Avengers #11It’s Parker Robbins Vs. The Avengers! Unfortunately, the good guys are out-numbered in terms of Infinity Gems 3-1. As if things couldn’t get much worse, the Watcher appears to witness the latest event in the Marvel Universe that could potentially change and/or destroy everything!
The Watcher narrates this issue starting with the showdown between Robbins and Red Hulk, Thor, and Namor. The Watcher explains that Robbins is naive and doesn’t understand the power he’s collecting, only that he wants the power. This naivete allows the Red Hulk, who is fighting for recognition and for the chance to be a hero after doing so many things wrong throughout his life, to wrestle away the red gem of power. Realizing he cannot handle both Red Hulk and Thor possessing gems, so he allows the gems to whisk him away to Xavier’s School for Gifted Students where the blue “mind” gem is hidden. Professor X tries to use suggestions and thoughts to dissuade Robbins from taking the gem, but the gem’s power makes Robbins too powerful. Robbins transports into the astral plane to find the “space” gem entrusted to Dr. Strange. He’s stopped dead in his tracks, not by Strange, but by one of the few beings who knows exactly how to wield the gems… Thanos!
I really liked this issue. I like how all but two pages were splash pages. While I’m still not a fan of John Romita Jr.’s work on this book, the visuals in this style is certainly dynamic. There’s a weight to this issue that fits the importance of what is happening. Brian Michael Bendis pretty much hit it out of the park using the Watcher as the narrator. Through the omnipotent being’s observation, we can understand how the Avengers can win the day and how Robbins is running into particularly dangerous waters by thirsting for this power. In other words, Robbins’ greed threatens the whole universe because what he’s looking for is a much bigger deal than even he could know.
I really liked how Bendis focused on three characters in particular. The first, obviously, was Robbins. The other two have deeply important, and even more so emotional, drive. One is Tony Stark who blames himself for the situation getting to this point. It’s brief, but it is sharp. The other character that is given some inner focus is Thunderbolt Ross/Red Hulk. It’s very well laid out that he’s desperately fighting for his soul after years of giving and following orders that some would find awful or heartless. Now, after a life of hunting the Hulk, he’s trapped inside a body that has turned him into the very thing he’s fought against. Perhaps this wouldn’t be quite that big of a deal to anyone who reads any of the Hulk books, but to me, it really stuck with me as I read the narration. Some might even say it’s a cliche to have a character go through this, but when distilled and used properly, I would argue that the cliche can still pack a punch. It certainly did for me in this book.
It’s probably no surprise to many that Thanos has shown up. It’s probably a foregone conclusion that the battle will only intensify going into the next issue. Either way, this arc is really hitting the right notes for me. I’m really looking forward to seeing the final battle!
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATINGProsConsBendis hits a homer in this issue. Using fewer panels and giving the story the weight needed at this point in the arc was, honestly, superb. Even Romita Jr.'s art wasn't as much of a distraction for me because of how dynamic the pages were.While the breakdowns worked, Romita Jr.'s art is still a constant issue in this series. Rating95% You might also like...
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Avengers #8 ReviewBy BlogsdnaTagged with: Avengers Brian Michael Bendis John Romita Jr.Leave a ReplyClick here to cancel replyYour name (Required)
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This post was added on 30 Mar 2011, 17:32 by Geoff Arbuckle who has contributed 359 posts to this blog.
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