Review of Red Skull #2 and Siege #2
I am not sure what to make of Marvel's Secret Wars Crossover event. It feels a little contrived, a little too scripted. It's as if Marvel took all the past crossover events that were successful and repurposed them. Humorously, the architect of this new universe is Doctor Doom, who in the first Secret wars series had for a time being control of the Battleworld to which the Beyonder had brought the many the many villains and heroes. This time around however, Marvel has made the battlefield a lot more detailed, hence, the incorporation of other crossovers.
Battleworld itself is divided into separate realms, each reflective of the crossover event or concept Marvel wants to push. So, for example, there is a Korvac Saga area, an
Two Marvel books somewhat related to each other explore the stories that happen on the edges, the Red Skull and Siege. Admittedly, both titles piqued my interest.
The Red Skull is an iconic villain, so absolute in a way, that the name itself engenders feelings that a student from Hogwarts might feel in uttering the name of the one who should not be named. He has become a stand in for everything evil in the Marvel Universe, a place where the most vile of characters can find redemption, or can become more complicated by acted in an unexpected altruistic way. Think of Magneto and Doctor Doom. Accordingly, I believed that the writer's of the Red Skull intended to reveal a story told from the point of view of a villain.
I enjoyed the initial Siege Crossover event, the first one I picked up after abandoning comics for a time. I became enormored with the stories of characters I had not seen in awhile, especially how Marvel used Norman Osborn in a Lex Luthor manner, making him a powerful man acting in an evil manner with the clothing of the public good. Despite all the disdain by the readers, I like the Sentry story, his battle with addiction and relationship troubles and unltimate demise at the hand of Thor.
The question then arose as to how Marvel would repurpose these characters and stories for the purpose of the Secret Wars Crossover event. In Red Skull, Doctor Doom sends a group of heroes into the wastelands to find the Red Skull. In Siege, Abigail Brand of S.W.O.R.D. fame holds the position of the "man on the wall" to protect Battleworld from the threats of the wastelands.
However, both titles have failted to live up to the promise that their namesake suggested. This becomes apparent when you look at both Red Skull #2 and Siege #2.
Red Skull #2 starts with Red Skull finding Magneto alive amongst the bodies of the team of heroes and villains with whom Magneto had traveled into the wastelands to find Red Skull. From page one, the writer of the book wants to set-up a conflict within Magneto wherein Magneto must overcome his hatred for the Red Skull and Sentinals in order to aid the Red Skull in his plan to breach the Shield wall. The problem is that the writer hits us over the head with the conflict. From the beginning of the issue, Magneto is suspicious of the Red Skull asking him what he wants and repeatedly stating that he will never help him. Magneto is repeatedy faced with the things he despises most, a Nazi, a mutant-destroying robot, and has to accept their usefulness. At the end of the issue, we are supposed accept that Magneto has no problem in aiding the Red Skull in his plans.
The idea is intriguing; at what point do we release those beliefs that are so core to us for the sake of our own salvation. The problem is that Magneto has not been given enough space and time to reach that point. Just as the Red Skull is the icon for hatred and bigotry, Magneto is the icon for righteous idignation, the dark side minority oppression. It has been a constant in Marvel's books, even when Magneto was in his more "heroic" phases. Yet, we are to believe that in the span of twenty-some odd pages, this immovable rock of moral outrage suddenly is okay with working with the symbols of everything he stands against?
I know there are those who are saying, "Come on, man. It's a comic book," to which I respond, "Right, all the more reason to make such a change much more difficult." In order to find the stories of super heroes and villains compelling, there has to be something that the reader can latch onto which strikes a chord of truth. Superhero powers obviously are not real. Therefore, the inner moral outrage felt by the characters, there inner motivations, must ring true. A character, like Magneto, with such a defined motivation should not change motivations lightly. That is what the writer of Red Skull has done.
To add upon that is the writer's reliance on dramatic ellipses to create dramatic pauses. I counted no less three times that the Red Skull pauses for dramatic effect. I found the repetitive use hokey, further eroding the veracity of the story. It was a distraction ultimately leading to a difficulty in believing any of the characters.
I, too, did not find the art work impressive, especially the costume of the Red Skull. The Red Skull has typically been depicted in immaculate costumes, meant to remind you of the Nazi culture from which he is derived. There is always a sense of symmetry but sparseness to his uniforms, mainly to help emphasize the horror of having a red skull for a head. Here, the artist hides the Red Skull's face, at least in part, under a hood. The Red Skull's outfit is one reminscint of the Road Warrior, uneven and parsed together awkwardly. In short, the Red Skull's outfit detracts from the horrific face, again, eroding essential characteristic.
