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Much like volume three of the Mighty Avengers, this book is a complete mess. Although marginally better than the third volume of the series, it was still impossible to follow if you're not familiar with the New Avengers and the Secret Invasion storyline. It also helps to have a working knowledge of the Secret War storyline (which caused Nick Fury to resign from S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place and become a rogue agent).

But even with knowledge of those events, this collection just doesn't add much to them. The writing is mediocre at best and is all over the place when it comes to the Marvel Universe. The first few issues in the collection deal with Elektra, whom I've never really cared for as a character. Then comes Noh-Varr (I think...I haven't kept up much with that character) and Nick Fury (I've never cared much for him either). The only issue I think that is worth mentioning, and the reason for the extra half star, is the issue that commemorates the Wasp's death (which takes place in the Secret Invasion event, and is not seen on-panel in this collection - big surprise there). And Hank Pym, recently returned from Skrull imprisonment, finally gives Tony Stark the public dressing down that he deserves.

Basically, to enjoy Bendis' writing at this point, you have to read pretty much everything that he writes. While some people may love him as an author and do just that, some of us don't, and that leads to a very disjointed reading experience that doesn't encourage us to read more by him. I'm in the latter group. Plus he seems to have some serious issues with women: not only did he kill off Janet in what I view as a superfluous way, but he's also responsible for the horribly savage attack perpetrated against Tigra by the Hood and his gang, and he also authored the whole "House of M/Wanda losing her mind" thing, which still sticks in my craw. While he does write some good stuff featuring women (Alias comes to mind, but that's about it), he's starting to creep me out here.

The art is also just average, or perhaps a bit below average. Some of the characters were indistinguishable from one another, and the faces were often drawn poorly.

Altogether, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone except a die-hard Bendis fan...or a die-hard Secret Invasion fan, if there are any of those out there. Other than that, this volume is completely skip-able. ( )