2006-04-19 - AN ILLUMINATING LOOK AT MARVEL'S FUTURE

Another gigantic Marvel crossover is just weeks away in the form of Mark Millar's CIVIL WAR, and unlike Marvel's last few efforts, if the story's prelude, NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI, is any indication, this one may have some meat to it.

One of the more interesting revelations in Brian Bendis' NEW AVENGERS run had been the existence of a sort of shadow council of the major players in the Marvel Universe, consisting of Iron Man, Reed Richards, Dr. Strange, Professor Xavier, Black Bolt and Prince Namor. While it seemed unlikely and a bit heavy-handed that these six had been steadily meeting and presumably deciding the direction of Marvel history, particularly throughout the ups and downs of their own various continuities, nothing here specifically undid anything we had been told previously, and it was certainly an intriguing notion, and I especially liked the inclusion of Black Bolt and Namor (Namor in particular I've always felt has been one of the most underutilized characters in terms of sheer potential and his ability to interact with the rest of the MU). It also struck me as a bit of good characterization that Captain America had been left out of the cabal, not only because his generally honest nature would tend to preclude his involvement in this kind of behind-the-scenes scheming, but it seemed very much in character for these six to think of themselves as on some level intellectually superior to Cap, even if they would never admit it.

Intentional or otherwise, it makes for an interesting counterpoint to a similar theme in DC's IDENTITY CRISIS, in which a secret League within the Justice League made immoral decisions without informing the group's de facto leaders in Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and J'onn J'onzz. The difference here is that the Marvel version is able to hold a bit more of the moral high ground, and what they do doesn't quite betray their longstanding characterizations so much. And unlike in IDENTITY CRISIS, this group crumbles not from being discovered, but through the weight of its own wrongheaded arrogance and presumption.

Before we go any further, it's time for a SPOILER WARNING: if you haven't read NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, go do so, then come on back. We’ll wait for you…

All caught up? Good.

The story begins with a look back at the formation of this alliance, at a meeting of the six, along with the Black Panther, in the Panther's African kingdom of Wakanda. Set just after the events of the Kree-Skrull War in AVENGERS, Iron Man comes to the others with a proposal of formally uniting the world's superhumans in the hopes of preventing any future invasion attempts through better organization. Namor swiftly puts the idea down, stating that they can't even control the groups they're in currently. Going around the room, Namor points the finger at everyone, pointing out their questionable decisions of the past (as well as dropping the intriguing hint that it may have been Namor who gave Xavier the idea to recruit Wolverine), and declaring it ludicrous the world would accept them in an official capacity.

Richards suggests continuing to meet unofficially, to exchange information, an idea Namor is amenable to on the condition of absolute secrecy. In another good bit of characterization, Iron Man is shown to completely misunderstand Xavier's moral compass when he volunteers Xavier to mentally monitor everyone for honesty...

...at which point, T'Challa opts out.

The rest agree to their new affiliation. The story jumps ahead to the present, where, in the aftermath of the Hulk's latest rampage, the group meets on the wreckage of the Avengers' old aquatic base to discuss what should be done about it. (One thing I don't like here is the idea that innocents have died in the Hulk's rampage. As far-fetched and illogical as it seems, I've always preferred the notion that despite the destruction caused by the Hulk over the years, no innocents had ever died in the process, and that that was the only reason Bruce Banner hadn't killed himself to prevent the Hulk's return. So far as I'm concerned, I'm going to consider this fact "government misinformation." However, it doesn't hurt the larger story at all.) Stark has a proposal, to lure the Hulk into a rocket and fire him off into deep space, away from earth, so he'll no longer be a risk. Namor is incensed at the idea, and when the vote goes against him, he reacts in typical Sub-Mariner fashion: belting Iron Man out into the ocean, dragging him down a couple hundred feet, and then, in a hardcore move I don't think I've ever seen before, wrenching his helmet off, as if to highlight just how vulnerable he is, despite his much-vaunted armor.

Stark is saved and Namor is restrained by Dr. Strange, and Namor makes a statement that not only rang perfectly true with the characters' history, but instantly got me on board the current "Planet Hulk" storyline:

Even later, Stark gathers the other members one last time (absent the missing-in-action Professor X), to warn them of the upcoming federal superhero registration act, and encourage them all to sign up early and support it, in the hopes of encouraging others to and preventing things from getting ugly. Namor's incredulous reaction says it all, disbelief at Stark's continuing efforts to control them.

Another impressive thing about the storyline here is how much it tries to avoid being one-sided, as we're treated to a lengthy monologue from Iron Man about why he thinks this is a good idea, and damn if he doesn't make sense:

Richards, not surprisingly, agrees with Stark, while Namor once again leaves, disgusted. Dr. Strange also wants no part of the situation, and vanishes in a puff of smoke, a terse "Never call upon me again" as his only goodbye. And as always Black Bolt remains silent.

So where do we go from here? Well, I really like where this is going. From what I can see, clearly, Spider-Man's membership in the Avengers and almost mentor/student-like relationship with Tony Stark now has much more storytelling weight, thanks to the choice that will soon be before him. The current "Planet Hulk" storyline makes a lot more sense, getting ol' Greenskin off the table for this storyline while setting him up for a big earth-shattering return, as foreshadowed here by Namor. And unlike so many of Marvel's recent events, this one feels much more real, based on tangible issues and playing off the established characterizations of Marvel's stars as we've seen them for the past four decades.

It's a real strong start and it's gotten me on board a miniseries that before this I had no intention of buying into. Gotta consider that a success, right?

I'm impressed, gentlemen. Don't let me down.

AND THIS JUST IN FROM THE SELF-PROMOTION DEPARTMENT:

For those of you who might be interested, make sure and take a look at the second issue of IDW's horror comics magazine DOOMED, which hits comic-book shops today.

Not only does it feature another short story from the Eisner-nominated team of our own Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood, as well as an interview with author F. Paul Wilson conducted by our own Joshua Jabcuga, but yours truly has a story in this issue as well, an adaptation of Richard Matheson's short story "Crickets," written by me and drawn by Mike Hoffman. If you'd like to take a sneak peek at the first five pages of each story, just click here to head over to IDW's Web site.

The first issue sold out immediately, and is now in high demand, so what are you waiting for? Get to steppin'!

Scott Tipton thinks Namor shoulda tried that helmet trick years ago. If you have questions about the Illuminati or comics in general, just send 'em here.

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