The writer has missed a golden opportunity in that these characters tied into such universal ideas has stripped them of those ideas such that they are now unrecognizable; they are no longer who we knew them to be, leaving the reader to guess who they really are. Such a feat is difficult in light of the fact that the reader is also required to try to keep up with the large over-arching story running through out the Secret Wars Crossover.
Siege is better book, both in story and art, but not by much. The main problem with Siege is that the writer is attempting tell too many stories in too little space. Issue two incorporates the following stories: 1) Leah's attempt to find her lover Magik; 2) Abigail Brand's loss of a number two; 3) Abigail Brand's dealing with Kang's threat to her leadership; 4) Abigail Brand's loss of friends and lovers; 5) the over-looming threat of the inevitable breach revealed by a future Kang; 6) Kang's understanding of the strength Abigail Brand and his own weakness; 7) clone Cyclop's dealing with his own insignificance; 8) Abigail Brand's mistrust of the "traitor" Ultron robots; 9) the appearance of Nick Fury as a newly formed enemy. This is too much for a reader, something that should have been developed over time; 10) Kitty Pryde's recognition of her own fear; and 11) the development of an understanding between Kitty Pryde and Ms. America.
The effect is that the reader never has enough time to see each problem arise, develop, and resolve adequately. Further, the resolutions seem a little awkward. The writer attempts to shoe horn platitudes into the situation instead of resolving in a realistic way. Take for example the exchange between the clone Cyclops and Kang regarding Abigail Brand's leadership. Kang questions Brand's ability to lead as a result of her sympathetic view towards her friends and lover. He calls it a weakness. Cyclop responds that it is exactly her sympathetic view which makes her a strong leader, a expected, but not untrue statement. However, the clone Cyclop further indicates that Kang's own inability to sympathize is a weakness within him. This rings false to me, and I found myself skeptical of the whole conversation.
I thought too the story of Kitty Pryde and Ms. America odd as well. He seemed pointless and lost within the issue. I am not sure what relevance the story has to the overall story. I think the writer would be better served just concentrating on Abigail Brand and her own story, especially sense she seems to narrate the whole book.
To summarize, these books both reveal the problems of crossover events, that, to a certain extent, tie-in books must comply with a certain timeline and over-arching story which limit what can be accomplished. Writers have to accomplish in a few pages what she take several issues to develop. Accordingly, what might be a good idea gets watered down and ultimately fails.
Battleworld itself is divided into separate realms, each reflective of the crossover event or concept Marvel wants to push. So, for example, there is a Korvac Saga area, an
Two Marvel books somewhat related to each other explore the stories that happen on the edges, the Red Skull and Siege. Admittedly, both titles piqued my interest.
The Red Skull is an iconic villain, so absolute in a way, that the name itself engenders feelings that a student from Hogwarts might feel in uttering the name of the one who should not be named. He has become a stand in for everything evil in the Marvel Universe, a place where the most vile of characters can find redemption, or can become more complicated by acted in an unexpected altruistic way. Think of Magneto and Doctor Doom. Accordingly, I believed that the writer's of the Red Skull intended to reveal a story told from the point of view of a villain.
I enjoyed the initial Siege Crossover event, the first one I picked up after abandoning comics for a time. I became enormored with the stories of characters I had not seen in awhile, especially how Marvel used Norman Osborn in a Lex Luthor manner, making him a powerful man acting in an evil manner with the clothing of the public good. Despite all the disdain by the readers, I like the Sentry story, his battle with addiction and relationship troubles and unltimate demise at the hand of Thor.
The question then arose as to how Marvel would repurpose these characters and stories for the purpose of the Secret Wars Crossover event. In Red Skull, Doctor Doom sends a group of heroes into the wastelands to find the Red Skull. In Siege, Abigail Brand of S.W.O.R.D. fame holds the position of the "man on the wall" to protect Battleworld from the threats of the wastelands.
However, both titles have failted to live up to the promise that their namesake suggested. This becomes apparent when you look at both Red Skull #2 and Siege #2.
Red Skull #2 starts with Red Skull finding Magneto alive amongst the bodies of the team of heroes and villains with whom Magneto had traveled into the wastelands to find Red Skull. From page one, the writer of the book wants to set-up a conflict within Magneto wherein Magneto must overcome his hatred for the Red Skull and Sentinals in order to aid the Red Skull in his plan to breach the Shield wall. The problem is that the writer hits us over the head with the conflict. From the beginning of the issue, Magneto is suspicious of the Red Skull asking him what he wants and repeatedly stating that he will never help him. Magneto is repeatedy faced with the things he despises most, a Nazi, a mutant-destroying robot, and has to accept their usefulness. At the end of the issue, we are supposed accept that Magneto has no problem in aiding the Red Skull in his plans.
