Fear Itself: The Final Score

R.I.P. Thor Odinson.  Now that Fear Itself is over (I know, we’re still in epilogues but if I wait for those to be over, I’ll never get to write this) I get to give my final overall response to this EPIC sized crossover.  There’s honestly so much to cover that I barely even know where to start with this monster, but I’m just going to dive right in.

Let me get my biggest complaint out of the way now.  TOO MANY TIE-INS!  To collect this entire cross over was a financial and timely nightmare.  I went from picking up 5-9 books a week to collecting 9-15 books a week for the last 8 months.  And it would have been one thing if they were all amazing and relevant, but we had entire limited series that had almost no point or purpose to the story like Deadpool, Wolverine, and Uncanny X-Force.  At least Black Widow and FF had the decency to only be a one-shot, these other 3 were just complete crap.  Not to mention the fact that there were so many extra issues that by the end when I was reading Hulk vs. Dracula I had all but forgotten about the Spider-man limited series from the beginning.  I am all for tie-ins so we can see what’s going on all over the place but this time they just went completely overboard.

The Serpent.  FANTASTIC!  What a classic evil villain.  No ambiguities, or second guessing the plan at the end. No sir!  He woke up wanting to ruin the world and take down Odin, and by god he was doing it come hell or high water!  Conjured up his faithful Worthy and his floating Dark Asgard and went to it without ever looking back.  I liked his entire back story and I was glad they waited until the story was over before giving up all the details about his history because IT DIDN’T MATTER.  Whether he was Odin’s brother that was a mad king or he was a mindless evil demon bent on destruction, the desired endgame was still the same.  He never once took his eye off the prize so for that we must give him credit.  Unfortunately the prize was the destruction (or enslavement, I’m not completely clear on that) of humankind and his brother and death, and that simply could not be allowed.

Thor actually died.  I mean, they hinted that he might and he wasn’t in any of the Shattered Heroes promotional images but I really thought it was going to end up a cheap marketing ploy.  Alas, no…they really killed him.  And not one of the Ragnarok or godly deaths where he travels through a field in the afterlife and comes back.  He’s dead dead.  Now assuming he doesn’t come back in the next 3 to 6 months in some ridiculous manner, I think that this was one of the best comic deaths that I’ve ever read.  I loved that they took an old story, Thor fighting a serpent and dying afterwards, and gave it a new twist.  It was always assumed that this prophecy was referring to the Midgard Serpent but clearly this is an error.  He will be missed until he ultimately returns.

If I wanted to nitpick I have one other complaint: Where did Red She-Hulk come from at the end??  She was with Hulk when he got his Worthy hammer but then she disappeared for the rest of the storyline until the very end.  Suddenly she not only shows up out of nowhere in Fear Itself #7 but she also has a Mighty weapon made by Tony Stark in Asgard!  Where was she before the opening of Fear Itself #7 and how did Iron Man know to make her a weapon?  Wouldn’t it have made more sense for him to make one for her father, the Red Hulk? Or I don’t know Luke Cage or Protector?  Someone that would have been expected to be there as opposed to Betty just randomly showing up.

Overall I have to say that this was one of the best storylines I have read in a good long time.  The characters were amazing, the plot fantastic, and it showed us another side of some of our favorite heroes.  I am sure no one ever expected Spider-man to ask in the midst of battle “Can I leave to go home and check on my Aunt?”  But this was the time to do it.  We watched these idols get beaten and battered both emotionally and physically but when push came to shove (even if we thought they were going to quit) they stood right back up and kept on fighting.

A Beginning and an Ending...Kinda... - Review Buffy Season 9 #1 and Fear Itself #6

I decided to do something new this week with the review.  Two books this week came out that I was expecting greatness out of, and while neither disappointed completely they didn’t exactly wow me either.  As I read through them each a second time, I found I couldn’t really find a ton to rave or condemn about either.  I also thought noticed an interesting factoid about the opposing nature of the placement of these issues in their respective storyline: One is the first issue to set up a whole new series and one is the next to last book in a series, designed to set up the final scene and battleground.  

After the epic conclusion of the highly successful Season 8 series, Buffy and pals are back and there promises to be danger and excitement abound…at some point.  Don’t get me wrong, we were updated on a whole bunch and there’s TONS of foreshadowing for some good exciting stuff, but, when you look really closely at the actually issue, nothing really…happened…at all.  I mean there was a party, sure.  And we met some new roommates, cool people.  Oh, and of course Buffy had the mother of all hangovers (which you would think she wouldn’t get what with the super healing and all), and that’s always fun to watch on someone else.  We never really got a clear picture of what exactly happened at the parties and the next day she sorta just bummed around all issue and then at the end, oops, weird monster out of nowhere. 

