Review of Secret Avengers Vol.3 #1

Review of Secret Avengers #1 (Vol 3)
Written By:
Art By:
Marvel $3.99 March 12th 2014

Who are the Secret Avengers?
This is the start of the 3rd volume of Secret Avengers titles and the basic premise is the same as before......S.H.I.E.L.D. partners with the Avengers and creates a black-ops squad that remains secret from the other Avengers and the rest of the world to tackle secretive and questionable missions that must remain a secret. This incarnation of the team evolves directly out of the previous series (Nick Fury, Agent Phil Coulson, Black Widow, Maria Hill and Hawkeye) but now the team includes MODOK( the other team members aren't aware yet) and Spider-Woman.



This title is unlike the other volumes of the Secret Avengers in a very clear way. The tone and presentation is forcefully meant to be lighthearted and cartoonish......which is an odd perspective to take on a Black-ops plot of espionage and covert ops missions. The humor played to the stories benefit at times by familiarizing readers with the relationships and quirks of the team members, but all the humor combined with the art style really did a disservice to me because there was simply too much of it.

The humor with Hawkeye was the only portion of the goofiness that seemed like an organic portrayal of a character that could fit the tone of a book about spies and secret missions. The inclusion of MODOK could also serve as an outlet for comic relief but I am still not sold on his inclusion in the team ranks.....does anyone really believe MODOK will ever have dreams of redemption? No, I see he is a coward and an opprotunist so I am hoping that Ales Kot stays true to the character and that this wasn't a forced decision to bring him into the book. My hope is that he actually will develop into an intriguing inclusion over time. I'm not sold on MODOK yet, but I am willing enough to keep an open mind.

So, in this issue we see Spider-Woman and Black-Widow enjoying some rest and relaxation when their mutual ex-boyfriend busts in needing help from pursuing AIM agents.... Coulson and Fury need rescued in space.... and Maria Hill and MODOK continue exploring their secret working relationship and suddenly they are under attack within their secured SHIELD base. It isn't clear what is going on or why these three simultaneous assaults on the heroes are occurring. But issue #2 will have to tie up all those questions as well as resolve them, because this is only a 2 part opening arc.

The Verdict?
Will I be coming back for more? Yes, for one reason alone. I have collected the first 2 previous volumes of the title so I feel a sense of loyalty to my collection to give the first arc a chance. I am hoping that the Secret Avengers will develop into a dynamic team with meaniglful plots and missions that live up to what someone wants from an Avengers Black-Ops team. It may be unfair to judge soley based on a single issue but this one hasn't completely sold me enough to recommend you buying it. The art is inconsistant at best, at worst it is downright sloppy and boring at worst.

If you are going to charge $3.99 for a title, then put great art on the pages....stop thinking that slapping the name Avengers on the title entitles you to more money regardless of the quality.

Until next time,
Brian
Rating: Borrow it

News: "Original Sin" - Marvel's Next Event

 Frontline News Coverage: 
"Original Sin" Marvel's Next Event - Everything You Need To Know.

By Brian Howard



This event has the makings to be a great jumping on point for new readers who haven't read a comics event before. This article is an up to date compilation of information on the series, its background and what sets it apart from other events of the past.

Many people complain that there are too many company-wide crossover events and that they, as readers, suffer from event fatigue. Inevitably, each event is pitched as, "things will never be the same, ramifications for years to come etc etc."  To a small degree this is true. Mostly however, the effects last for a year or two at the most before almost everything returns to the status-quo.  

So, what makes Marvel's next event 'Original Sin' stand out from the rest? Well, it is not being billed as an end of the world event. Simply put, this is a murder mystery in which everyone in the Marvel Universe is a suspect. A whodunit tale that begins with the death of Uatu, The Watcher. 

The crime scene: Who killed Uatu

Who is the Watcher? A Brief History
For those of you who do not know Uatu...He is a member of the Watchers, which are a extraterrestrial species who are sent throughout space to observe the actions and histories of species throughout their history and existence. Uatu is the one who was sent to Earth to monitor it and our solar system. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #13 back in 1963. Uatu has been a witness to everything that has ever happened on Earth from his post on the moon. At times, he has broken his vow of non-action to assist heroes during a hopeless struggle. So, it always went without saying that if he shows up, then there is something big that is going to happen and it usually isn't something good. 

"Original Sin" Plot
Uatu's murder is a big deal for many reasons. First and foremost, who would want the The Watcher dead and why? From what we know so far, there is a clear motive. Apparently, the eyes of a Watcher are like a hard-drive and store all the information that he has taken in. The killer removes the Watchers eyes for this reason. Now, the killer not only possesses the history of Earth's events but also every single secret anyone has ever had no matter how large are small. You can imagine what chaos might ensue if suddenly every secret in the universe suddenly became public information. Just imagine in your own life what you might learn about those around you as well as what they would discover about you. It would be chaos. This is an NSA leak on a superhero scale. Secrets: like the locations of hidden artifacts and weapons of great power, secret identities, magical and technological secrets.....all the way down to and including betrayals. (example: The New Avengers mind wiping Captain America after he had moral objections to their plans. Cap might not think very kindly about that revelation).

But, as to who would commit this crime, well that's the fun of a murder mystery and everyone is a suspect. Is his murder intended to cover up something or is it a power grab for his knowledge.

The original Nick Fury is going to lead a group of Marvel heroes to investigate the murder and bring the killer to justice. We see the Punisher, Black Panther and Dr. Strange all lending their talents to the investigation.

Who is guilty?!

"Original Sin #2"

"Original Sin" begins in May 2014 and is by the creative team of writer, Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato Jr. for the 8 issue series. There will be tie ins throughout most Marvel titles and this time those tie-ins will matter to each character given the nature of the main story and the intimate secrets that could be revealed.

An unlikely friendship

"Original Sin" will have a prelude #0 issue which will be by another creative team: Mark Waid and Jim Cheung. This issue will give you a look into the final hours of Uatu's life and his relationship with Sam Alexander, a 15 year old rookie superhero and last of the Nova Corps. Sam has made a compelling friendship with Uatu recently in his own Nova title. Sam goes to visit the Watcher to talk about his feelings and at times uses Uatu as a shoulder to lean on. Sam as a character, is fresh and just out of the gate. His perspective gives new readers the chance to have the Marvel Universe open up around them while it does for his character. Here we have two people, one at the end of his journey and one at his beginning. How this effects young Sam Alexander will no doubt be emotional.