The idea is intriguing; at what point do we release those beliefs that are so core to us for the sake of our own salvation. The problem is that Magneto has not been given enough space and time to reach that point. Just as the Red Skull is the icon for hatred and bigotry, Magneto is the icon for righteous idignation, the dark side minority oppression. It has been a constant in Marvel's books, even when Magneto was in his more "heroic" phases. Yet, we are to believe that in the span of twenty-some odd pages, this immovable rock of moral outrage suddenly is okay with working with the symbols of everything he stands against?
I know there are those who are saying, "Come on, man. It's a comic book," to which I respond, "Right, all the more reason to make such a change much more difficult." In order to find the stories of super heroes and villains compelling, there has to be something that the reader can latch onto which strikes a chord of truth. Superhero powers obviously are not real. Therefore, the inner moral outrage felt by the characters, there inner motivations, must ring true. A character, like Magneto, with such a defined motivation should not change motivations lightly. That is what the writer of Red Skull has done.
To add upon that is the writer's reliance on dramatic ellipses to create dramatic pauses. I counted no less three times that the Red Skull pauses for dramatic effect. I found the repetitive use hokey, further eroding the veracity of the story. It was a distraction ultimately leading to a difficulty in believing any of the characters.
I, too, did not find the art work impressive, especially the costume of the Red Skull. The Red Skull has typically been depicted in immaculate costumes, meant to remind you of the Nazi culture from which he is derived. There is always a sense of symmetry but sparseness to his uniforms, mainly to help emphasize the horror of having a red skull for a head. Here, the artist hides the Red Skull's face, at least in part, under a hood. The Red Skull's outfit is one reminscint of the Road Warrior, uneven and parsed together awkwardly. In short, the Red Skull's outfit detracts from the horrific face, again, eroding essential characteristic.
The writer has missed a golden opportunity in that these characters tied into such universal ideas has stripped them of those ideas such that they are now unrecognizable; they are no longer who we knew them to be, leaving the reader to guess who they really are. Such a feat is difficult in light of the fact that the reader is also required to try to keep up with the large over-arching story running through out the Secret Wars Crossover.
Siege is better book, both in story and art, but not by much. The main problem with Siege is that the writer is attempting tell too many stories in too little space. Issue two incorporates the following stories: 1) Leah's attempt to find her lover Magik; 2) Abigail Brand's loss of a number two; 3) Abigail Brand's dealing with Kang's threat to her leadership; 4) Abigail Brand's loss of friends and lovers; 5) the over-looming threat of the inevitable breach revealed by a future Kang; 6) Kang's understanding of the strength Abigail Brand and his own weakness; 7) clone Cyclop's dealing with his own insignificance; 8) Abigail Brand's mistrust of the "traitor" Ultron robots; 9) the appearance of Nick Fury as a newly formed enemy. This is too much for a reader, something that should have been developed over time; 10) Kitty Pryde's recognition of her own fear; and 11) the development of an understanding between Kitty Pryde and Ms. America.
The effect is that the reader never has enough time to see each problem arise, develop, and resolve adequately. Further, the resolutions seem a little awkward. The writer attempts to shoe horn platitudes into the situation instead of resolving in a realistic way. Take for example the exchange between the clone Cyclops and Kang regarding Abigail Brand's leadership. Kang questions Brand's ability to lead as a result of her sympathetic view towards her friends and lover. He calls it a weakness. Cyclop responds that it is exactly her sympathetic view which makes her a strong leader, a expected, but not untrue statement. However, the clone Cyclop further indicates that Kang's own inability to sympathize is a weakness within him. This rings false to me, and I found myself skeptical of the whole conversation.
I thought too the story of Kitty Pryde and Ms. America odd as well. He seemed pointless and lost within the issue. I am not sure what relevance the story has to the overall story. I think the writer would be better served just concentrating on Abigail Brand and her own story, especially sense she seems to narrate the whole book.
To summarize, these books both reveal the problems of crossover events, that, to a certain extent, tie-in books must comply with a certain timeline and over-arching story which limit what can be accomplished. Writers have to accomplish in a few pages what she take several issues to develop. Accordingly, what might be a good idea gets watered down and ultimately fails.
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