WTF?

Covers for Mighty Avengers # 7, New Avengers # 35, and Mighty Avengers #8

Y'know, I'm not usually one to poo poo a story before I've had the opportunity to read it, but this whole Venom symbiotes versus the Avengers thing wreaks of "But damn, we've run outta ideas."

But I think I know what happened here.

Bendis, under a tight editorial deadline, was looking through some old stuff in his office and found one of his "Cool Story Ideas For When I'm A Writer At Marvel" notebooks from the 90s (hey, I've got a few myself) and found this little gem inside, plotted and ready to go.

All he really had to do was change a few names - Sersi to Ms. Marvel, Hercules to Sentry, Black Knight to Ares, Druid to Doctor Strange, Deathcry to Wolverine... you get the idea.

That can be the only explanation, right?