Gamora the damsel in distress.
This review may be shorter than my usual stuff.
Minor spoilers
Look this series has had mixed reviews because well everyone was such a fan of the last run, and this series certainly isn’t the same, but the whole point of Marvel Now! Was to go in new directions not do what was done before, so this series does it very well, but still this series isn’t perfect and it hasn’t been as good as the .1 issue that started the series.
Plot
After celebrating their victory against the Spartax the guardians relax in a bar, and Gamora and Tony Stark begin flirting with each other, and end up sleeping with each other. Gamora leaves the ship and is attacked.
Review
This probably is the weakest issue so far now it’s not the plot which is good if a little unoriginal, but hey it’s fun to read and well the arts good enough anyway, but Bendis doesn’t seem to know how to write some of these characters especially Drax, and Gamora and well considering how he’s done with the characters in past issues I’m surprised how he’s done in this issue. In brief terms basically Drax is normally a brooding killing machine, but in this he’s a complete party person and Gamora is a damsel in distress when she’s the most dangerous woman in the universe.
The Good
- · Tony Stark is well written I think as of late he’s more like Robert Downey Jr in comics and not the genius he used to be, he’s certainly not dumb like that, but he’s a bit more like a charmer like in the films, but this seems to be a bit more like a line wide thing, and it’s shown in this as well
- The scene in the bar at the beginning of the issue is pretty fun to read, and there are some neat jokes in it especially Rocket Racoon who is probably the best written character in this book, but that’s not hard. The scene is the springboard for the rest of the issue, but more on that in a minute.
- The action scene in this issue is…. Neat I suppose in terms of the art, and the drama to the scene, but well once again more on that in a minute.
- The moment with Tony calling Pepper was touching if a little awkward, but that’s what I liked about it, it’s funny and it was a step back to see how Tony was feeling about his situation and his isolation.
- The villain in this issue is interesting I mean at first I thought it was really boring because he’s just a bounty hunter, but the mystery that is established and the truly awesome ending, made him a whole lot more interesting, and the mystery surrounding Gamora is even more interesting now.
- · Groot is still awesome in this issue and his one line is perfectly placed in every moment to make it as funny as possible.
- · The final page is just so well done, and so dramatic it’s just soooo good.
- · Sara Pichelli is in a tough position Steve McNiven is one of the best artists in the business, his really detailed refined style just leaps off the page, and fitted this book incredibly well, because of all the detail in the aliens and sci-fi tech, but Pichelli is a great replacement in her own way. McNiven was good with emotions Pichelli is better, her characters look so alive and expressive, you could tell what was going on and what each character is thinking without the dialogue and I really mean that, Gamora and Star Lord really stand out, and one panel of Tony Stark looked really funny in a good way. Pichelli also handles action and the sci-fi look of the book really well.
The Bad
- The covers good in terms of art, but the design is unoriginal, and it feels a little uninspired.
- Gamora is the so called most dangerous woman in the universe, so when she comes up against a bounty hunter you'd think she'd take him out easily enough, but no she puts up a fight, but makes a stupid mistake, and literally sits there when she's about to be Spoiler shot if say the bounty hunter was really powerful or something like that, but he's not. Gamora in this issue is a damsel in distrest and a plot point in this issue early on she's characterised pretty well, but later on she just felt lame.
- Drax the destroyer is not a drunken idiot in this issue, he's a brooding badass character and in this he just gets drunk and feels like nothing more than a drunken idiot. Bendis does this often with characters writing them to suit his plot, not exactly how they should be.
- The romance between Tony Stark and Gamora felt forced at first it was funny, but to suddenly jump from flirting to sleeping together feels forced, and unless something happened in between which mean Bendis skipped a bit of the story, but I doubt this, but either it feels really forced this relationship.
The Verdict
All of the problems that Bendis always seemed to have with writing team books, and characters in general seem to appear in two of the characters in this book to a big extent, and it dropped the issue down in terms of quality and the relation ship in this issue felt forced, but its still a fun read, and the mystery with Gamora is intriguing.
