Age of Ultron #9

    There comes a moment in every time travel story where you set the book down and think.  One of the hallmarks of a good time travel story is how it involves the reader.  You can’t just skim through and understand, sometimes you have to sit back, stroke your beard (when applicable) and give the story a good pondering.  Age of Ultron #9 made me sit back and ponder, but not in the way I wish it had.

    The latest installment of Marvel’s late-spring-into-early-summer event picks up pretty much immediately after the end of the previous issue.  We were treated to a massive battle between the Defenders and Morgana la Fey’s magical flying horned Doombots that resulted in a pair of not-S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarriers crashed above New York.  Naturally, Wolverine has survived this event, but that’s really all we know.  We got to spend two issues in this warped present day universe, but within moments of something happening, we again find ourselves pulled away to a new direction.  We are treated to more time travel shenanigans, two Wolverines for the price of one and a setup issue with remarkably little setup.  At this point in the series I would have expected us to have a good idea of what is coming next for the finale.  After reading issue 9, I really have no idea what to expect from the conclusion, except that I really hope Ultron makes an appearance after being gone from the core miniseries for so long.  I love not being able to expect what is coming next under normal circumstances, but this is more along the lines of having no idea what the

    While I haven’t enjoyed the majority of the Age of Ultron, this issue has really driven the nail into the casket.  At some point, the story has gone from vaguely serious to now borderline slapstick.  The scenes with the pair of Wolverines discussing how to move forward while a dumbfounded Pym seem to be played for laughs when real honest-to-God storytelling could be occurring.  I’ve  crossed the threshold between indifference and flat out not enjoying this title.  The formatting of this series is great, but I’m beginning to wonder if Bendis wasn’t phoning it in when he wrote this to ensure all publication deadlines were able to be met.  I’ve never found myself this critical of his work before.  I’ve considered myself a fan ever since I picked up Ultimate Spider-Man #1 well over a decade ago.

    Peterson again proves that he’s a capable penciller for this series, but he doesn’t seem to understand how Bendis is playing the characters either.  Artists can really elaborate on the storytelling in an emotional way.  The presentation of characters and their settings are just as important as what they are saying.  However, when there is a disconnect, as I believe there is in this issue, what could be a solid story is further muddled.  I am looking forward to the conclusion of this event, if only so we can move on to whatever is next.  I’d like to talk more about the concept of the fallout from this event and how it stands up against other event fallouts, but I’ll save that for the conclusion.