Avengers Arena #7 Review
Avengers Arena #7 Review
Overview:
A solid issue that shows how Arcade came up with the idea for Murder Island: Teen Edition.
The Good:
The story was solid, even if it was a little boring. This is the first time I have ever read a backstory for Arcade and it was typical. The highlight of the issue was his assistant, Ms. Coriander, she was both comic relief and a voice of reason and balanced out Arcade’s brand of crazy quite well. The end is particularly satisfying as she outsmarts Arcade, the idea of a supervillain having a personal assistant is kind of funny and she fits the part well, smart, attractive, and a little crazy. This issue also explains his god-like powers from the first issue.
Dennis Hopeless writes the issue and does a good job getting into what Arcade is like and what makes him tick. While Arcade does not come across as a good person, or even remotely likeable, Hopeless is able to convey the depression and despair that he is feeling.
Alessandro Vitti draws the issue, and while he is not Kev Walker, he does a great job. He is able to convey a lot of emotion and it complements the writing very well and elevates the story to a new level.
The Bad:
It is kind of shocking that Arcade would think of himself in the upper-echelon of supervillains. He is a solid B-villain for sure but nowhere near the A-list; this makes his reaction at his party a little surprising when he finds out that everyone thinks he is a joke.
The biggest problem that I saw was that the issue spends a lot of time setting up how Arcade came up with the idea to go after teen heroes and much less on his construction of the island. Personally I think it should have been the other way around; everyone knows that Arcade is a bit of a loser and the issue just reinforces that and then spends three pages or so of preparation; if it were backwards, it could have been just as personal and more interesting.
Verdict:
Another solid issue that doesn’t focus on any fan favorites; instead it gets into Arcade’s story and succeeds for the most part. Dennis Hopeless and Alessandro Vitti deliver a solid issue that has a surprisingly high emotional depth and starts to live up to the potential of the series.
4 out of 5
