I think the company-wide event’s momentum was considerably handicapped by how slowly it moved and how long it took to complete. THe Skrulls have never been particularly interesting or good villains; they’re kitschy, one-dimensional, and really feel like some sort of permanent holdover from the weaker part of Marvel’s 1970’s. The idea of a major retcon was great - and has been needed in Marvel continuity and canon for quite some time - but the execution was ultimately half-assed, with all of the replaced heroes just coming out of a spaceship in the end. It would actually have been far more interesting - and challenging - if the initial group of 1980’s-costume savage land heroes had been the real deal, and would have given Marvel Universe writers years of material showing the new backstory and new canon for who was missing when and so on. Also, would have been a great way to wipe out that whole awful/embarrassing nineties period.
The ending twist - Norman Osbourn grabs a gun and kills the queen skrull, and is made the new director of SHIELD - is just embarrasing and sub-fanfic in its execution. It makes about as much sense as Bin Laden appearing, shooting Saddam Hussein once U.S. Forces have cornered him, and then being made president of the United States as a reward. Just clumsy, lazy, and ultimately beneath big-two superhero comics in 2008, even as sorry as they’ve gotten. I think the worst thing about it is how transparently it’s aping DC’s Final Crisis, with “the day evil won.”
But the worst is saved for last - that Marvel is already spinning everything into the next big company-wide mega event. “DISASSEMBLED, HOUSE OF M, DECIMATION, SECRET WAR, MARVEL CIVIL WAR, AND SECRET INVASION WERE ONLY TEH BEGINNING!” Didn’t they used to at least hold off on that stuff for one issue? The final chunk of this issue is literally a 4-page advertisement for the next big crossover.
This was garbage, and I’m simply overcome with company-wide mega-event fatigue.
Ah feel yoor pain. I had exactly the same thoughts, especially about the silly ending (and why’s Namor there anyway? He’s sorta quasi-neutral on the whole good-guy/bad-guy spectrum.
The only writer who knows how to do a big event at the moment (IMO) is Geoff Jones. The Sinestro Corps War was near perfect and the “teaser” at the end for the “Black Lantern Corps” was EXACTLY the right way to do it.
And just as I don’t buy that Luthor could ever have become president after y’know–blowing up Metropolis…on camera, I don’t buy that Norman Osborn would be forgiven for being Green Goblin so easily by the public (he was unmasked in public on camera).
Why, exactly, do they keep doing these company-wide events? They seem to go just long enough to totally suck, then try to go back to normal, and wind up making the managers (who appear to start these things) look like damned fools. Of course, since BOTH Marvel and DC seem to sell to longtime customers who buy everything anyway and don’t market to new customers, maybe they just figure their income is close to guarranteed anyway.
If you can’t guess, I was a (retroactive) fan of the 70’s-80’s Marvel. I was too young and didn’t start collecting until '95, when I was around 14, but wound up with a number of older comics my relatives sent me as gifts. I almost univesally loved the old ones more than the modern.
It’s like how Iron Man confessed to multiple felonies in a world wide live broadcast during World War Hulk and had absolutely zero consequences.
Luthor as president was a tough sell but it’s nothing compared to how politics and the legal system are portrayed in the recent Marvel Universe.
As for that last page I can think of a few ways that it could make sense:
[ul]
[li]Osborn is having hallucinations that he’s important enough that Doom, Loki, and Namor would give him the time of day.[/li][li]They were all lured in by the promise of a free resort weekend and now have to listen to his time share pitch.[/li][li]Norman really hates the Hood and is curious to see who will turn him into a frog, pound him into paste, lobotomize, and/or fry him with his space laser first.[/li][li]Loki got kind of misty-eyed remembering Acts of Vengeance and wanted to reunite the band but this was the best she could do.[/li][li]The next panel the Doombot that is kept handy for dealing with annoyances explodes taking out most of lower Manhattan.[/li][/ul]
I have to say that this was a nifty concept for an event and a good use of the skrulls abilities. Sadly, that was about all that was good about it.
The Bad:
Biggest things first. Marvel universe changes again for what might be the third time in about three years and only uses it to cue up the next event for the fourth major change. Really? This was needed? Destroying most of the mutants and making non-mutant heroes register with the government wasn’t enough? Now we’ve an Acts of Vengeance like gathering of villains (and seriously. Who gave Osborne Loki’s number anyways?) running the whole show. :rolleyes: Doesn’t particularly matter though. It’ll be different in 6-12 months.
All the captured heroes come back plus Mockingbird? How the hell did she make the cut besides Bendis’ apparent Hawkeye boner. How was she the only old school hero captured and kept and substituted? It just doesn’t work for me. Better to have half of the heroes released in the savage land turn out to be the real heroes than to just have one specific.
What will become of the Mighty and the New Avengers? Will those two books ever have a long term storyline/roster? There were about six or so issues after civil war before they became the flashback books for Secret Invasion, used only to fill in backstory. Now what? New Avengers will continue to fight underground while the Mighty Avengers struggle with their role as strong arm of Colonel Crazy for about six issues before storylines are ended abruptly to make room for more of Bendis’ navel gazing.
The rapid public embracing of Norman “incredibly mentally ill at least but certainly known to be the Green Goblin and responsible for numerous acts of terrorism/destruction of property/robber/murder/practically crimes against humanity” Osborne. Yeah. That works. :dubious:
Another event? We need another event to shake up the marvel universe? Really? It needs to be rocked to it’s foundations again? Seriously? Is there another hero that Bendis wants to return from the dead/obscurity? “The Marvel Universe will never be the same” is about to become a running joke. The same as what? Continuity has been overhauled so much in the last few years that there is no normal left.
Fenris is right. The only really good mega-event is in Green Lantern, though I think Annihilation Wave deserves mention as well.
