Secret Empire #3
Writer: Nick
Spencer
Art Team: Andrea
Sorrentino, Rod Reis
Marvel
Comics
Release Date:
May 31, 2017
Cover Price:
$3.99
Our Secret Punishment
For the
third time this month Marvel’s Secret Empire, the main title, has released an
issue. For such an unusually high output, especially for a Marvel related event
book, you would think the feeling one would have, from the outside looking in, is
that a lot has happened so far. Well you
my friend would be wrong. Other than establishing who’s on what side, and where
they are in the current universe, not much of note has happened yet. Let’s see if issue three can turn that tide because
right now I’m $18.96 into this series and ready to check out if something of
note doesn’t happen soon.
Issue three
resumes our cliffhanger scene from last issue with a totally different, and
bearded, Steve Rodgers walking through the woods still attempting to rescue the
damsel in distress from last issue. This
quickly transitions to Star Lord, Rocket, and Groot attempting to secure help
in space, for those trapped behind the ‘Defense Shield’, but their attempt for
assistance, and insistence on comedy in this situation, both fall flat. It looks like our heroes behind the Shield
are royally screwed so basically nothing has changed since issue #0.
From there
we check in on Black Widow and her crew. Initially Black Widow meets in a location
run by Boomerangs with Maria Hill who kindly provides some intel on the whereabouts
of Captain America. If you remember, Black Widow along with the Champions have
made it her mission to take Steve down. Speaking of the Champions, they make
their appearance in a danger room scene, as we discover they’ve continued training
under Black Widows tutelage but have lacked the ability to show they have what
it takes to succeed … A.K.A. kill when necessary.
The second
half of this title mimics the first in both style and tone, and by that I mean it’s
covered in a lot of word bubbles, with characters talking and telling us about
things happening, and that have happened, but rarely showing the reader in this
event title, which is inexcusable.
There is a
brief glimmer of action in which a band of Hydra’s current agents attack
Atlantis, in an attempt to secure a sliver of the shattered cosmic cube,
however the art does it no favors. The only reason I know this scene takes
place under water is the fish bowl masks Hydra is sporting, plus there is a
Shark or two other than that the color and inking just make it look like every
other scene. This all turns out be just be another dead end, due to poor intel on
Hydra’s end, and they respond by destroying Namor’s home. This is another
example of the bad guys coming off looking like morons and in response just
destroying something. It doesn’t make me as a reader fear Hydra it just makes
them look like run of the mill loser villains I read about in standard books.
The issue
concludes in a rapid fire fashion with a series of three cliffhanger
scenarios. The first being what is Ultron
Pym’s first appearance in the event. This is followed by the Rod Reis Steve
Rodgers, who if I had to bet money on, think is the Ultimate Universe Steve
Rodgers, with similar memory lapses Jimmy Hudson is also displaying. This Steve
is shown failing to get the girl he rescued help in time as she dies from
poisoning (and being stomped to death last issue couldn’t have helped) our ‘hero’
just continues wandering on. All followed by Boomerang being attacked in his
hideout, for information regarding the meeting he setup earlier in the issue,
between Black Widow and Maria Hill, by the newest Hydra agent of Nick Spencer’s
choosing the Punisher. Some people are excited about this but we still haven’t seen
a lick of Hydra’s sponsored Avengers squad with Deadpool, Thor, Scarlet Witch
etc … so I'm not counting on Punisher playing a big role going forward either,
other than background fodder like the other seem to be.
Well that’s it
for issue three of this event and in all honesty I’m bored to tears at this
point. This book feels stuck in place,
not sure where it wants to go next, and worse treading water to hit a just added
tenth issue, for the sole purpose to hit fans where in counts … in the wallet. The ending twist (or twists if you’ll account
for all of them) may have more of an impact on others than it did me, but after
revealing Captain America is a member of Hydra who at this point could say
their Hydra that has any impact left? That’s the worst part of this event so
far, the most important part of this story happened over a year ago with Steve
saying ‘Hail Hydra’ in the Steve Rodgers title, and everything I’ve read since then
feels like a writers attempt to stay relevant and trending on twitter and not genuinely
interesting storytelling especially at this point.
Sorrentino’s
art is satisfactory but much too stylized for a mainstream event title. The coloring especially makes it difficult
to make characters out from each other or even to tell whats going on at times. While I love his work on Old Man Logan and
Green Arrow, I don’t think such a large ensemble casts are something that suits
his art. Rod Reis does good in his brief appearances maybe possibly switching
what artist was responsible for a large majority of the book would have been a
better option.
Bits and Pieces:
If you’re
solely invested in this main Secret Empire title so far you’ve spent $18.96
(cover price) on a total of four issues that feel like they could have been
shortened and cut down to two. The pace
is awful and this book is becoming less and less intriguing with each passing
issue … wake me up when something actually happens.
4.0/10
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