The issue almost in its entirety stays in the past. Follows Gilad as he fights against a geomancer gone bad. Lovely. The book really explores the possibility - or leaves the option open - that Gilad won't always protect the geomancer. Probably to help the upcoming geomancer book. Wow. This one is great. The speech Gilad gives his captor upon his release is one of the better moments in the issue. Certainly quotable for the run. Even the coda just shows the pain that Gilad is constantly facing throughout the struggle Great book.
This is where it gets good!
We are crossing a serious line, here. The Avengers have begun a serious turn into one of the greatest comic runs of all time. I don't care who you are. This stuff is great. The issue shows the new team on alert against the Minotaur - a terrible villain - and the Mole Man. This is where the book reached out toward greatness. In the background of the book, the shared universe concept is really starting to be created - the Hulk parallel story - and neither one really crosses over - is important. While I'm reading the book, I can really catch myself reading it in the Silver Age tone. Have you played the old game Freedom Force? It's available on Steam, if you haven't. The narrative voice matches PERFECTLY to this kind of storytelling. It's amazing.