|
Wolverine #26 kicks off
"Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." Nominally it's the second Mark
Millar arc, although in reality Millar's arc is just one big
twelve-issue story. Last issue the villains seized
control of HYDRA and Northstar got killed, but Wolverine was
rescued for deprogramming. And that's where we rejoin
the story.
Under new management, HYDRA has
abandoned the idea of trying to go for dead superheroes.
Instead, they seem to be going for quantity over quality,
sweeping up minor supervillains like Slyde and the Spot.
On paper this is a rather vacant plot, with a bunch of nuts
embarking on a lunatic scheme which only really makes sense to
them because they're nuts.
But the usual rules for this arc
apply; it gets away with being ridiculous because a big part
of the appeal is that it's ridiculously over the top. In
true action movie style, credibility and depth are not
considerations here at all. Nor should they be.
The story only falters when Millar periodically succumbs to
the urge to pretend that the events we're reading about are
somehow weighty. Gorgon's back story is endearingly
silly, but comes dangerously close to taking itself seriously.
(And if he's that clever, how did he fail to commit suicide
twice? It's not that hard.)
This is a story that works, not
because there are any fundamentally spectacular concepts in
here, but because it barrels along at such a rate that it just
doesn't matter. John Romita Jr is a great choice of
artist for this material; plenty of dynamism, cartoony enough
to avoid any risk of the story seeming uncomfortably real, but
never seeming to be tongue in cheek. He even pulls off a
great double page spread near the end with the unveiling of
HYDRA's supervillain army - a scene that really shouldn't
work, because they're all such no-names that a second glance
immediately reveals them as the Legion of Crap Supervillains.
If it's Wolverine versus a hundred guys like Slyde, my money's
still on Wolverine. But the energy of the page holds up even
after you realise who these guys are.
Paul Mounts' colouring is also
worth a mention. The Gorgon's origin flashback is
beautifully done, with lovely autumn colours that seem
pleasantly at odds with the events in the foreground.
Good dumb fun, at its best when
it embraces that.
Rating: A-
back |
continue |