Now as far as opening installments go (whether it’s a comic series or a TV season) this one wasn’t that bad.  It gave us tons of information, and told us where all, or at least most, of the major players are located and generally what they are doing.  It was the perfect set up to what will probably be just as great and intricate a series (season) as Season 8 was, but I think I was expecting there to be a little more action on the Buffy side of things.  I mean at the beginning of Season 8, we opened with her leading an army so at the very least I thought they could have had her stake the odd vampire on the street or  something.  Not bad, less me a little disappointed and yet somehow incredibly excited for the rest of the series.

On the polar opposite end of the spectrum, this penultimate issue of Fear Itself helped to set the stage and circumstances for the final act of this sweeping storyline.  In the previous issue we were left with lots of hanging threads in the air.  Will Thor survive? Is Thing OK? What is Tony Stark planning? Did Spider-man really just request a retreat in the middle of a battle and more importantly did Captain America just grant it??  With all this excitement I expected the last 2 installments of the flagship book in the storyline to be PACKED with action!  Again, I was disappointed.  Much like we saw with Tony Stark, the problems are solved by Captain America doing a mixture of throwing a tantrum and having a pissing contest with Odin (who for some reason continues to allow mortals that he could literally vaporize to scold him).  The long and short of it is Thor is healed only to find out that he has to die anyway to stop the Serpent.  Redundant.  Confirmation that the Serpent is Odin’s older brother and the rightful All-Father? Whoopee doo Odin’s a liar, surprise!

As usual the good parts are saved for other books.  If you want to know about where the Hulk landed the go buy Hulk vs. Dracula.  We see that Tony is jumping into the Uru metal with all the weapons but of course to see any of that you gotta buy Iron Man #508.  And the crux d’etat? All the stress of the situation causes Captain America to have a nervous breakdown and he goes all redneck on us!  Just like in Buffy, this issue really set us up for a lot of amazement and excitement…in other books and next issue.  I just feel like with so little time left in the main story, they could have given us a little bit more action and story without requiring us to buy multiple other books to see integral parts of the story.

I'll Be Right Back... - Review Fear Itself #5

Like many of the issues of this exhausting crossover, this book was kind of a mixed bag.  So let's breakit down shall we?

The Bad: Well let's start with the 5 page recap (6 if you count the actual recap at the beginning).  I mean did we really need to spend the first 5 pages of story showing that Steve is Cap again, Tony is drunk and begging with Odin for weapons, and Thor is getting the snot beat out of him by Hulk and Thing...we saw all this!  For all my bitching and moaning, I (and I suspect everyone else) am still buying all the issues in this storyline so did did we really need to read it again in the main book?  And I could do with a little less of Sin prattling on and on about killing Bucky Barnes in her half Asgardian speak.  Its getting to be a bit much wouldn't you agree?  But the thing that's at the top of my "The Bad" list today is Steve Rogers, only back as Captain America for minutes, giving up right in front of the troops he's supposed to be leading.  And this wasn't like when he gave up at the end of Civil War for the good of everyone else, no, this was, "Yeah I let Spider-man go home to see his family (which none of you have obviously) because, well honestly guys, there's no way were winning this one."  I'm sorry, but did I just hear that right?  Did Captain America, leader of National (and possibly World) Security just give up the fight in the of an actual Blitzkrieg?  UH NO! Epic Fail Marvel...

The Good: The Shattering of the shield? Awesome!  Yes I know its happened before and call me a fan boy but its intense and exciting EVERY TIME.  Also, the huge hold being blown through Thing by Mjolnir? WOW.  I know some people think that should have gone under "The Bad" but it was a stunning scene and led to possibly my favorite development in the issue...ACTUAL PLOT ADVANCEMENT.  For a few months now we have been watching the Worthy Ravage the entire world.  Not just a city or two like usual, but many of the world's major cities have been leveled or otherwise destroyed.  Now as exciting as that all can be, it all has to lead somewhere eventually right?  I mean we've got Sin taking down Washington and New York, while Grey Gargoyle takes down Paris, Juggernaut rampages across the entire country, and The Serpent himself floats a castle above it all, but whats actually happened or going to happen?  Well as Franklin uses his powers he heal Ben Grimm, revealing his powers to his Uncle, he also freed him from the possession of The Serpent.  Finally we might get some answers! Who knows what he might remember, but more importantly its the first time during this war that a Worthy has been actually stopped instead of moved.  I am hoping that the last two issues (and related tie-ins) really give us some answers because up until this issue its just been a lot of mindless carnage. 

As I keep saying I DO love this storyline, but its got gaping holes in the action that Marvel has chosen to replace with lots of pointless tie-ins.  Its nice to finally see some headway being made in the battle against the Worthy, and I look forward to seeing what Ben can bring to the table from his time as Angrir.  Unfortunately for me I think that the good stuff I saw in this issue was overshadowed by Cap and Spidey's HIGHLY uncharacteristic behavior.  I'm sorry but everyone in this battle has friends and family that they are worried sick about, that is no reason to run from the battlefield or vocally give up in front of the forces you are leading.  A very disappointing day for Captain America and Spider-man fans.

