Original Sin #0 – Review

Mark Waid (Writer), Jim Cheung & Paco Medina (Pencilers), Justin Ponser (Colorist).

The Story: Sam Alexander bonds with Uatu the Watcher over their paternal issues.

The Review: Daddy issues, all of my favorite heroes from Jon Snow to Scott Summers have them. I would never have listed Uatu and Sam Alexander as part of that group before reading this fantastic issue that sets up Marvel’s big summer event with a quiet, character driven prelude.

I’m not entirely sure how much of Uatu’s origin that was revealed in this issue was the invention of Mark Waid and how much (if any) had already been established but this story injected a lot of pathos and tragedy into a figure that has always been slightly lacking in depth of characterization. Much like with his stellar work on Daredevil, Waid shows a fantastic knack for taking the established framework of a character’s history, personality and powers and putting a unique spin on it. Throughout this issue Waid concretely explores the background of Uatu and his race, explains why the Watcher’s watch, the reasons behind their vow of non-interference as well as the why of Uatu’s seemingly constant struggle to uphold said vow.

Another unexpected treat within these pages was the inclusion of Nova, I’ve been following the Nova book with varying degrees of interest as it’s gone on but assumed that his inclusion in this #0 issue was just part of Marvel’s attempt to promote the character. While that may be true to an extent, his inclusion in this issue feels organic and vital as seeing the Watcher through a relatively fresh set of eyes allows the reader to view him in a different light.

Hulk #27 – Review

By Jeff Parker (writer), Gabriel Hardman (artist), Bettie Breitweiser (colorist)

The Story: Under the guidance and supervision of Commander Rogers and Bruce Banner, General Ross continues his quest for redemption by helping Namor put an end to a Scorched Earth initiative that threatens to destroy the monarch’s empire.

The Good: Ever since Parker took control of this book, Hulk has been one of my Must Read titles every month. True, Loeb’s run had a certain childlike, Saturday morning cartoon charm to it that was appealing, if simple-minded at times, and what he did with the book he did well enough…at times. But in a mere three issues Parker has stopped this comic on a dime and steered it in a completely opposite direction, infusing it with a hard-edged, gritty sensibility that is utterly compelling to read. I credit this largely to the wise decision that was made to let Banner take the back seat and focus the narrative on General Ross and his mission to find a role for himself as Marvel’s latest gamma-powered monstrosity. Certain themes have always resounded throughout time and stories, and the hero’s quest for redemption remains one of the most popular.

Hell, I’d argue it’s one of the reasons why we are so drawn to characters like Wolverine, because his quest to make himself a Better Person is something we each see in ourselves. Where was I going with this? Oh right: in General Ross we have a similar character facing a similar struggle, and for me a large part of my enjoyment of this book right now is in appreciating his growth as a character and personal journey as a superhero. Every bit as powerful as Hulk, yet tactically brilliant in a way Banner could never be, Ross is a soldier with no war to fight, struggling to find an objective to achieve and a worthy endeavor to apply himself to. Notice the way he defers to Commander Rogers’s command or speaks about Namor politically as a head of state and it’s hard not to appreciate the tone and direction Parker is taking this book in. The “Scorched Earth” storyline is an effective, if rather routine, storyline with which to hit the reset button and chart a new course. Minimal on plot yet high on action, it’s an accessible jump on point for new readers and seems poised to tell its tale well without necessarily innovating anything.

Hulk #26 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Gabriel Hardman (artist)

A-Bomb back-up by: Jeff Parker (writer), Mark Robinson (pencils), Terry Pallot (inks), Antonio Fabela (colors) & Ed Dukeshire (letters)

The Story: The redemption of Red Hulk continues, Thor shows up, mayhem ensues….

What’s Good: I can enjoy decompressed storytelling when it is done well, but when you have Bendis and Fraction writing a significant portion of the Marvel U, you have a lot of stories that are crawling along.  They are well written, but they are nonetheless not fast.  Jeff Parker is the other side of that coin.  His stories just rip along at a breakneck speed.  Last issue (Hulk #25) introduced us to this concept that Red Hulk was going to be redeemed somehow and tossed him into a team-up with Iron Man against some weirdly altered humans.

