Age of Ultron #1 Advanced Review

| March 4, 2013 | Comics | No Comments

*SPOILER FREE REVIEW*

Writer:  Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler:  Bryan Hitch
Inker:  Paul Neary
Colorist:  Paul Mounts
Letterer:  VC’s Cory Petit

So the long overdue Age of Ultron epic event is finally starting.  The event three years in the making!  I say this because Age of Ultron was originally supposed to begin back in 2010.  Back in the pre-Marvel NOW! Tony Stark encountered a timeline listing events that had already happened (like the “Heroic Age”) and future events (“Ultron War”).  You can see the image of the timeline below.

This shows that big things were planned for Ultron.  For unknown reasons, Marvel decided to delay “Ultron War/Age of Ultron”.  My hypothesis is once Marvel started planning Avengers vs X-Men, they realized they could use it as a springboard into a new era for their universe (Marvel NOW!).  Similar to what DC did with the New 52.  So Marvel decided to push back their Ultron plans to get Marvel NOW! kickstarted.  Which now leads us to Age of Ultron.  What are my thoughts?  Read on below to find out.

What I Liked

Bryan Hitch’s art is tremendous as usual.  For these event books, Marvel likes for the artist to bring a widescreen-appeal to the pages.  Similar to what you see at the movie theater.  Hitch excels at this.  When Ultrons start showing up, you feel the tension crank up.

What I Didn’t Like

I didn’t have much to list in the things I liked.  The reason for that is because there was much that I didn’t enjoy.  It still bothers me that this event was teased back in 2010, then delayed for years.  The copyright on the cover should read 2010 instead of 2013.  Also, Marvel usually has a lead-in to their spring/summer crossovers.  Where is the lead-in for Age of Ultron?  Hank Pym created Ultron but Pym hasn’t appeared in a Marvel NOW! title yet.  He’s nowhere to be seen.

I’m assuming all of this will be explained as the series unfolds, but taking this as a standalone introduction to the story, it fell flat to me.  Issue one also ends on an image that is supposed to display the severity of the situation our heroes face, but we’ve already seen this used in a recent event.

Summary

I went into Age of Ultron with low expectations and so far those expectations remain the same.  Bendis has promised something earth-shattering at the conclusion, but I have to believe it will shatter the Earth until next year’s event decides to change the status quo again.  For as much as Marvel wants Marvel NOW! to be new-reader friendly, Age of Ultron misses the mark in that category.  I’m left with more questions, but I’ll save those for after people have had a chance to read the book.

This review is written in partnership with Pop Culture Network.  They can be found at their website http://www.popculturenetwork.com/

#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE

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