Fear Itself: Dumbpool - Review Fear Itself: Deadpool #2

In the words of Chelsea Handler," What...a piece of $#!t"  This entire series is just a blatant ploy for more money.  And I don't just mean its not necessary to the story like a few other parts of this epic sized crossover. No, this one actually has nothing at all to do with the storyline of Fear Itself.

In fact the only relation to the actual Fear Itself storyline is that Deadpool knows about the hammers and is parading around a fake one.  They even had a chance to make it work, once the Walrus get real powers from it, they could have some how tied it back to The Serpent or Asgard or something, but no they decided to run with the whole "no-relation-to-the-storyline" thing.  

Now I DID collect Deadpool back in the 90's (I thought it was cute and fun plus he was sorta dating Siryn) and this was definitely a great throwback to that kind of humor.  But you know what? I kinda made the decision to not read Deadpool anymore so I wouldn't have bothered picking up this series if not for the fact that it was part of FI...except it kinda isn't right?

The story itself is comical and entertaining, I won't deny that.  Deadpool's plan blowing up in his face coupled with his classic slapstick, to the normal Deadpool reader, I am sure is hilarious, but I feel like they just slapped a "Fear Itself" banner across a story that had nothing to do with it just to suck 9 more dollars out of readers that they normally wouldn't get to buy a book.  Low, Marvel...Really Low...

Fear Itself Half-Time Show - Review

There's a lot to say about this crossover so far.  Some of it good, some of it bad, and some of it just "What were they thinking?"  I am going to get my biggest gripe out of the way right off the bat.  TOO MANY TIE-INS! If you read any my blogs pertaining to Chaos War or referencing Secret Invasion/Civil War, then you know I hate extraneous and pointless tie-ins.  That said, this is a huge storyline with pieces that go all over the world so it makes sense that we would need a decent amount of extra limiteds and one-shots, and I will even give it to them that most of these tie-ins are really well written.  But I have to ask...did we need a Wolverine limited AND an X-Force limited, both released on the same day?  And since we saw Iron Man's adventure in Paris, did we really need to have a Black Widow one-shot?  Not that Natasha's brief tale wasn't fun, but in a storyline that legitimately covers books countries and many books, was it really needed?

Also, and again I repeat that this is a halftime show so there is still time for all the storyline points to connect and make sense, I feel like with all the Worthy all over the world and superheroes rushing around in circles trying to keep up, some of the finer continuity points are getting lost.  For example, when I picked up this week's batch of issues I read Uncanny X-men before reading Thunderbolts and at the beginning of UXM Juggernaut lands on the ground and begins his trek towards San Francisco.  Now last I was reading, he was fighting the Thunderbolts so when I picked up that issue, I was expecting it to end with Marko taking off into the sky so then he presumably lands in UXM.  However, at the end of the issue he's still screwing things up in Chicago.  So I totally accept that they will reconcile all of this before the end of the crossover but for now it makes things a bit hard to follow and keep straight.

My final big complaint - the death of Bucky.  I get that Marvel feels like someone has to die during every crossover to make its exciting (i.e. Goliath, Wasp, Punisher) but the way they kill characters lately really bugs me.  I mean, they left Bucky dead for how many decades? Then they bring him back, make him Winter Soldier, break his brainwashing and make him Captain America after Steve dies.  They even bother to go through the whole "Who Will Wield the Shield?" scenario just to reassure us that Bucky is Captain America now.  So now after all that storylining and character redemption and they just go and kill him.  I get that importance that the new Red Skull killed the new Captain America but why bother going throuhg all the troubel of making him Captain America and Steve in "Commander Rogers" only to have it go back to the way it was before in the next big crossover?

Now with all that out of the way, I DO love this storyline.  Odin has always been this untouchable father figure without a real story of his own and now in one fell swoop we get new family members and a true showing of how much he thinks of lesser being like humans.  Although part of me feels like he always has every intention of helping Earth defend itself because otherwise how did he hear Tony Stark plea?  I don't think Tony has an Asgardian pipeline directly to the All-Father like Thor does so I think that for him to have heard Tony's cries and seen his sacrifice (the scene watching him give up his sobriety was excellent) he must have been already listening.  I wouldn't be surprised to find that he was just forcing Earth's people and his son to rally their forces and show that they deserve to be saved.  

At first I wasn't sure how I felt about the Serpent, just seemed like another God of Fear or Demon of Fear to me and havent we really seen plenty of those before?  But as he gets more power and his Worthy wreak more and more havoc across the Earth, not to mention the newly revealed brotherly rivalry and stolen throne, I find that I am more and more into this newly revealed Asgardian royal.  At the end of this I would like to see him defeated depowered but not destroyed (as characters tend to be in big Asgardian stories) so that we can see him come back without some crazy ret-con explanation.  Maybe hes the Asgardian Maximus the Mad?  A new foil to Thor and Odin now that Loki (for now) is just a mischievous child not the God of Lies.

Overall I am enjoying this storyline and can't wait to see how it turns out.  Between this, Schism, and Children's Crusade I think we are in for a really exciting year after 2011 ends!