*of course, huge spoilers ahead*
New Avengers #2
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Pencilled by Steve Epting
Inked by Rick Magyar
Cover by Jock
Dated March 2013
I hope you’re all ready for this, because in the pages of New Avengers issue 3, Jonathan Hickman gives us the details on what could be the most dire situation the Marvel U has ever faced.
If you’ll recall, in the first issue Black Panther witnessed an “incursion”. That is, one Earth from an alternate reality began to crash into the Earth of the standard 616 universe. That crash never happened, though, thanks to a black and white clad harbinger named Black Swan. We see in the opening of this issue that Swan was captured and we begin with Reed Richards trying to pull some information out of her.
What we learn is this: an event happened on some alternate Earth somewhere out there in the multiverse that lead to its premature destruction. Like dominoes, Earths from across the multiverse are now crashing into each other, leading to entire realities being wiped out. There are two outcomes of an incursion, either both universes die, or one is destroyed and the other spared. Heavy stuff, man.
The rest of the issue covers the roundtable discussion of the Illuminati (that’s Captain America, Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Blackbolt, Namor, Black Panther and Dr. Strange). We’re reminded that each member has an Infinity Gem (except for the newly inducted Black Panther and the “celestial messiah” Black Bolt). There is a panel for panel rehash of Reed’s speech from issue 1 about how “all things come to an end” and trust me, this isn’t the last time we’ll see this scene. It’s something of an unnecessary repeat, but c’mon, that’s one of Hickman’s favourite moves.
So Reed explains the incursion to our heroes (who are given a lengthy, again unnecessary roll call) and Captain America makes a point letting everyone know there is no way he’ll consider destroying another reality to save his own. That’s not what heroes are about. Everyone agrees, but when push comes to shove what decision will be made?
They all decide that they first need to be able to detect any incoming incursions. Reed says “fine, we can do that” and we’re told they’ll all get devices to warn them when the event occurs. They then resolve that to solve this problem, they’ll probably need to reform the infinity gauntlet. No problem, except they need to grab the dead Professor X’s mind gem. We’re told that shouldn’t be too much of a problem either.
As a side plot, Namor’s Atlantis has gone to war with Black Panther’s Wakanda. We don’t see any of this war, we’re only told about it. It’s poorly explained and seems to be a plot device to turn Namor and Panther against each other, causing an unhealthy amount of internal tension in the Illuminati. Are we supposed to forget that this plot already happened way back in the pages of Christopher Priest’s Black Panther in the early 00s? Probably.
The issue ends with four panels depicting future events, for some reason. I’m pretty sure this was just Hickman’s way of saying “looking how forward-thinking I am!” It’s neat, looking back and seeing how these events have come to pass, but as foreshadowing it doesn’t exactly intrigue. We know there will be fighting and death and stuff, but there’s nothing that screams “wow I can’t wait for that!”
I like the situation Hickman has set up. It’s a catastrophe where the readers are just as stumped as the characters. What would you do? All too often we get plots where we see characters make stupid decisions that lead to easily avoidable tragedies. We’re constantly yelling at characters to just be real and do the obvious thing, but exciting plots dictate other actions. Here, we see the world’s most powerful heroes question their core morals. It’s a complex situation that is easy for any reader to understand.
Of course, there’s plenty of mystery in the mix as well. Black Swan keeps mentioning her enigmatic master, The Great Destroyer. We’re told Manifolds don’t work outside their own universe (and guess who just joined up with the Avengers?). There are those four future panels at the end that leave a few questions and show us characters we’ve never seen before. It’s enough to keep the reader guessing and continue reading, even if this was an entire issue of talking heads.
I can’t say Steve Epting impressed here, basically because he only had to draw a handful of characters, from the waist up, against a black background. It all looks good, but it’s a waste of his talents. Frank D’Armata does a fine job, uh, colouring those backgrounds black.
Though there’s plenty of waste with repetition and dialogue that goes in circles, I enjoyed this issue. There’s enough explanation that satisfies and enough mystery that entices. Let’s see what our heroes do…
New Avengers #3
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Pencilled by Steve Epting
Inked by Rick Magyar
Cover by Jock
Dated April 2013
That minor problem last issue, the one about Professor X’s mind gem? Don’t worry about it, he willed it to Hank McCoy, our friendly neighbourhood Beast. Cap and the gang swing by to grab him and the Illuminati becomes at least 12% blue fur.
Equipping themselves with the incursion warning/tracking devices Reed Richards created, the Illuminati head out for their first group event. They plan to reform the infinity gauntlet and repel the incoming incursion. Seems like a sound plan, but their prisoner Black Swan tells them it won’t be enough.
Captain America is elected wielder of the gauntlet and Hickman smartly shows us the Watcher, Thanos and Galactus all taking notice. I’m glad that as a writer, Hickman understands the weight of what he’s portraying. The good news—it works! The invading universe is deterred and their reality is saved! The bad news—the gauntlet is destroyed in the process and all of the infinity gems shatter (except the time gem, it disappears). Whoops! Looks that like that trick won’t work again and another incursion could happen at any minute!
Cap admittedly feels responsible and regrets what might have been his inability to use the gauntlet properly. But there’s no way they’ll be blowing up other worlds the save their own! Nope, Cap won’t have any of that. The rest of the gang, however… well, they’ll do what needs to be done, perhaps at the cost of their morals and humanity. They decide to mind wipe Cap and Doctor Strange does the deed. Sure, everyone will feel guilty, but at the end of the day they don’t want Cap yelling at them for sacrificing their values. You gotta do what you gotta do to save the universe.
By having the infinity gauntlet destroyed, Hickman ups his game another notch. Of course our heroes wouldn’t find a solution that quickly. And what now? What will our heroes have to do to stop these incursions? Could things get any bleaker!?
Steve Epting delivers another solid issue, but here he seems perhaps a tad rushed. Things get muddy occasionally and there’s an overall lack of finishing touches. It’s by no means ugly, but we’ve seen more professional work from Epting in the past. Half of the issue takes place in that shadowy round table room again, but the exterior shots and the beginning at Xavier’s mansion show us Epting still has artistic muscles when he’s allowed to flex them.
I must say, the one big disappointment here is Black Panther. He’s written properly, I suppose, being the king who puts his nation first, but he’s lost what’s made him special. Panther was always sort of the coolest, smartest guy in the room. He always had a plan but didn’t always fill you in. Hickman writes him as something of a jerk. Perhaps it’s the nature of the situation he’s in, but I always had fun with Black Panther and in these pages he feels more like Doctor Doom than a superhero. No fun at all.
If you’ve been reading Hickman’s Avengers you now understand what “the machine is broken” means. The multiverse is collapsing in on itself and dying out before it’s time. How do you patch that one up?