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Marvel Universe vs. The Avengers
There is a couple things I want to say before I start the review: This is a 4 issue mini-series, not an ongoing comic, This is a Marvel else worlds story, so this has no consequence to the Marvel Universe as a whole, and The trade paperback comes out on April 9 (amazon changed it since I initially wrote the review) and is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com for just under $10.
In Marvel Universe vs. The Avengers you follow Hawkeye as he returns from a shield mission to discover that New York City has been infested with some kind of virus that turns people into flesh hungry monsters and from that point it quickly spreads throughout the world leaving very few actual humans left alive. Captain America assembles the Avengers to try and protect the uninfected and discover a cure, but slowly the avengers begin to crumble as they are one by one they also are infected by the hideous disease.
There is a Wolverine lead-in story and a follow-up featuring Punisher, but I was unaware of that when I purchased this series so I didn’t read those, but this is a complete story in itself, so they are not necessary unless you want to read more.
First off what I liked: you really get into the head of Hawkeye as he tries to figure out the best way to handle the situation. We watch as he is stripped of everything in his life and has to kill his family and friends. A hated foe shows up with the promise of a cure if only they bow down and declare him ruler of the earth. So they have to make the hard decision, do they bow to this evil man in hopes that he will present a cure, should they trust him or is lying?
A lot of the characters were well done. It seemed like the creative staff knew what they were doing with these different characters, with a few striking exceptions. Thor make a decision partway through the series that was like nothing I’ve ever seen him do and was totally out of character. Also some of the major Marvel heroes are glossed over. One in particular, who is one of Marvel’s biggest heroes, doesn’t have a single line before he is infected.
I’m not exactly sure how to feel about the ending to the series. The main character ended up where I thought he was going to end up but the way he got to that point was pretty lame, and if I’m being honest just plain stupid.
Normally when I review something I try to discuss what the main message or theme of the story is, but with this story I’m not sure where they are coming from. My first thought was something that was said a few times throughout the story, “In order to fight the monsters you must become a monster yourself.” But with the ugly situations surrounding the words, I’m not sure if they were meant to be a profound truth or a disgusting lie. Also there is an overpowering sense of hopelessness, so perhaps they think that there is no point to life, but there is also a character who says this is the next step in human evolution, so maybe you are supposed to believe that. Truth is, I just don’t know and also I don’t think they were trying to push an agenda. There is an audience for this kind of book and I feel they just wanted to make a “fun end of the world” book.
In the end this had interesting characters and the story kept me on edge from beginning to end, but a poor ending and a few bad character choices makes this a hard one to recommend.
Quality: 7
Relevance: 7
There is a couple things I want to say before I start the review: This is a 4 issue mini-series, not an ongoing comic, This is a Marvel else worlds story, so this has no consequence to the Marvel Universe as a whole, and The trade paperback comes out on April 9 (amazon changed it since I initially wrote the review) and is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com for just under $10.
In Marvel Universe vs. The Avengers you follow Hawkeye as he returns from a shield mission to discover that New York City has been infested with some kind of virus that turns people into flesh hungry monsters and from that point it quickly spreads throughout the world leaving very few actual humans left alive. Captain America assembles the Avengers to try and protect the uninfected and discover a cure, but slowly the avengers begin to crumble as they are one by one they also are infected by the hideous disease.
There is a Wolverine lead-in story and a follow-up featuring Punisher, but I was unaware of that when I purchased this series so I didn’t read those, but this is a complete story in itself, so they are not necessary unless you want to read more.
First off what I liked: you really get into the head of Hawkeye as he tries to figure out the best way to handle the situation. We watch as he is stripped of everything in his life and has to kill his family and friends. A hated foe shows up with the promise of a cure if only they bow down and declare him ruler of the earth. So they have to make the hard decision, do they bow to this evil man in hopes that he will present a cure, should they trust him or is lying?
A lot of the characters were well done. It seemed like the creative staff knew what they were doing with these different characters, with a few striking exceptions. Thor make a decision partway through the series that was like nothing I’ve ever seen him do and was totally out of character. Also some of the major Marvel heroes are glossed over. One in particular, who is one of Marvel’s biggest heroes, doesn’t have a single line before he is infected.
I’m not exactly sure how to feel about the ending to the series. The main character ended up where I thought he was going to end up but the way he got to that point was pretty lame, and if I’m being honest just plain stupid.
Normally when I review something I try to discuss what the main message or theme of the story is, but with this story I’m not sure where they are coming from. My first thought was something that was said a few times throughout the story, “In order to fight the monsters you must become a monster yourself.” But with the ugly situations surrounding the words, I’m not sure if they were meant to be a profound truth or a disgusting lie. Also there is an overpowering sense of hopelessness, so perhaps they think that there is no point to life, but there is also a character who says this is the next step in human evolution, so maybe you are supposed to believe that. Truth is, I just don’t know and also I don’t think they were trying to push an agenda. There is an audience for this kind of book and I feel they just wanted to make a “fun end of the world” book.
In the end this had interesting characters and the story kept me on edge from beginning to end, but a poor ending and a few bad character choices makes this a hard one to recommend.
Quality: 7
Relevance: 7