I had high hopes for this Siege tie-in due to some very strong reviews. Unfortunately, I found it to be a complete waste of my time. Taskmasker is the main POV through a large part, and he's a b-level villain at best. And honestly, he's just not that interesting. It's not like seeing the event through the eyes of the Dark Avengers, or Osborn. The rest of the book is the POV of members of the Initiative - the state-by-state teams of "heroes" trained at Camp HAMMER.

This book is a hodge-podge. It opens with Osborn inspecting Taskmaster's Camp HAMMER training facility. It's at this point that Osborn surprises him with an invitation to join the Cabal. He knows that's over his head but doesn't see another option. He's out to survive Siege with his own skin intact. And he tells the reader that REPEATEDLY. In fact, his running internal monologue began to wear on my nerves because it was so boring. It's through Taskmasker that we meet Constrictor and Diamondback. She's a mole for the real Avengers (though not the usual Thor, Cap, etc. Avengers), which doesn't stop her from having an affair with Constrictor. Her constant inner monologue questions how she feels about him; he loves her, but she used to be involved with Steve Rogers, a real hero. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP! Then we have a team of Avengers in hiding composed of lesser-known heroes like Tigra, Night Thrasher and Justice. When Osborn becomes distracted by the main Siege battle, they decide to help their hero friends by attacking...Camp HAMMER. Because that is a critical target? It just didn't make sense.

And then the last quarter of the book is taken up with a couple of random adventures of some of the Initiative "heroes" - characters I have never heard of - that had nothing whatsoever to do with Siege. Two-gun Kid? Really? Amidst these stories we have Komodo and Hardball, whose relationship is broken when she learns he's an unwilling Hydra operative. It felt like I was reading bad teen fiction, there was so much angst.

Overall, this was a complete miss for me as a Siege tie-in. It doesn't provide any additional perspective on Siege, unless you count Taskmasker's, and it is filled with so much personal relationship-angst that it strained credibility. There are a couple of memorable scenes, so I gave it two stars. But, sadly, I just can't recommend this. ( )

I actually liked this trade better than Siege itself, but then again, I've always enjoyed the Initiative and I'm sorry to see the title end. Taskmaster receives a promotion, but he discovers too late that sometimes you only think you want something. Constrictor, whom I've really grown to like as a character, realizes that sometimes there's no chance for redemption when you're an old con. And Camp H.A.M.M.E.R. comes crashing down, much like Norman's reign of terror.

I really enjoyed reading things from Taskmaster's point of view; he's one of my favorite characters, and yet he rarely gets any face time. And Constrictor, who was just some d-list supervillain before the Initiative title, has really taken on a personality all of his own. It's sad watching him and Diamondback split apart. Altogether, Christos Gage stays true with the feeling of Avengers: The Initiative and gives the title a good send off.

This trade also collects the Avengers: Initiative special. It's nice that they have finally put it in a trade, but it should have been collected a few trades ago. It features members of the first class shortly after they have been assigned to their regional teams after graduating from the Initiative. This is the issue that deals with Hardball's "betrayal" of Komodo and the "good guys," and it shows why he went with Hydra in the first place. As the trades stand, the reader is just left to guess what happened until now. ( )