Villains Take The Spotlight
A great opening issue for this mini series. Zebediah Killgrave (The Purple Man) has setup new “villains for hire” organisation to take back control of the east coast. Things go from bad to worse on the team’s first mission as they are intercepted by a rival team with the same Intel. Only for it’s leader to be a familiar face.
Good
I love the snappy, flowing dialogue in this book. It has a really nice edge to it that gives a lot of characterisation and atmosphere to the situation. I always love books that delve into the lower classes of super heroes and villains, you get to see a more ground view of what goes on on a day to day basis in these fantastical worlds. The basic setup reminds me somewhat of how Gail Simone’s Secret Six formed, and with them not around right now this fills that void quite well. I’ve always liked Shocker and he plays particularly well in this book, along with the new Scourge. There’s added mystery to these new characters as neither the reader or the supporting characters know their capabilities or strengths, Death Stalker in particular is a interesting character due to her mystery. I hope this mystery is built up well through the mini series.
Bad
Midway through Killgrave has a very sudden outburst when the mission goes bad, and it seemed a bit weird, like they needed a way to explain his reasoning for forming the organisation, seemed a very forced way of explaining it. Aside from that there really isn’t anything bad with this issue.
One thing that has bothered me recently is a trope comics fall back onto a lot, and I feel I have seen it a lot recently. The sudden last page appearance of a character is used here and it feels like slightly lazy way to tease the next issue. While only a minor thing, I wish it wouldn’t be as over used as it is.
Verdict
A great start to a new mini series with a interesting story setup. Once again great writing by Abnett & Lanning. A good roster of characters, showing the lesser known characters of the marvel universe. The “For Hire” theme has always been a good idea and I highly anticipate the next issue.
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