Avengers #25

The Supreme Intelligence says here that he put Noh-Varr on Earth to protect it. This isn't quite true. Noh-Varr originally arrived in the Marvel Boy limited series as a Kree from an alternate universe. But in Dark Avengers Annual #1 the Supreme Intelligence enhanced his powers and tasked him to be Earth's protector. Soon after that the Avengers recruited him. There's a continuity problem behind this in that the 2009 Dark Avengers Annual was published between the Supremor's death in 2007's Annihilation Conquest and his resurrection in FF #11 in 2011. But the convolutions required to get modern long-running continued stories to fit between each other could possibly resolve this by having FF #11 happen before the Annual. It's unclear exactly what the Intelligence means by containing the Phoenix Force. If it means imprisoning it then I can't see why any conflict with the Avengers should be anticipated. So probably he means capture it for the Kree empire to use as a weapon.

The training robots look like original Dreadnoughts from the SHIELD stories in Strange Tales. The scene with Tony, Clint and Jessica echoes one at then end of #24.1 with Steve instead of Tony. Hawkeye responds more positively there that he and Spider-Woman are a couple. So maybe the bulk of this issue happens before that part of #24.1. Jessica with her hair up looks to me like Scarlet Witch, who Hawkeye long had a thing for. I wonder whose idea that was? Walt Simonson drawing Thor again! Yay! But I'm not so sure about his version of the rest of the Avengers, especially Clint and Jessica. Thor says he's not been an Avenger recently because he's been away. This is an understatement, as he's been dead (again) since Fear Itself, and only returned to life in Thor #11-12. Thor rejoining the Avengers here puts this issue before AvsX#0.

The cover banner and the publisher's blurb bill this issue as part of Avengers vs X-Men. But apart from the first and last pages this has nothing to do with AvsX. It's really an epilogue to the Norman Osborn storyline. The cover shows Cap defending himself from Cyclops' eyebeam, which is a direct reference to a scene in AvsX#2, suggesting that this issue might be an expansion of their fight, in the same mold as AvsX: Versus #1 and maybe Uncanny X-Men #11. The opening shot is of that battle, but with individual fights going on strongly contradict the events in AvsX#2 and its spinoffs. The splash page this issue doesn't give a list of team members. The headshots have lost Quake and Jarvis who aren't in this issue (or in AvsX so far). They could just represent the roster in this battle, except Vision has gone as well.

Next issue won't have Iron Man or Red Hulk, so it won't be in their libraries. It will be in the Captain America and Thor libraries. I suspect that #27 will only be in the Thor library.