What is even going on here anymore?!
Creative Staff:
Writer: Nick Spencer
Art: Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Rod Reis, Joshua Cassara, Rachelle Rosenberg
Color: Sunny Gho
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
What They Say:
here is a power that can either save the world or doom it! Both Steve Rogers and the heroes arrayed against him need this power! But unfortunately for all of them, the key to possessing this power lies in the hands of the unstoppable Ultron! LIVE IN X-CITING TIMES! SECRET EMPIRE!
Content: (warning content sections may contain spoilers)
Another week, another issue of Secret Empire. Tony Stark and the Underground need the Cosmic Cube pieces to bring Captain America back to the good side. problem is, SSteve wants them for a different use. This brings both teams to Alaska, where Ultron has made a robotic nation for himself, while Steve gets Punisher to track down Black Widow and her new “Red Room” in Baltimore. Both teams attempt to infiltrate the area without alerting Ultron, who now wears part of Hank Pym’s face, but things go less than well there. The concept of bringing Tony and Steve’s opposing teams together is interesting under the circumstances but really adds nothing to the overall story but more heroes bickering with each other. The biggest revelation here is when we learn that Hank Pym has subdued the mind of Ultron and has been controlling him, thus preventing the robotic army from attacking the world. The biggest part of this issue is the conversation that ensues when Ultron/Pym brings both sides together.
This scene gives us not only a close up look at the character relations at this time, but also a rather pointed jab at the comic company itself. Ultron/Pym cuts in when the opposing heroes begin arguing, and says, “Listen to yourselves–This constant bickering and battling, always at each other’s throats…It’s all you ever DO anymore! What’s HAPPENED to you?!” It’s rather interesting that Spencer chose to write that line, considering that what Ultron/Pym describes there is exactly what’s been going on at Marvel for a long time now. Ultron/Pym also drops a rather big accusatory bombshell on the teams. Ultron hasn’t come to destroy humanity because after things like Tony’s Superhuman Registration act and Steve’s Hydra aspirations, Humanity is destroying itself for him. Another big scene is the one after, where tony says that the reason the Avengers stopped being as much of a family was because of Hank. This is another big one because Spencer could be pointing at the fact that Marvel moved away from using Pym as much in stories after they made him attack his wife, and in short order, it became, as Hank angrily yells here, “All any of you will ever remember me for–All you ever say about me!” After Scott manages to calm Hank down, We see that our heroes will have a harder time hunting fragments than they thought, because sure, Ultron gave them his, but Cap is not without one either.
This book has turned now into a race against time/collect the fragments book, and it’s hard to know who to root for here, but Cap may be gaining new allies in a rather odd move for Namor by the writers. The concept has become a ticking clock hunt, and i’m not yet sure how it’ll work.
In summary:
This issue has indeed left is in a rather precarious place. It’s now a race against time to obtain all the fragments, with a final battle all but inevitable between the Underground forces of Tony Stark and the Hydra forces of Captain America. Marvel seems unable to stay away from big hero vs hero conflicts, though Hank Pym sort of makes a meta joke about that. The story and dialogue make it clear that solving things diplomatically isn’t an option, as neither side is willing to give in and seem to hate each other with passion. Cap still unfortunately firmly believes what he is doing is the right thing, and we seem to have a Civil War set up without having that event. The book sets up Punisher going after Natasha Romanoff and her new recruits, but it remains to be seen whether that plot point gets continued in the main story or not. The plot, while really confusing by this point, flows well enough, and Spencer does make it understandable somewhat.
The art is passable and works with what we’re given, and the tone is one of desperation as the ticking clock starts. The concept hasn’t really gotten any better after 4 issues, and if you weren’t interested initially, you most likely won’t be now. The book is decent but not much happens, and one is still left with the feeling that this is just all so wrong. Wrong from both a character perspective and a story one. This story should not need to be told, and it’s rather sad that it is being told. We’ll have to see how it picks up from here and what questions the next issue can answer.
Grade: C-
Age Rating: T+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: June 14, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
