Original Sin #8 hit stands today and you’ve already seen the explosive preview for Original Sin #8. Before I get into the spoilers and capsule review for Original Sin #8, the below gets you caught up.
Spoilers follow for events leading up to this week’s Original Sin #8. You have been warned!
What’s happened so far:
- All-New X-Men #25: This All-New Marvel Now bi-weekly Original Sin series had a stealth debut in All-New X-Men #25.
- Winter Soldier, Moon Knight, and Gamora in space.
- Dr. Strange and the Punisher on the astral plane.
- Black Panther, Ant-Man and Emma Frost close to the Earth’s core.
- Original Sin, the 8 issue (9 if you include the #0 issue) core event book (no “s” at the end), that surrounds the mystery of who killed The Watcher, what he saw and what’s the deal with his eyes; the House of Ideas’ take on a cosmic whodunit.
- NEW: We get an Original Sin Annual #1 focussing on Woodrow McCord; Nick Fury Sr.’s predecessor as Earth’s cosmic protector as revealed in Original Sin #5.
Who was he and is he still alive? Why is he fighting the Watcher’s eye? The annual hit shelves on Wednesday October 1, 2014.
- We get an interlude in Original Sin with, I believe, with more branding-over-story controversy a.k.a. numerhoaxology from Marvel as Hulk vs. Iron Man gets the Original Sin #3.1 to #3.4 treatment. Did Tony Stark lead to the creation of the Hulk? And… SPOILERS HERE!
- Continuing in that vein, we also have Original Sin #5.1 to 5.5 mini-series called Thor & Loki: The 10th Realm involving the revelation that former Spawn stalwart Angela is the sister of Thor and Loki! And… SPOILERS HERE!
- We’ll get Original Sin tie-ins in some regular ongoing series where we learn of some “sins” of Marvel Now’s heroes and villains. Like with All-New Invaders #6 and many others.
- The Original Sins (with an “s” at the end) is a companion anthology 5 issue mini-series to spotlight Young Avengers in particular, but also showcase done-in-one tales from across the Marvel Universe revealing more sins, but this time for characters who don’t headline their own ongoing series. And… SPOILERS HERE!
Original Sin #0: A zero issue followed and retold The Watcher’s origin and also expanded his scope and power set.
Original Sin #1 and #2: Following that, Original Sin #1 and #2 set up the various investigations into the Watcher’s death and theft of his eyes. In addition to Nick Fury Sr. leading the prime investigation at the request of the Avengers’ Captain America, three other groups of heroes are also independently investigating on different planes literally at the behest of a mysterious benefactor:
What ties them together? Monsters and mysterious green bullets?
Original Sin #3: The big news was the holy sh*t moment at the end that saw the death of Nick Fury Sr. at the hands of Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier! That issue also revealed how the villains identified at the end of issue #2 got together, namely Dr. Midas, his daughter Exterminatrix and The Orb, met here and here.
Original Sin #4: We learned that all was not what it seemed with Nick Fury’s “death”. Looks like he has an army of Life Model Decoys or LMDs at his disposal.
Original Sin #5: This issue is dedicated to explaining how Nick Fury Sr. is still alive and really, really old. It’s a rewriting or reboot of his Marvel past. We further learn that he is behind those gamma bullets and pulled the various teams of Avengers together to investigate the Watcher’s murder. Nick Fury Sr. = the Unseen Cosmic Avengers of the Marvel Universe.
In Original Sin #6 we learned what the real reason the various teams were pulled together by Nick Fury Sr. This seems to set up the All-New Marvel new ongoing series with Bucky Barnes: Winter Soldier #1 set to debut in October 2014.
Original Sin #7 reveals Nick Fury Sr. confronting the Watcher in the past and in the present the Watcher’s council joins the fray.
However, before we get to the spoilers and preview for Original Sin #7 and Original Sin #8, here’s what you need to know about Marvel Comics’ All-New Marvel Now Original Sin publishing plan including a newly announced Original Sin Annual:
Ok, you’re ready now for…
Spoilers and capsule for Original Sin #8 follow.
As with the previous issue, the most interesting parts of the issue are the flashbacks to what happened on the moon. It chronicles the events that led to The Watcher’s maiming and seeming death. And, it looks like we know how the killer is, but he may not have been fully responsible.
So, it looks the Watcher Uatu orchestrated his own death at Nick Fury Sr.’s hands; death-by-cop sorta.
In the modern-day sequences, we see Nick Fury use one of the Watcher’s eyes to seemingly destroy himself and Dr. Midas. The other eye of the Watcher bonds with the Orb; its own in the middle of the character’s chest. So, while I’ve said before that I can’t take a villain with an eye for a head seriously, but not sure he gets any more credibility with one of the Watcher’s eye as his new uni-breast.
Despite seeming to die with Dr. Midas due to the explosion of the Watcher’s other eye, Nick Fury Sr. lives on as the Unseen seemingly taking the Watcher’s place as a clichéd figure in chains.
Overall, Original Sin #8 ends this event series as it began; a jumbled mess I’m sorry to say. It seems to have had the dual purpose of (1) taking Nick Fury Sr. off the table so his black son could be THE Fury of the main Marvel Universe as he is in the Avengers films, and (2) setting up new Marvel series as part of the Avengers Now publishing initiative. Great art by Mike Deodato, but a unfulfilling story by Jason Aaron.
Thanks for reading. All feedback welcome.
