The murder mystery that will reveal more secrets than an episode of whatever show it is that reveals a lot of secrets has begun! So with Original Sin actually getting underway, Infinite Man & Aron Fist once again venture into a Marvel event to see if there’s anything worth reading in the these pages amidst all of the rubber glowing eyeballs and alternate covers. And if not, will their kung-fu and ultimate disc golf skills be enough to see them through until the end?
Original Sin #2
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Mike Deodato
The superhero murder mystery continues, and while the Avengers are chasing another Mindless One through a skyscraper, Black Panther and his team are picking through corpses. It seems like the unknown assassin was practicing before he stepped up to put a hole in Uatu’s head. There’s also a nice reveal that was so obvious Aaron hid it in plain sight (pun intended) of the reader.
Aaron is two issues in and picking up steam with Original Sin. We are treated to more action in this one as we get a super spy in a flying car, Avengers and X-Men fighting TOGETHER for a change, and a pile of dead bodies. And while Aaron handles a larger cast in this issue, the plot stays focused and worth the price of admission. Especially with Deodato’s artwork making this entire thing look as good as it does.
Now that Uatu’s eye has “exploded,” it seems like a lot of dirty little secrets are about to come to light, and a lot of people are going to be angry. Hopefully the next few issues don’t devolve into a hero vs. hero slugfest and the story keeps getting bigger and bigger. I say that because right now it doesn’t feel like an “event” just yet, but it has been a nice starting point. – IM
Rating: 4/5
While Deodato makes it all pretty to look at and Aaron makes it all intriguing to read, we’re left with so many questions. Not many answers…yet.
Questions like: “Who is that Thing-looking thing?” “Why is an old Ghost Rider villain so important?” “Why couldn’t The Mindless Ones be this cool a long time ago?” “Who else thinks it’s weird that The Punisher is traveling to other-worldly realms with Doctor Strange?” “With the way she jumps through windows of tall buildings, guns a’blazing, is Exterminatrix really Charlie Baltimore?” “Why does Tony Stark sit around Avengers Tower in just his underwear and helmet?”
I am sticking this one out. Marvel seems to be doing a summer event right, once again. You would do yourself some good to put your eyes on this series. Pun intended. – AF
Rating: 4/5
Avengers #29
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Aron Fist is a little confused. An ORIGINAL SIN tie-in that, at first glance to me, seems to have nothing to do with ORIGINAL SIN.
Captain America remembers stuff. He remembers the Illuminati tampering with his memory because he went all Boy Scout on them way back when, and corners Iron Man with some Avengers muscle. What did Cap remember? What did Cap see? What did this have to do with ORIGINAL SIN? Is someone’s original sin about to be revealed?
I’m going to default to Infinite Man on this one and tell you to trust his word on it. This issue made my head hurt. – AF
Rating: 2/5
Being that Hickman has been building towards this moment for some time, it gives this issue some pretty strong legs to stand on, though it would have been preferable if so much time wasn’t devoted to revisiting the past events right after reading the recap page. Making most of those pages a bit redundant until we get to Steve wielding the Infinity Gauntlet, and we revisit what happens to the gems. In spite of all of that, Hickman turns this issue around with the conflict build between Tony and Steve. This is where the issue shines as their back and forth just keeps escalating until the point where you know it’s going to get rough. Then when that happens, Hickman decides to hit you with a bomb that seems to overshadow the cliffhanger in the main series! Which is pretty rare for a tie-in, and this one demands you come back for more!
The artwork from Yu carries the tone of this issue perfectly. It’s moody, intense, and when the action hits he nails it once again. The exchange between Cap and Thor pretty much lets you know that things are about to go down, and it’s one of the many great looking panel sequences in the book.
If you’ve been reading this title since the first issue you will get a bit more out of this than someone just now coming on because of the event. However, any new reader doesn’t have to go back and read the previous twenty-eight issues to understand what’s going on. So, for the first official tie-in to Original Sin, Avengers #29 is actually worth the paper it’s printed on! – IM
Rating: 4/5
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
Aron White
aron@comicattack.net
