Review by Ian Keogh

Brian Michael Bendis launched his long run on The Avengers with a mass breakout of villains at the Raft, a secure island prison outside New York. Spider-Man was involved, and Breakout follows his attempt to recapture escapees.

It’s not Bendis writing, though, but Tony Bedard, who begins by setting up a grudge between the U-Foes and Crossfire, making it seem he framed them, and continues to focus on the villains, Before escaping Crossfire gathered some allies, each of them able to control people in some fashion. Spider-Man, though, manages to transform that strength into a weakness as they miss him and target each other. It’s far from the only clever element in a plot that twists, turns and positively slides away from expectation, each new revelation opening another box. Along the way Bedard bolsters the characters and backstories of the villains, supplies Spider-Man with some difficult choices and features several guest stars. An early scene of Captain America and Iron Man explaining the opportunities open to Spider-Man as an Avenger is especially well conceived.

Artist Manuel Garcia really works hard to pack the pages with people and action. He’s working from a wordy script due to all the twists, but gives everything an appealing action cinema gloss and defines people well, whether they’re central or bystanders.

Where Breakout really shines is with the rehabilitation of Crossfire. He’s always been a throwaway punchbag with a visual gimmick, but Bedard supplying his background shows how that doesn’t make sense. An ex-CIA agent with a large IQ should be a greater threat, and Bedard makes him a master manipulator heading toward a singular goal and with the patience to play the long game. He sustains a plot that’s uncertain until the end and a graphic novel that’s still worth reading.