Time travel, it seems, is unavoidable in this tale. I could be wrong of course, and by god I hope I am, but right now to me this feels like a certainty.
SPOILERS CONTAINED WITHIN!
A chromium cover? I don’t think I have bought one of these since the 90′s, and it brings forth both a pleasant trip down memory lane and an embarrassed chuckle. There’s just something about it that feels quite tacky to me but I am unsure why. Visually it works and I can’t help but take greater care with it as though the shine coincides with value. Still, it’s an interesting throwback that reminds me of how long it has been since I read a comic with Ultron in it. I also mentioned at the top that this review contains spoilers but I do feel as though the comic itself should have come with the same warning. I will get into that later.
The main Achilles’ heel with this kind of setting is that it must allow for the Marvel Universe to “heal” again.
The story drops us right in the middle of a new world. The one we knew has gone and in it’s rubble grows a monstrosity of technology casting it’s shadow across the devastation left by a seemingly great war. Instantly alarm bells rang as I read the first few pages. The main Achilles’ heel with this kind of setting is that it must allow for the Marvel Universe to “heal” again. It could never undergo such drastic changes without some sort of event acting as a cosmic reset button since no amount of damage control could rebuild an entire world. Time travel, it seems, is unavoidable in this tale. I could be wrong of course, and by god I hope I am, but right now to me this feels like a certainty.
The most frustrating part of this issue however was Peter Parker’s character.
As far as artwork goes I was equally unsold. I personally enjoy comic art to be bold and crisp such as the work of Stuart Immonen or Humberto Ramos. The work that penciler Bryan Hitch, inker Paul Neary, and colorist Paul Mounts have done for “Age Of Ultron” complements the atmosphere of the tale brilliantly but I just didn’t enjoy a large quantity of the panels. There’s a huge amount of detail in some panels where the line-work and shadows are so dense that it brings me right back to the 90′s, where as others seem to lack detail entirely. The angle of the scene where Emma Frost first appears would, in my opinion, have been better if it was an upward shot to complement Peter Parker’s view. That particular panel was frustratingly bare to me although I am sure I am the only person in the world that it bothered.
The angle of the scene where Emma Frost first appears would, in my opinion, have been better if it was an upward shot to complement Peter Parker’s view. That particular panel was frustratingly bare to me although I am sure I am the only person in the world that it bothered.
The most frustrating part of this issue however was Peter Parker’s character. The dialogue was witty, with great banter between characters. It was the Parker we all love and it was great to see him back on form. One problem. Parker has not been “himself” recently in the “Superior Spider-man” series. This brings me to the “spoiler” I feel this comic contains. I refuse to believe that Bendis has no idea on the recent happenings in the Spider-man character, and even if he had somehow managed to be completely oblivious, someone in the process would have been sure to correct him during the proof reading phase. We all know that Parker will no doubt end up in his own body again as is repeatedly hinted at even by himself (Superior Spider-man #5 – “when I get that body back I’ll have to work off an Otto Octavious-sized gut!”) but to have it dangled in front of us in the future world it takes away the feeling of “what if”. Again, there is always the possibility that I have misread the situation and it’s entirely possible that Parker’s and Otto’s minds merge into one in a strange twist of fate and this is the outcome we are seeing. Who knows. Right now however it feels like a slip up of sorts.
The dialogue was witty, with great banter between characters.
As a whole the comic is intriguing and I will definitely be buying the rest of the run. Especially with the fact that Joe Quesada will be drawing the final pages of Age Of Ultron himself. The art not being to my personal tastes aside it really isn’t as bad as I have perhaps made it sound. I’m just hoping the world being fixed at the end (still betting on time travel) won’t leave me feeling like I have just watched an “it was all a dream” episode from a bad sitcom.
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Posted on March 16th, 2013
Category: REVIEWS, SMELLS LIKE GEEK
Tags: Age of Ultron #1 Review, avengers, brian michael bendis, Bryan Hitch, Comic Reviews, marvel comics, Smells Like Geek, spider-man, Steve Tasteslikedoom Fable, Steve Tipple, Ultron