Robb Ghag reviews Age of Ultron #2…
“For years the heroes of the Marvel Universe have lived in fear that the artificial intelligence known as Ultron would one day evolve to fulfill its desire to wipe out all organic life and take over the Earth – that day has arrived.“
We went out with a bang last issue, but this issue is clearly the whimper. I get that we need to begin putting together the plot points before the epic “reveal” or battle. I have to say this book in particular left me flat. I was expecting something enigmatic or some kind of revelation. All for nothing.
Two new survivors of the Age of Ultron are introduced with the Black Widow and Moon Knight. It seems Natasha Romanov had been beaten fairly badly in the lead up to the Age of Ultron, as she stealth fully navigates through ruins of buildings to avoid patrolling Ultron robots. During a confrontation with a human survivor, she reveals her face where one eye looks as those it has been cauterized inside the socket. The artwork here lets us down as well from Hitch as it looks like a series of scribbles around the eye.
We finally get some of the back story as to how the world of Ultron came to be, when Moon Knight and Black Widow find the abandoned bunker of Nick Fury. Apparently this is where Nick hid during the Secret Invasion, and we can he was hard at work during that event. Many of Marvel Heroes and Villains are shown on a giant board where Nick had theorized or speculated about their loyalties. This is probably more of an interesting plot point, then anything else throughout the course of the book.
Back in Avengers (Underground HQ) we can see the recollections and flashbacks of Spidey’s incarceration. As the team begins to question him, something triggers Captain America to pipe up and claim “Now we have a plan”.
This is about as thorough as I can be with this issue, as it wasn’t gripping, there weren’t any real battles, and it just seemed a filler issue in order to move the story slightly forward. Unlike some of the other titles out now (Uncanny X-Men for one!) this one seemed to drag, and not really go anywhere. My only hope is that Bendis is creating a world here, without giving away too much of the happenstance.
The other problem I had with this book is the constant advertisement of all the cross over issues within the Marvel Universe. It seems to be touching points with a majority of the titles throughout, so I am hoping by just reading Age of Ultron, I can get the full scope of the story. If I get to issue #4 and there is a major plot twist, reveal or death with a little box in the corner that says *** To see this, buy Superior Spider-Man 8AU and New Avengers, and Avengers Academy, and New Defenders for the WHOLE Story *** you’ll be hearing from a very “irate’ fanboy.
Robb Ghag works for an Arts & Entertainment Brokerage in Toronto Canada. An Animation and Film school graduate, he specializes in Risk Management of Animation and VFX studios throughout North America.