Well, that very cool story wraps up by about page 10.  Even though it is fast, you don’t feel shortchanged.  Parker writes a lot of script for these issues, but it is all serving the story instead of humorous, pitter-patter dialog.  In some ways, it is almost a throwback to comics of yore when the story was explained via dialog between two heroes.  But, even though it is a quick scene, Parker still works in a nice moment between Red Hulk and Iron Man as Tony tells him a thing or two about redemption (and Tony is one of the more qualified heroes to discuss the subject).  It is an achievement to get as much character development into this story considering the pacing.

Some comics would have stretched this Iron Man story across many issues, but not Parker.  From there we blast right into the next threat as Thor shows up leading to a great scene between Red Hulk and Thor and a team-up in space.  It is just really a whole bundle of awesome.

Ultimate Origins #2 – Review

By Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Butch Guice (art), Justin Ponsor (colors)

I love a good Captain America story, and that’s basically what we get here. After the big opening we received last month, I thought the rest of this series would just go through the motions of connecting the characters of the Ultimate Universe into a big tapestry. We don’t get that with this issue, and to be honest, I was hoping for more answers. However, the retelling of Ultimate Captain America’s origin is, in many ways, a romantic tale. The quiet moments we witness between Steve and Gail are sweet, and reminiscent of the sappy kind of romance you’d see from an old World War 2 movie.

The rest of the story plods through familiar territory, giving us glimpses of what Steve goes through with his injections until he reaches the culmination of Project: Rebirth. From here, we learn the fate of Doctor Erskine, Steve’s new found skill of throwing disc shaped objects, and the appearance of an ancient object that I can only guess is the Ultimate Watcher. I could be wrong, however.

As a whole, the story’s nothing terribly new or noteworthy, but it’s highly entertaining and well-paced by Brian Bendis. Having Butch Guice on the series is an excellent choice, and having him work on a Captain America story after his recent stint on the regular Ed Brubaker Cap series is a stroke of genius. Here, he continues to mimic Steve Epting’s style while injecting some of his own sensibilities. The result is an astonishingly beautiful book. There is one instance where “scrawny” Steve Rogers looks a bit too much like Nicolas Cage and there’s a few tiny panels littered about that just feel out of place, but otherwise this is a great looking book.

I’m wondering if the rest of this series will play out similarly to this issue. If it does, I can’t say I’ll enjoy the format. As a stand alone story, this issue’s quite good, but do we really need a series that just retells everyone’s origins? I’ll let you know when I have the answer. (Grade: B)

– J. Montes

A Second Opinion

While I agree with Jason on most of his points, I can’t possibly give this one the same type of score. The Captain America origin story is well told thanks to some great artwork and fitting writing, but since this is supposed to be part of an event mini-series, I find myself pretty disappointed. Too much of this issue is just a retelling of what is, at this point, an extremely familiar tale. New plot elements are introduced, but not really given enough time to develop properly since so much of the issue is devoted to retelling Cap’s story. While what is here works well enough, the Cap story may have been better off as a one-shot so that the mini-series could focus more on connecting the dots and telling a much larger tale. This is a good read, but disappointing given the context. (Grade: C+)

-Kyle Posluszny

A Third Opinion

I swear, if Brian Bendis takes this “decompression” business any further, I’m going to develop the bends.

Okay, I know that’s not fair. I know that this is probably a good issue, and that when the Ultimate Origins story is read as a whole, these 24 pages will seem well-written and well-paced, but it’s really just a recap of the origin of Captain America, which I’ve read once or twice or fifty times before.

The book opens with the Fantastic Four touring a “Raiders of the Lost Ark” style warehouse inside Project Pegasus. An artifact that looks something like a totem pole, but more like a traffic light, has started to glow, after being inactive for sixty years. We then jump back to 1942, where Steve Rogers is morosely watching a newsreel about action in the European theatre. A woman named Gail shows up with another guy, and it’s apparent from their interaction that at least part of Rogers’ desire to enlist is hormonally motivated. He goes to the recruitment office for the fourth or fifth time and is again rejected, but this time “Dum Dum” Dugan shows up to tell him he’s been selected for a special project. What follows is almost exactly the same as the origin of the regular Captain America.

How is the origin of the “Ultimate” Captain America different from the regular one? The artifact was there. That’s all. Honestly. He was being watched by a stick.

I’m intrigued by the artifact, which I assume is either alien or magical, but it feels like Bendis is coasting a bit here. Similarly, the art is good, but obviously Butch Guice isn’t working quite as hard this issue as he did on the first.

I have faith in Bendis, and I’ve got high hopes for this series, but judged as an individual issue I have to give this a… (Grade: C+)

– Andrew C. Murphy