The Mighty Avengers #1-2

Please understand something.
I have next to no frame of reference for the long and storied histories of most comic book characters.
This might end up being something that I write at the beginning of all of my reviews just to give you a feel for where I'm coming from.
I know the basics of most characters; origins, powers, general demeanors and so on but when it comes to defining runs and moments I'm pretty hit-or-miss. I've never read Armor Wars I or II, or the alcoholism storyline from Iron Man. Really only know about Carol Danvers from recent New Avengers stories, never read Ares mini-series and could probably fit what I know about Wonder Man on the head of a pin.
I'm pretty good on The Sentry though.
So what does this make me, as a reviewer?
Horribly inadequate?
Or the best reviewer ever!
More than likely somewhere in the middle.
The thing is, I'm not pointing out my lack of knowledge as a mark of pride or anything, I don't disdain anything that came out before 2002, I just haven't gotten around to reading all of the important arcs in every characters history. And I probably never will.
Does that matter?
Should I read the whole history of Wonder Man before I read The Mighty Avengers #1? Should I even go to his Wikipedia page and get a quick primer on the salient points of Simon Williams' adventures?
No.
To be honest, I just don't care about Wonder Man. I have nothing emotionally invested in the character. I have no fond memories of great stories, no bitter disappointments at bad characterizations.
So I come to Mighty Avengers #1 and Wonder Man with a clean slate.
I have no Wonder Man "continuity" you could say.
I'm an "Ultimate" reviewer.
I also make lousy puns.

Mighty Avengers# 1-2 marks, to me, a nice stylistic change for Brain Bendis. The thought balloons are the big thing that everyone's talking about but what caught my eye was the noticeable difference in tone from New Avengers (also Bendis-penned, in case you didn't know). For one thing, not every single character sounds like Spider-Man. Sure they all have their "Bendis-dialog quirks" but it's not like Ares is making "my costume itches cause it has Ninja blood on it" jokes.
The other significant difference is the art. Frank Cho's bright, oversized panels are a sharp contrast to Leinil Yu's current darker, character detailed, heavily-inked style. I like this distinction a lot. Cho's visuals work well for Tony Stark's a-list, public face Avengers and their wacky government sanctioned adventures. Yu's darker/moodier tones however, fit well with the renegade New Avengers, subverting the Registration Act to continue fighting the good fight on the run.
I really get a sense that these are two entirely different books and that Bendis is trying hard to keep them that way, so, you know, keep up the good work in that department.
The other department though, is the Bendis-created "Could-this-all-have-been-done-in- one-issue-or-even-like-sixteen-pages" department.
In this instance I think Bendis performs admirably. At 3.99 for issue 1 and 2.99 for issue 2 we've set up the team, fought a few giant monsters, and premiered some crazy new Wasp-look-alike female Ultron.
Could the "Hey will you join?" flashbacks from issue 2 have been condensed into issue 1? Maybe.
Did everybody really need to take a solo whack at naked female Ultron before the Wasp trots up to her to ask what's going on? Who knows?
Could it all have been condensed down to one issue and been as satisfying? Probably not.
I like the Tony/Carol banter in issue one over who to choose (and the individual breakdowns of each hero were nice for a guy like me), I liked Ares working construction, I'm tired of The Sentry fighting with his wife. I liked Carol struggling with leading the team (I especially liked the decision to retreat at the end of issue 2), The Sentry continually apologizing, the "Simon's Back" panel and naked female Ultron being a stock jerky/cocky Bendis villain (see Ultimate Dock Ock for best example).
All in all it's a fun little romp that delivers a new team, new villain, and a decent fight scene.
And, I gotta be honest, four years ago we'd have probably needed four issues to get to this point.
Say what you will, I think Bendis is improving.
Thanks for reading.