Avengers: Armageddon #3
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Ario Anindito
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Cover Artist: Dike Ruan and Moreno Dinisio
Publisher: Marvel Comics
A super-powered man in a cape is flying around the world and disposing of everyone's nuclear weapons.
I think I saw a movie like this once?
One Man Army
The Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Winter Soldier, and Wolverine have all gathered together to discuss David Colton. Logan brought the Origin Box that he used on Colton so that the "big brains" could figure out what it was and if it could be reversed.
Speaking of David Colton, the former Captain America turned "superman" is making his way around the world, attacking army bases and taking their nuclear weapons. Public perception of superheroes is at a perilously low level.
Colton finds himself confronted by Wolverine and the Winter Soldier. Logan makes an argument that what he's doing is going to lead the world down a path to—wait for it—armageddon. But Bucky has other ideas, and actually gives Colton the locations of a bunch of secret bases that he hadn't taken out yet. Oh, and Colton throws Wolverine up into space. Don't worry, he'll be fine. Healing factor and all.
We haven't even talked about Thaddeus Ross, the Red Hulk, yet. After his takeover of Latveria and subsequent beatdown by Colton, Ross finds himself in Russia as a "guest" of the Winter Guard. They seem to have plans for him, and place a collar around his neck that makes his eyes glow orange.
While all this is going on, Iron Man is trying to decipher the Doom-designed device that Ross was using to predict the future. The way it works is pretty dark and very Victor von Doom. Colton attacks the gathered heroes so that they can't try stopping him. Guess that device isn't seeing the future too well, huh, Tony?
Oh, and Nick Fury Jr. has had it with superheroes and has turned S.H.I.E.L.D. into an organization designed to protect humanity from the supers. Which, given that Colton might have just started World War Three, is a stance that seems pretty easy to get behind…
Nuclear Man
There's a whole lot going on here, which befits a big Marvel summer event.
But at the same time, this isn't as explosive and bombastic as something like Civil War or Siege.
Despite its literally world-threatening stakes, Avengers: Armageddon is a more character-driven event so far. It just so happens that one of those characters, David Colton, is a "hit first, never ask questions, maybe hit them again for good measure" kind of guy.
Colton is flying around the world and gathering up everyone's nuclear weapons, then throwing them into the sun. This is similar to what Superman did in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and so it leads me to ask: just whose Origin Box did Wolverine use on him? Since Supes is a DC Comics character, it can't be him. My money is on Hyperion—he definitely fits the "powers of Superman but he's lacking in the personality and temperament departments" template to a tee.
So what's everyone else doing while Colton is tossing nukes (and Wolverine) into space? Talking, mostly. Tony Stark is locked in his lab, Reed Richards is glued to the Origin Box, and almost everyone else is debating what they should do. The only big names we see actually out on the street are Spider-Man and the Human Torch, and even they're debating. But theirs is much more street-level, which fits the wall-crawler and his status as the "everyman" of the gathered superheroes. Seeing the debates being had amongst our heroes, this whole event has a little bit of a Civil War feel to it.
Hey, come back! I said "a little bit of a feel"…
Getting serious for a moment, I'm of two minds about this issue (and this whole event so far, really). I really don't care for the Civil War rehash bits—do we really need to go through yet another "the world distrusts superheroes, and the government is actively working against them?" Especially since this whole thing started with Red Hulk, who's changed back and forth between hero and villain more often than he trims his mustache. So why does his taking over a foreign nation mean that Spider-Man stopping the Shocker for the umpteenth time is a bad thing, and that he should let the authorities handle it?
Now I do like a lot of character beats here. Most of the big names only get a few lines, but they're all kept in-character and that's not always a given in big events. Spider-Man gets a great moment in his debate scene with the Torch, which is no surprise—Zdarsky writes a great Spidey. And David Colton is actually a fairly interesting antagonist. The idea that he was given a version of the Super-Soldier Serum and made into Captain America, but the serum was imperfect and so he had complications, is a strong one. Those complications being near-fatal heart issues and also an anger management problem make him sympathetic, but then his actions make you question that same sympathy.
Another thing I really like is the mechanics of the precognitive device Ross had taken from Doom’s Castle. The idea that each time it’s used, it’s literally creating a whole universe—complete with life forms populating it—for that prediction, and then it sort of just dies off at the end? That’s some dark stuff. I can very much believe that was a Doctor Doom special. And the fact that Red Hulk used it frequently just further shows how far gone Ross is. Very cool stuff.
I wish I could say the same thing about the Origin Boxes. Right now I really feel like they were created expressly to get Colton his powers, and everything else they’ve struggled to do with them has been an attempt to make them more important.
Speaking of struggle, I’m not wild about the pace here. We’re three issues deep into a five issue event, and it feels like things are going a bit too slow. I’m glad for the character moments, don’t get me wrong, but it just feels like the actual events are moving at a leisurely pace. I just don’t see how this gets all wrapped up in two more issues unless Zdarsky gives the pacing a hit of nitrous.
Hang in There
Like most things Chip Zdarsky has written, even if I'm not crazy about the overall whole, there are still parts that I really like. Here, it's the character bits. Colton's actions, no matter how wrong they may or may not be, are justified in his mind, and he's able to state that case believably. When Bucky makes his heel turn, it's believable given what we know about him. Reed Richards, Carol Danvers, and Tony Stark are all written as you'd expect them to be. And Peter Parker gets a terrific showcase of the depth of his character in just two pages. Sadly, the overall plot is a little derivative and the pacing is rough, so those diminish my enjoyment some. But overall, there's some solid work here.
On art, Ario Anindito is unknown to me. This is nothing against him, but I hate that we're three issues into a five-issue event and we've already got a different artist. Plus the first two issues both had a two-man art team to begin with. That's just not a good look, Marvel. But it's not Anindito's fault. He does solid work overall. All the major players look just like they should, with good detail and some dynamic posing. Some of the little details he adds in are great—for example, at Colton's cabin, his Captain America shield hangs above the fireplace. Oh, and I love his tiny pink kitty cat mug; it's such a hilarious visual dichotomy. His action is fluid and well staged. My two biggest complaints are that Nick Fury Jr. and Thaddeus Ross don't look quite right, but those are two characters whose visuals aren't super consistent to begin with.
Jesus Aburtov's colors are bright and full, which both fit the characters well and also serve as a bit of a counterbalance to the darkness of the story here. It makes for an interesting dichotomy, to have characters like Spider-Man and Captain Marvel being depicted as bright and larger than life at the same time that the people of the world are calling for them to step down. There's a panel with Colton floating in front of the sun that is incredibly effective and works in tandem with the art to show just how far removed from the rest of humanity he's gotten.
Whose Side Are You On?
Avengers: Armageddon #3 isn't quite your normal event book, for better or worse. The main plot is a little derivative of Civil Warin some ways, but the character work is strong. It's really the characters that are driving this story forward, which does leave me wondering just how the main plot is going to get wrapped up in two more issues. But if this is the kind of characterization that Zdarsky will bring to Avengers following the end of this event, then the future is looking bright. Certainly brighter than it is for our heroes right now, at least.