A book that foreshadows the future of the Marvel Universe, but ultimately feels more like advertising.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Esad Ribic, Steve McNiven with Chris Samnee, Russell Dauterman, Alex Maleev, Ed McGuinness,
Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, Pepe Larraz, Jim Cheung, Daniel Acuna, Greg Land, Jay Leisten, Mike Deodato, Jr.,; David Marquez
Colors: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
What They Say:
It begins at the dawn of the human race, and ends with a child’s prayer! In between, empires fall, mysteries brew, secrets are revealed, quests are undertaken and legends are forged! All leading up to the dramatic return you’ve been waiting for — and one you’ve been dreading! Jason Aaron (MIGHTY THOR) and Esad Ribic (SECRET WARS) usher in a new dawn — one whose rays will touch every corner of the Marvel Universe in the days to come! MARVEL LEGACY: It’s everything you’ve been longing for — and more!
Content: (warning, content section may contain spoilers!)
The moment of Truth has arrived for Marvel as we dive into Marvel Legacy # 1! It’s been advertised relentlessly and is claimed to be a way for things at Marvel to return to the status quo. The book begins in the Stone Age with the rather neat looking Avengers of that time period- Odin, The Phoenix, Black Panther, a Ghost Rider, Iron Fist, Agamotto, and a hulked out Starbrand. The group encounters a Celestial on Earth, and the book starts telling us what the point of the book is- The exploration of legacy. It must be said, however, that the book handles this rather poorly.
The main focus in the book seems to be with Robbie Reyes, the All-New Ghost Rider. He’s sleepdriven (kinda like sleepwalking but driving) all the way to Africa where he gets into a conflict with a Starbrand determined to protect the world from the slumbering Celestial within. In the midst of this scuffle, we get glimpses of other heroes, like Steve Rogers in a restaurant before beginning his redemption journey, or a message being received from Sakaar asking for the Hulk. The book basically takes the opportunity to have the new versions of heroes follow in the same paths their predecessors did or return to their roots if they are a legacy character. This is where the book’s central idea comes from, but ultimately, that isn’t what It feels like. While the book uses this as it’s basis, it feels more like a series of advertisements.
am Wilson, Ironheart (Riri Williams), and the Jane Foster Thor team up to take down Frost Giants invading a S.H.I.E.L.D. warehouse on Loki’s command, and this is where we get our big reveal of the issue: the original Wolverine has returned to life. This the gives a series of things happening. Loki discovers the Celestial and makes preparations for some new scheme. The final event brings us to some unknown region of outer space, where we discover the biggest surprise of the event. Valeria Richards and her brother Franklin- the children of Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four!
In Summary:
This is a book that tries to accomplish a lot and falls sadly short of most of it. It wants to be a big story that ties all of the Marvel Universe together and looks at both past and future, but it ultimately comes off as advertising and a plea to buy the new books. This is a book with a lot of set up and little payoff. We see Deadpool. The story teases where his story is going and leaves the reader hanging. We see the recently restored Steve Rogers. We get a tease for his upcoming book but no real substance there. The book just teases all the new stuff that’s coming and really don’t do much other than that. For a book about legacy, that theme really isn’t too prevalent in the book, and that’s a real shame since this is a pretty good idea. A second big problem is that the book’s big reveal lacks gravitas. The writers were probably expecting a big reaction when they brought the original Wolverine back, but that calls into question why. Marvel already has X-23, Daken, Old Man Logan, and X-23’s friend Gabby running around. Maybe there would have been more impact if Wolverine didn’t have so many imitators running around right now.
The biggest thing to note here are the scenes that show us Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm, and the ending with Reed Richards children. Marvel has ignored the First Family as of late, not wanting to give advertising for Fox, who holds the movie rights, and the solo comic for Fantastic Four comic ended a while back. The tease that they will once again be a part of the universe, or at least be acknowledged is huge. The artwork in this book was done by a ton of artists, and ir must be said that it doesn’t actually look bad. Most spots are actually quite good, such as the shot of the Stone Age Avengers or the ending shots of Franklin and Valeria Richards speeding into the distance in space. The writing is not anything exceptional but it certainly works. The narration by Valeria is by far the best part, though it will constantly remind the reader that the book was supposed to be about legacies even though not much happens in that regard.
Character dialogue feels ultimately like it does fit the characters, which is welcome with so much else not up to par. The book’s writing certainly flows and makes sense, though sometimes makes little sense or repeats itself in a way. This is, in the end, a book that serves a little more that a plea from Marvel to buy the Legacy line of books. It teases the reader with character development that goes nowhere throughout it’s length and sets up everything that’s coming. There really isn’t much here, but if you are excited for the new Marvel stuff then this is definitely where you want to be. This book will set things p and tell you what you need to know quickly, if without some pertinent information. Overall, it’s not a terrible book, but it is not the best either. It’s a sub-par experience that will make you curious and disappointed.
Grade: C-
Age Rating: T+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: September 27, 2017
MSRP: $5.99