Back to the Future
I was really looking forward to this series before it started, but so far it has been nothing but disappointment, after disappointment, and to be honest I can't wait for it to finish, and can only hope that it goes out with a bang.
Plot
Wolverine, and Invisible Woman (Sue Storm) return to the present, and are shocked with what they find.
Review
This series has really been disappointing, and it just continues to disappoint even more. Now although this isn't the worst issue in the series, it's still not any better than most of the rest, and although I keep hoping for things to turn around, and this to become a good series I very much doubt that it will. This hasn't been one of Brian Michael Bendis' best stories, and although I'm sure he's put a lot of effort into it, and probably thought it would be good, it's been nothing special, and really quite poor. With the way the last issue ended I was hoping that finally this would be when the series would start to get good, and although what has happened in this issue was interesting, it wasn't anything spectacular. The story itself continues to be trailing along at a slow pace, and although there was excitement, the entire story seems to be one continuous drag. Even the changes were disappointing, as we've had no explanation as to why these character's appearances have changed, and to be honest it seems to be a bad what if? moment, but I'll talk more on that later.
Like last issue, Brandon Peterson, and Carlos Pacheco were on the artwork, with Pacheco doing the short sequence in the past, and Peterson doing the new present. Again Pacheco's art was the better of the two, as it was much smoother, and overall appealing, and to be honest it was a shame that there wasn't as much of it in this issue as the was in the previous. Peterson however still did a brilliant job himself, and although it's not as good as Pacheco's, it's still very good. The detail from both artists was brilliant, as although they both had very different styles, with Peterson's art being very rough, and edgy, and Pacheco's being very smooth, and clean, they both did a tremendous job on the details, as everything looked near perfect, if not perfect, whether it was the character's or the scenery. Peterson also did a fantastic job of the action, as although there wasn't a huge lot of it, it was still very dynamic, also adding more excitement to the issue, something that it really needed. I also loved how Pacheco drew the Dinosaurs in the Savage Land, as I always love a well drawn Dinosaur, and these ones looked vicious, and awesome. Peterson's artwork on the new look character's was also interesting, as although I found some looked awkward, and silly like the Cable/Cyclops character, whereas others like the Captain America/Nick Fury style character named Colonel America, and Thing, who by the looks of things may have been sent to Sakaar instead of Hulk (ring indent on chest looks like a scare possibly made from having one of them obedience devices the slaves on Sakaar had, though I could be wrong) look kind of interesting.
Whilst Wolverine, ans Sue are still in the past Sue worries over whether they've done the right thing, or if they'll have made things worse. I found this very interesting, as for anyone who hadn't read Wolverine & the X-Men #27AU would question why she had no problem in Wolverine killing Hank Pym, whereas this shows that she did, and that she was worried about the consequences I do however feel that it's a bit late in having regrets, as having time travelled in the past herself she should know what re-precautions it can have. The interaction between Wolverine, and Sue over this was also interesting, as it added another opinion to the mix.
The changes to the present were also interesting, and this was what I was looking forward to the most. Now the changes to the city itself wasn't too interesting, as the only main difference seemed to be that there was a lot more Helicarrier's in the sky than before. The things that interested me the most about this new version of their universe was the references to previous events like the Kree/Skrull War, and the Secret Invasion, as due to the changes they've caused by killing Pym, it appears that these events have happened differently now, which interested me more than the fact that the world itself was different.
When Wolverine, and Sue entered the new New York, they were greeted by the Defenders, which consisted of Colonel America (a cross between Cap and Nick Fury), Hulk, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, Star-Lord, Wolverine, Thing, and a Cable/Cyclops character who's using the name Cable, but who appears to be Cyclops (called Scott). The fact that this team was called the Defenders, and not the Avengers interested me the most, as it shows the changes that have happened, and the way the hero's see themselves. As I've said before I liked some of the changes, and disliked others, but it was the way they greated Wolverine, and Sue, as well as the apparent small changes to their personalities that interested me, as although it wasn't quite as exciting as I'd hoped it'd be, it was still interesting.
There was also some action in this issue, as thinking that Wolverine, and Sue were Skrulls they attack them. Like everything in this issue, this wasn't the best fight in the series so far, but it was probably the most interesting. For starters the way Thing reacted to Sue's presence interested me, and also made me question as to what happened to her since Pym died. The main thing that interested me though was Wolverine against the new Wolverine, as the interaction, and fighting was brilliant. The rest of the fight was also interesting, and I look forward to seeing how things continue in the next issue, but won't hold my breath for anything special.
Although I've read plenty of sci-fi stories, and time travel stories, I still question how all it works in the Marvel Universe, as I'd have thought that preventing Ultron from being made would nullify the need for Wolverine, and Sue to go back and kill Pym. Time travel is however a wide subject, and you could argue that this is now a parallel universe, but it still makes me question things.
Final Verdict
Like usual this wasn't anything special, and the series as a whole has bee disappointing. There was however some interesting things in this issue, and it will appeal to some people, just didn't appeal to me. Now I don't know if it's due to me losing faith in this series, but it just continues to not amaze me, and although it's not as disappointing as it used to be, it's still nothing special. I would only recommend this to people who have the series so far, but otherwise would recommend leaving this issue, and the series, as it's generally poor, and when everything's said and done I'm sure it won't have much off an affect on the future of Marvel.
