Original Sin 3
Aaron (w) and Deodato (a) and F. Martin (c) and Eliopoulos (l)
While the Avengers in the immediate vicinity of the Orb (who, it turns out, was working alongside Oubliette's father Dr. Midas, all of which makes me quite glad I read Morrison's MARVEL BOY not too long ago) are sent reeling from the weight of their secrets (soon to be seen in all the tie-in books), the mysterious murder investigation boss's teams are spread out finding other such murders. Black Panther, Emma Frost, and Ant-Man examine bullets they've found while Punisher and Doctor Strange discuss the people who could shoot a target from such a huge distance. Meanwhile, Moon Knight, Winter Soldier, and Gamora explore space and find a trail of meteor-sized bullet casing that lead to a murdered sentient planet (not Ego the Living Planet, but similar enough that Gamora namedrops him). While Moon Knight and Gamora discuss how much this must narrow down the possible suspects, Bucky destroys their ship and teleports to Fury's base, where he's trying to glean more from the eye they've recovered. Winter Soldier proclaims that everyone has to pay for their sins and that there will be no more secrets before he shoots and stabs Fury and takes the eye.
In FEAR ITSELF, the last event he appeared in, Winter Soldier (at the time, Captain America) seemingly died in issue three. Now he returns to events as he seemingly murders someone in issue three of ORIGINAL SIN. There's a lot going on and plenty that's hinted at for us to read elsewhere (some pretty intense selling of the tie-ins as everyone starts to see their applicable secrets, with the most egregious being Thor yelling "BY THE SPIRES OF ASGARD, I HAVE A SISTER?") but the murder investigation and Bucky's apparent betrayal take center stage here. Like in any crime drama, it feels rather too early a reveal for Bucky to be the actual killer (not to mention that like, does he even know who the Watcher is?) but there's still clearly something pretty deep happening here. Also interesting is Fury's concern that everyone in the vicinity saw their secrets but he didn't see anything. Plenty happening, including a bit of less appealing salesmanship, but it's hard to read where this one will go next.
Total Score: 4/5
Avengers World 7
Spencer (w) and Caselli (a) and Mossa (c) and Caramagna (l)
Madripoor has lifted off the Earth on the back of an ancient dragon at the behest of Gorgon, who has defeated Shang-Chi while his teammates Falcon, Black Widow, and Wolverine try to calm riots on the street. Black Widow calls for extraction, saying it's futile to keep fighting there, while Falcon goes to find Shang. With no birds in the sky around them (what do you think Redwing does on his days off? Bird social worker?), it's up to Sam entirely to find the missing Avenger and he follows a drone leading away from the flying nation. The drone drops him at a giant airship hovering near by called the Circle (because it's circular). He enters and meets Xian Zheng, who informs him that the Circle is his ship and it's one of many new Chinese airships. He explains that China realized it had relied too much upon SHIELD and the Avengers when the war of the Builders struck and now they've put together their own force, called SPEAR, with their own team of heroes called the Ascendants including Weather Witch, Saber, Vector, Devastator, and the Monkey King (last seen in IRON MAN 2.0, I think). Zheng tells Falcon it's nothing that he need worry about, that they're all fighting for the same cause, just that the world looks to China for defense and protection and China hasn't provided it yet. He also asks Falcon to help deliver the message to the world, which he does by appearing on footage broadcast around the world with the new team.
Occasionally a series will delve into the politics of the world, moving away from the individual superheroes and the individual villains and giving us a look at the world that these heroes and villains have created and how it differs from ours. AVENGERS WORLD 7 is one of the times where such a look is smart and compelling. We've seen other country-sanctioned teams and loyal national heroes (Britain has the most obvious example but there are heroes in the Middle East and in Russia and in Japan and, well, pretty much everywhere our heroes occasionally visit) but there's nothing out there with the sort of power and reach that SHIELD has. Now we've taken a story that was interesting, featuring Gorgon raising Madripoor on the back of a dragon, and turned it into something else entirely, introducing SPEAR (the acronym is never explained by Zheng points out that there has always been the shield in the west and the spear in the east so, I mean, pretty much just a word, huh?). I like having Falcon run point on this because he's someone who can understand the need for something like this without feeling entirely threatened. He's worked with SHIELD, he's worked against SHIELD, and he understand the way the world is changing so he's skeptical and hesitant but ultimately willing to give this a shot. Cool idea overall, we'll have to see how this plays across the rest of this arc and the rest of the universe.
Total Score: 5/5
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