Review: Siege #2
The second issue of Marvel's big storyline event, Siege, is out and it continues to chronicle Norman Osborn's assault on Asgard with the forces of evil or, in some cases, simple obedience. It's an interesting issue with one big(-ish) death and some gorgeous artwork but really, the most exciting thing about it is what - or rather who - it indicates could be major players in the next issue. If the goal of Siege #2 is to sell me Siege #3, then mission accomplished. If the goal was to entertain me, well... I guess.
Spoiler Alert! Hit the button for more detailed impressions, sure, but know that you've been warned!
There is a lot of gorgeous art in this book, huge scenes of dozens or hundreds of individuals fighting other individuals, all in elaborate costumes. That all looks very nice, especially the faces. The faces tend to be open and expressive and the bodies big and chunky and beefy in a style that suggests the outsized presence of these characters in the world they inhabit. I love the look and the degree of detail - including when the detail is toned down to emphasize the over-the-top cartoon nature of the current storyline.
As to narrative content, man, Norman Osborn sure as hell is a villain, isn't he? Osborn gets to walk around like the cocky sumbitch he really is, making me hate him more and more, but then the last page suggests a comeuppance is on the way that will be extremely satisfying when it - literally - hits. Please, Marvel, please do not pull the rug out from under me on that one, 'kay?
The big news of this issue, though, is in theory when the Sentry rips Ares in half after knocking him around for a while. I know this is supposed to be a big deal - you know, god of war in a book titled Siege vs. Marvel's super-charged Superman - but it doesn't really engage me very much. Ares' participation in Osborn's assault is - as pointed out here in comments - built on the flimsiest of cases and Ares' quick turn-around once it's pointed out to him that, y'know, Loki, maybe not so much with the trusting, well, that kind of seals the deal for me on his being a huge dumbass.
I suppose I should feel sympathy for any being that gets ripped in half but honestly having it done at the hands of the character I consider least interesting of all their pseudo-heroes doesn't really get my engine firing on all cylinders. There's something about it that feels tokenish, as if Marvel said to themselves, "OK, we need to kill off someone," or perhaps more accurately, "OK, we need Sentry to kill off someone." As a character, they've let power-creep erode Sentry's capacity to hold interest. Where are they supposed to take him, exactly, as a person? How exactly is anyone supposed to be able to beat him? It's the same problem that Peter Petrelli faced in Heroes for at least a season or two and, for me, it makes a character instantly dull.
Now, contrast that with the other god who's large in this issue - Thor - and how they manage to present him as both hobbled and incredibly powerful. That's what a god is supposed to be like. So, are the rest of these jokers gods or not? And if they are, is the Sentry that much more than a god? News flash: that would be even less interesting to me, and yet they can't walk him back from that now that he's rather messily killed Ares.
On the other hand, something tells me that there's a hidden commentary there in the specific plot point in question: that if Norman Osborn is going to war and, in the process, kills the god of war, he's either doing something very right or very wrong. I doubt Osborn is capable of coming to the correct conclusion or even of noticing that irony in the first place.
However, there are some great scenes that fill out the rest of the book. Cap's leadership of the good guys is some pretty priceless stuff, inspiring in the classic Captain America way that works so well. That bit with the shield at the end, reflected in Norman Osborn's armor and getting larger all the time? Positively tingly. Spider-Man's quip when they open the wormhole to Oklahoma is just exactly meta enough as jokes go. Venom's chin dripping blood is probably the creepiest and most genuinely horrifying thing in the whole book, but then, Venom has always worked against me for some reason.
Best of all, though, is that the Young Avengers are in Captain America's crew for the counterattack. Does that mean Siege #3 is going to see everyone's favorite Marvel teens hitting the battlefield? Please oh please oh please oh please let that be the case. Pretty please?
Klarion
Posted to Review on 17 February 2010
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: Marvel, Siege, Thor Is Like Sex On Legs, Young Avengers
excellent excellent write up. You make some great points, particularly about the Sentry and Norman Osborn. As for Ares and hell, half of the Dark Avengers who were neutral or gulible enough to side with Osborn under false pretenses, I think this is the sort of payoff I expected. And as such, I can't feel too badly when someone who alligns himself with someone as ethically questionable as that actually does what is in character and turn on you when you get wise to how badly your decision has cost you. While I'm glad Ares got wise to the bull, he's done a lot of damage on Normy's little running crew. Don't think I'll be wearing an arm band. Secondly, can a god of war actually die? Third(ly?), I was uber stoked about the Young Avengers involvement...with any luck we can see an Age of Heroes restart for their ongoing. More Young Avengers in 2010 pleasepleaseplease!
Yeah Klarion, the whole Ares mess is exactly what derailed my interest in the very start of the issue. I took issue with the flimsy logic in Siege #1 and I take issue with it here as well. I does really feel like it was all an excuse to get Sentry to rip someone in half.
I also completely agree with your assesment of Sentry. How am I supposed to care about him? He rarely speaks, or makes logical decisions, and he's invulnerable. He's more like a force of nature at this point. I can feel bad when a natural disaster kills someone, but no one feels bad for the natural disaster.
If I had to guess: They're setting Sentry up to be so super-powerful, that when something else defeats him in an upcoming issue, the audience will be aghast. However, given the execution (haha) of Ares death, I am not sure that Sentry's defeat will illicit any emotional response other than "finally!"
I read more mainstream comics a definitely more about mainstream comics than I probably should, and I honestly didn't even know there was such a thing as "Seige." I thought they were still doing whatever followed Secret Invansion. Are events like this really the only thing that Marvel does now? Um. And I'll read almost anything with Wiccan and Hulking in it, but even that didn't get me to finish Secret Invasion.
Yes that shot of Venom dripping blood was creepy, it said so much without saying it, considering what just happened to Ares. And yes Ares, big deal, but still very cool to see that gore in a Marvel comic. After New Mutants #10 (watching paint dry is more fun) I really needed Marvel to do something serious.
I don't know how Steve Rogers is alive, and I think it's silly that he is, I still hope his shield does hit it's target in the first panel of the next issue. We shall see.