I was hoping Brian Michael Bendis might undo the damage he’s done to Age of Ultron. I was hoping he’d use issue eight to reverse the unnecessarily convoluted timeline he created in issue #7. I was hoping issue eight might get everything back on track. Nope, Brian Michael Bendis, the man who pays little attention to continuity and has a problem with going off on ridiculous tangents, has done it again. Age of Ultron #8 is a hot mess and, with only two issues left in the series, I fear the entire arc will crash and burn.
Wolverine and Sue Richards, the ones from the normal Marvel Universe, have been captured in this new timeline, a timeline created when Wolverine and Storm went back and killed Hank Pym. Issue #8 wastes little time in rushing to establish the new timeline. Apparently, during the epic Latveria-Asgard wars, Tony Stark was ripped in half by Morgana Le Fey. These wars, which the good guys lost, apparently came about due to Hank Pym’s death. The Avengers broke up after Pym died and technology was dealt such a blow it couldn’t possibly rise against Le Fey’s magic.
So, let’s recap. The death of Hank Pym has silenced technology, brought about the end of The Avengers, led to Tony Stark being deformed and, somehow, turned Stark into the self-appointed ruler of whatever is left of the world. Toiling under Stark’s direction is Professor X and Emma Frost. After the dual psychics convince Stark that this is not a trick, that Wolverine and Richards are from another reality, the three decided that the Defenders should head back to their HQ and let the team of Frost, Stark and Xavier deal with Sue and Logan. The Defenders have a very different idea and try to free them. Suddenly, Morgana Le Fey attacks and there is a massive magic versus technology battle. It ends with the SHIELD helicarrier exploding.
Why Bendis decided on all of this is still a mystery to me. The death of Hank Pym, a peripheral character at best, has led to the complete decimation of everything? That’s a little melodramatic, isn’t it? Don’t get me wrong, I think the fallout of Pym’s death should be important, but Bendis goes way over the top. In doing so, he manages to eradicate characters’ true selves in order to make them work for his story. Professor X and Emma Frost working for Tony Stark? It might be a cool idea, except it goes against everything Frost and Xavier are about.
The Avengers break up? The Avengers? The most critical team in history just calls it a day because Pym died? How did this end up with Stark being leader of the world? Bendis is so invested in telling his story, he just shoehorns in plot points to make sure he can tell it. Science falls apart after Pym died? Um, yeah, that’s because, um, oh, right, Reed Richards dies. Thor vanishes. Everything is a complete and utter failure because Hank Pym died? Sorry, Bendis, it’s way too much to take seriously.
Bendis would have been better off leaving this world a mystery. Allowing Wolverine and Sue Storm to see how screwed up it all is and decide to hatch a plan to get back to where Wolverine decided to kill Hank Pym and opt out of it. Not Bendis – he’s too wrapped up in his own story to see the detriment it does to the entire arc. The other problem is with the remaining issues. With only two left, Age of Ultron will more than likely end up with a rushed finish. Too bad, since the first six issues of the series really did set up something awesome. Bendis might pull it out, but I doubt it.
Visually, Brandon Peterson does a great job, though I must admit, he’s got a thing for big boobs. The cover featuring Sue Storm endows her with large bosoms and man, Emma Frost comes damn near to freak porn star proportions. Outside of that, Peterson’s lines a strong, his characters well penciled and his action scenes exciting. While the entire issue is excellent, the battle between Morgan and the superheroes is really top notch.
Age of Ultron started strong, but Bendis’ need to go right off the reservation has cost it dearly. What started as dark and exciting has now become convoluted and tedious.
(5 Art, 2 Story)
