Awesome / Avenger of Steel

• The beginning of the story prologue includes a flash-forward of Superman and Zod's final battle. In the movie the fight was awesome but there was little reaction from the other characters. This story, due to the fact it is a Marvel/DC crossover, manages to convey said reactions very well.
  • The battle as a whole is superbly handled; the Avengers might be overpowered by the Kryptonians, but once they've got the measure of their foes, they prove themselves as Earth's first line of defense, coming up with various ways to throw the Kryptonians off and keep them busy until they can be sent back to the Phantom Zone.
• Martha Kent, a sweet Middlewestern homemaker, successfully manipulating Black Widow — by nicely offering her apple pie and ice cream and telling her everything about Clark's childhood, in order to let the superspy understand the alien refugee who hid on Earth for several decades is not a threat. Natasha is aware of the manipulation, and she still concedes it perfectly worked.
• The Siege of Avengers Tower:
  • Black Widow, Hawkeye, Jessica Jones, and Daredevil face a small army of demon-possessed Hand soldiers, culminating in a showdown with Madame Gao.
  • Raven and the Hulk fight the Beast of the Hand in the Mirror Dimension.
  • Thor and Superman face "Fing Fang Foom" in the air.
  • Less explicitly awesome but no less significant; Tony chooses not to dive into battle, but instead focuses on protecting the civilians caught in the crossfire.
• Clark stopping multiple out-of-control trains before they can injure anyone, all without anyone realizing that it was Superman who did it.

---