New Avengers, Vol. 1: Everything Dies (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
I have a feeling that the day when I give a rating of "it was amazing" to the Marvel comic is approaching. And "New Avengers Vol. 1 Everything Dies" certainly had something to do with this believe becoming stronger. Prior to this I had given three times the rating of 4 stars and "really liked it" moniker to the MARVEL titles. But it was more like 3.75 to both Spider Island and All New X-men Vol.1, and a real 4.0 to the Ultimates Vol.1. But this time perfectly shows why a .5 ratings would be good, or even decimal ones. As this comic I'm currently writing about gets a 4.5, and is just short of the highest possible rating of full five stars. I can't even name glaring issues, it's just my gut says it wasn't amazing, but"just" really, really good and exciting and I'm hoping and having my fingers crossed that the volume 2, or 3, can, if not exceed, than at least keep up the splendid work Mr.Hickman and his team produced here. When I started reading this volume, after the first issue (out of collected six) my thought was- oh, so now MARVEL saw that universe crashing stuff is ok and quite blatantly took the material of the CRISIS events from DC, and just made them with their own heroes and the take on multiversity (I know it's a DC term, but I dunno how it's called in MARVEL universe). But well - I'm glad I was right and wrong at the same time. Right in the way that it still is a sort of CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS sort-of-a-story, but wrong in the way that they simply made it better by doing it by not throwing in every possible and impossible character the publisher has created since their origin and creating one damn big and colorful mess, but instead chose a more subtle and intimate scenario, where a team of few strongest and smartest representatives of the earth, that formed what is known as Illuminaty, decide the fate of the EARTH, and basically rest of the universes.And oh man, I do love how these characters decide what to do and what not to do, and how a blunder rests heavily on their consciousness, as it basically means each time they pay with a death of another universe. This is the tale when "you take what you get", even if that what you get is based on some morally grey choices, or in other scenarios - just plain evil. And it leads to one of the best moments, and a moment that redeems MARVEL in my eyes as a publisher that is self-aware - the role of the Cpt.Democracy... ok, Cpt.Propaganda... fine, fine- Captain America. As you can guess I have no love whatsoever for this character for his no compromises and "let's play by the book approach" imposing approach with a bit of an overdose of pathos in it. And Mr.Hickman obviously knows this and uses it to his, and this comics advantage - I won't spoil the moment itself, as others have done in their reviews, but let's just say that I had a gleeful smile not just on my face, but also deep within, when Cpt.Justice was outvoted and dismissed by other members of Illuminati... after illustrating his incapability of doing what had to be done at the most crucial moment. And this also justifies him being even there in the first place (though, he had an Infinity gem and he is sole part of the book that carries the Avengers name...but not for long). Besides the aforementioned "peacemaker" Illuminati consists of Tony Stark aka Iron Man, Black Bolt, Dr.Strange, T'Challa aka The Black Panther, Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic, Namor and the newest member, not by choice, but by powers given - the Beast (should have been Charles Xavier, but oh well - he's dead). The thing is - they did their prescribed roles perfectly! At least in the presented context of this given comic book, as I am not that well aware of the personalities of T'Challa, Namor and Dr.Strange (these three are known to me by some random and brief appearances in other comic series, or tv shows made that were based upon them, And if I recall correctly - this might be even the first time I had a "pleasure" of meeting Namor). And oh boy, I loved their bickering and chemistry. basically - they all are anti-heroes in this comic, which is great!Another character, and a key player in this book was Black Swan, and besides being damn hot (sorry...bet the artist definitely tried not to cover her sexual appeal, to which I have no qualms whatsoever) she has also some heavy backstory and a burden to carry, plus a possible "femme fatale" aspect might manifest in the upcoming volumes (oh you, Reed Richards...). It's a wonderfully written all round character, that has a role of a lead lady (in this purely macho comic, as, if I'm not wrong, she is the only female in the volume 1, who has any meaningful weight). Looking forward to see more of her story uncovered and character developed in the upcoming releases!Another thing worth mentioning, if only briefly - the art! This is what I call an A grade comic book art. It is how it's supposed to be done - a joy to the eyesand a feeling that you are looking at work of a professional artist that has a talent and earns his money well. Thank you Steve Eptig (penciler/inker), Rick Magyar (colorist) and Frank D'Armata (inker) - you did a good job! If you want your dose of grey choices in the MARVEL comics, that are done by wonderfully well written characters that are by no means "just good guys" (that can "dismiss" Cpt.A) in an event that has on the stake not only the usual Earth-616, but also rest of the universes, that is accompanied by a high grade artwork - The New Avengers Vol.1 - Everything Dies - is for you! I simply recommend it to any "caped" comic book fan!4(.5)/5 and I "really liked"! PS. At this moment I feel a bit ashamed as I bought it on a sale for 3.99$, but oh well - otherwise I wouldn't have touched an Avengers title as I have no love for Cpt.America, nor majority of other classy, and not, members (ok, Spidey is fine). This was pretty dark. It featured the Illuminati (with the addition of Black Panther and Professor Xavier having been replaced by the Beast) dealing with the multiverse collapsing into the 616 universe, causing alternate Earths to collapse into the 616 Earth, which would destroy both. It involved the Illuminati coming to terms with the idea of destroying whole planets to save their own, with varying degrees of moral qualms for each. It was an interesting story, but also had that feel of not quite relating to anything else in the Marvel universe. It was interesting, but not something I'm eager to continue reading. I also found the characterization of the Beast rather different than he is normally portrayed (In a recent issue of Secret Avengers I read, he agonized over killing a few dozen people, and here is not bothered at all by considering destroying a planet's worth), but it was not totally off. It was good, but didn't wow me.
What do You think about New Avengers, Vol. 1: Everything Dies (2013)?
Great Story line...Love the line-up, Great Author and Artist.
—valerieannette2014
Namor put it best, "Ridiculous, what nonsense!"
—roruromi
