Who's suffering from event fatigue yet?
You know what I'm talking about. Marvel builds up to an event every year, and then releases a new limited series revolving around that event. Usually, these events have serious repercussions for the Marvel mainstream continuity. The last event was Avengers vs. X-Men. Before that, Fear Itself. Before that, Siege, Dark Reign, Secret Invasion, World War Hulk, Civil War, etc. Heck, Marvel events go back all the way to Secret Wars (which ROCKED, btw… though it was Rhodes in the Iron suit, not Stark.)
And don't we all get just a little tired of all of these universe-altering big events every single year. I mean… Fear Itself was pretty awful. And Avengers vs. X-Men was subpar. And now, this… Age of Ultron?
So Ultron? Heard of him? If you're a Marvelite, then yes. If this is not the case, then probably no. He was created by Hank Pym (Ant-Man) and later developed an Oedipus-complex. Basically, he hated Hank and loved Janet (Wasp). He then decided that he wanted to do the nice thing and rid humanity of its weaknesses, namely humanity. So every single comic he's appeared in, he's basically tried to destroy the world. No big deal.
Anyway, Age of Ultron #1 begins in media res. New York (and the rest of the world, it's assumed) is in shambles. We have no idea what happened or how Ultron decimated this Marvel continuity. Which brings me to one of my points. I'm not even sure that this miniseries takes place in mainstream Marvel continuity. But we'll see as we go along, I guess.
So what happens is that the Marvel heroes are disheartened and weak. Iron Man is without his armor. Captain America is a basket case. The rest of the heroes don't have a leader, and Hawkeye is the only one that seems to want to do anything. And that is to save Spider-Man, which he does.
What I like about the first issue is the fact that it does begin in the middle of the story. A big event like this would take a large buildup to be really effective to get to where the heroes are currently. By showing them as they are now, it allows for effective storytelling as to how Ultron did indeed destroy the world. Are you still with me?Anyway, everyone is cynical. It seems that the superheroes have nothing to live for except to kill Ultron and then kick the bucket. Hawkeye and Spidey are the only ones that really have any hope. Luke Cage doesn't trust anyone and, literally, Captain America is on the floor crying. Go Cap! That's how this issue ends. Depressing.
Issue #2 really has two locales. One is in California (surprise, it's destroyed!) and involves Moon Knight and Black Widow doing their thing, which is basically surviving. It's great to see Bendis writing Moon Knight and this character really seems to be in his element in this series. Black Widow seems to be without an eye. Literally.
It cuts back to New York and Rogers finally gets up and tells everyone he's a man with a plan. That's where the second issue cuts off. Did I like it? Heck yes. But it was darn moody.
So what didn't I like? Well my main gripe is the fact that Spider-Man seems to be the Peter Parker one. Not the Otto Octavius one. It's understandable, though, that Bendis started writing this long before Superior came out. This is something we'll just have to get over. Just pretend it's Otto. I'm sure they'll eventually incorporate that in.Also, I like the action more than the plot. That's what drives it forward. But there DOES need to be a plot. So how about we get a little more backstory? Again, it's only on the second issue, but so far the only thing I've figured out is that Ultron attacked en masse. How did Stark lose his armor? How did Natasha lose her eye? And how many issues will it take before the superheroes go back in time to work it out so this age of Ultron never happened? These are the questions we must ask ourselves.
UPDATE FROM OVER A MONTH LATER: Yeah, they just went back in time to try to fix this thing. They also went forward in time. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey. Anyway.
Hang in there. This series looks to be heating up and questions will be answered soon. Bendis is an amazing writer and we should give him the benefit of the doubt. The truth is that this series doesn't look to have any life-altering decisions or changes. It's going to work out by the end. We're just along for the ride. Check it out.
Also, the first issue has a 90s-era foil cover. Neat.
CHECK IT OUT.
UPDATE FROM THE END:
It sucked.
-Christian :)