Tigra" For a book that I thought was on it's last leg . . this one seems to be going pretty strong. I didn't think it was going to end because of the talent or anything . . also there's a great cast of characters here. No . . it seemed like it was ending because it appeared that it had run it's course. The Initiative was done. The New Warriors were back in their own book. And we already had 2 teams of Avengers running around out there . . 3 with the Dark Avengers. But then . . along came Norman Osborn. Like a spider to a fly trapped in it's web . . I think Norman saw the flailing Initiative as a chance to further expand his power-base and influence. He could literally have operatives in every single state. Actually . . I hate to admit it, but . . it's brilliant. And . . the Initiative . . and this book have new life. Which I think is fantastic because I've really liked this book right from the beginning. Christos has been plugging away, doing a great job. And I even enjoy Rafa Sandoval's pencils. I'm not thrilled with the Taskmaster, the Constrictor and the Hood being in charge of the whole thing, but . . it's different. And you kind of love to hate it. And . . it definitely keeps you guessing. Keep up the good work guys. I'm looking forward to another 100 issues.