Robb Ghag reviews Age of Ultron #8…
“With the Marvel Universe turned inside out, who will take responsibility for breaking the world? And is there any way to put it back? Wait until you see who is in charge of the new world order and how they got there…! A reality-spanning choice is made this issue that will affect the Marvel Universe for years and years to come.”
So, now that I am invested seven issues into this storyline, I have to admit it has changed drastically from issue #1. I mean, is this even the same storyline anymore? We’ve now crossed over to more of the “Exiles” type of scenario. If you are unfamiliar with Exiles, it is essentially taking characters from What If storylines and alternate realities and placing them in other timelines to right the wrongs in that world.
Enter Age of Ultron. At this point, this isn’t even the same story I started reading. In some ways that is fantastic, as Brandon Peterson’s art is a welcome change then from the first few issues. This timeline lends itself well to his art style. Pay close attention to this realities Tony Stark, as he reviews alternate realities and some of the memorable scenes he depicts from the Marvel Universe. There are little sections showing famous covers and scenes from Uncanny X-Men, Secret Wars, X-Factor and Fantastic Four.
However, as we delve deeper into this new reality, is it even fitting to call this book the Age of Ultron? I am hoping Bendis somehow brings this back full circle so we can see exactly what happened to those displaced heroes we left in issue #5 and issue #6?
The introduction of this new group of “Defenders” is a nice touch as I always like to see new characters in the Marvel Universe (I guess Captain America was promoted to Colonel?)
If this issue was a one off, I can see a whole new series of timelines splinter off from the consequences of this reality (even though the cover of Book Nine looks like we’ll be bringing it all back). However at this point, it’s probably more appropriate to call this book “…Whatever happened to the Age of Ultron?”
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.
Originally published May 17, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
