REVIEW
AVENGERS THE INITIATIVE 6
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Steve Uy
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Company: Marvel
So, you’ve got a character that is pretty much hated by every single comic reader in your little universe. And, as a bonus, the reason he is hated is because he continuously harps on a singularly defined moment in this comics universe that is the source of the largest amount of misunderstanding in the history of Marvel Comics. (And yeah – that goes back a-ways.) Now, how do we draw readers into our book? I know – let’s knock the ever-loving crap out of him! And then, leave the “Who Dun It?” to a mystery! As a bonus, multiple characters are immediately direct suspects, because of the way he was left after his beating. Yeah!
I know what they were going for here, and honestly – they did a pretty good job of it. The real culprit isn’t revealed until the last page, and I certainly never expected the… entity.. that they chose.
And I applaud their effort in the first few pages to show Gauntlet as an actual human, with a wife (who sends him off in the morning with “And don’t be easy on those kids”) and kids (including a little game he plays with his Gauntlet hand). That means a lot to some of the older readers (like myself, who has two young children, and can understand how your outlook can change depending on where you are at any point in time).
The art is very effective, especially during the assault on Gauntlet. It is sometimes difficult to project the actual brutality of an unprovoked attack on a victim, but Uy does an excellent job here. And I hope you really do not see the ending coming – since I didn’t, and I hope that doesn’t imply I’m out of touch with the current audience. (Am I? Email me.)
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
