Secret War, Secret Invasion, Infinity War

Infinity War

I saw this for the second time this weekend.  It didn’t hold up as well - The slow parts got slower, and the cool parts didn’t have the icing of first-time-viewing-joy.  (The slow parts, by the way, mostly involved anything between Gamora and Thanos. Despite the Russos’ best efforts, I never invested in the emotional core of their relationship, so all of their scenes together just dragged and dragged.)  The character interactions still completely entertained me, and the actions scenes still rocked, but they didn’t have the staying power of Last Jedi’s best moments. There was no hyperspace space scene, no throne room duel, no Luke’s final stand.  The ending was just as affecting (Tom Holland is amazing!), but it’s not the kind of thing that thrills the soul.

Secret War 1-5

I read the first issue of Secret Invasion, then realized that Secret War was a set up to this.  Since it was the next series in the box, I skipped ahead to read it before returning back to Invasion.  Lots of secrets today. (Followed up with a lot more - Secret Warriors and the original Secret Wars coming up next.)

I didn’t realize that this was Quake’s first appearance.  She doesn’t do much here, besides collapsing a castle and throwing out a ton of attitude.  She’s one of the few Marvel characters who has been defined in my head by their tv incarnation, as opposed to their comic book one.  (Claire Temple’s another one that comes to mind.)

I like the underlying premise of Secret War. The Marvel universe has a ton of B and C-list villains with sophisticated armor and weaponry.  How in the world are they able to afford it? Turns out they’re funded by Latveria, rendering them terrorists in Nick Fury’s mind. It’s a clever take on something that I’ve taken for granted my entire life.  

Gabriele Dell’Otto does a nice job with the painted art.  The dark palette and slightly exaggerated musculature reminds me a lot of Ariel Olivetti’s work in The Last Avengers Story.

Dell'Otto

Olivetti.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Pretty Good

Secret Invasion 1-8

This stands reasonably well on its own without needing to read the crossover issues, but it could have used a lot more development in the last couple of issues.  It felt like a lot of things got glossed over towards the end. I’ll write more about this if I have the time tomorrow.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Pretty Good