Annihilation Scourge: Omega Review
Writer: Matthew Rosenberg
Pencils: Manuel Garcia
Inkers: Rafael Fonteriz, Cam Smith, Wayne Faucher & Manuel Garcia
Colors: Federico Blee with Rachelle Rosenberg & Erick Arciniega
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
The conclusion to Annihilation Scourge is disappointing, and upon reflection the whole mini event has been a bit disappointing. I had high hopes in the beginning, calling this worthy of the Annihilation name but overall it’s not. It had all the right pieces, it was just too rushed. When you compare it to the earlier Annihilation events where you really felt the scale of the destruction this event has been a case of telling us how bad it is without really seeing it. It’s very much been a case of telling not showing, and of course one of the strengths of this medium is being able to show.
Compare it to Annihilation: Conquest. We had an early version of the Guardians formed as a resistance, battling insurmountable odds in a suicide bid. We got to see this over a number of issues and really felt the scale of it. Or even compare it to the destruction of Xandar in the original Annihilation. We got a real sense of the scale of destruction there and the threat it posed. Here we mostly get told about it and see small examples of it. It doesn't have the same impact.
A perfect example is the Fantastic Four have been trapped in the Negative Zone for over two months battling the Cancerverse’s forces, yet we only find this out in a couple of lines of dialogue. This could have been a great backbone to the story, yet a couple of lines is all we get. Why tell us about it instead of letting us see it? For fighting an all out war non stop for over two months are heroes seem remarkably in good shape and not suffering for it.
This had so much potential but it wasn’t fulfilled.
I enjoyed the focus on Nova, but without going too much into spoilers the conclusion to the event felt very similar to what’s come before in The Thanos Imperative. By making this a bit of a rehash of what’s come before it takes away from the emotional impact it might otherwise have had. It also ended up being rushed, only taking a few pages to tell.
And then the final page, while I’m glad of it, almost takes away from what has come before.
So Annihilation Scourge has been a mini event, consisting of six issues in total. As such my expectation would be that readers would read all the issues, but it’s written with a quick recap of what all the characters have been up to that all the one shots are optional. So if you wanted you could get away just reading Alpha and Omega. Two issues. Two. That’s not nearly enough to tell a tale of this scale.
The tie-ins ended up feeling very paint-by-numbers as well which was disappointing. By making them optional it takes away from any impact they could have on the event.
The art is good though. There’s a great double page spread featuring a number of our heroes which I really enjoyed. Unfortunately it’s not enough to save this event.
I wish Marvel had taken the time to tell this tale properly and give it a bit of space to breathe, as it stands however it’s rushed and a big disappointment. Some of the art was really good however, and I enjoyed the fact it gave Nova a big role, but these alone aren’t enough to save it from mediocrity.
Pencils: Manuel Garcia
Inkers: Rafael Fonteriz, Cam Smith, Wayne Faucher & Manuel Garcia
Colors: Federico Blee with Rachelle Rosenberg & Erick Arciniega
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
The conclusion to Annihilation Scourge is disappointing, and upon reflection the whole mini event has been a bit disappointing. I had high hopes in the beginning, calling this worthy of the Annihilation name but overall it’s not. It had all the right pieces, it was just too rushed. When you compare it to the earlier Annihilation events where you really felt the scale of the destruction this event has been a case of telling us how bad it is without really seeing it. It’s very much been a case of telling not showing, and of course one of the strengths of this medium is being able to show.
Compare it to Annihilation: Conquest. We had an early version of the Guardians formed as a resistance, battling insurmountable odds in a suicide bid. We got to see this over a number of issues and really felt the scale of it. Or even compare it to the destruction of Xandar in the original Annihilation. We got a real sense of the scale of destruction there and the threat it posed. Here we mostly get told about it and see small examples of it. It doesn't have the same impact.
A perfect example is the Fantastic Four have been trapped in the Negative Zone for over two months battling the Cancerverse’s forces, yet we only find this out in a couple of lines of dialogue. This could have been a great backbone to the story, yet a couple of lines is all we get. Why tell us about it instead of letting us see it? For fighting an all out war non stop for over two months are heroes seem remarkably in good shape and not suffering for it.
This had so much potential but it wasn’t fulfilled.
I enjoyed the focus on Nova, but without going too much into spoilers the conclusion to the event felt very similar to what’s come before in The Thanos Imperative. By making this a bit of a rehash of what’s come before it takes away from the emotional impact it might otherwise have had. It also ended up being rushed, only taking a few pages to tell.
And then the final page, while I’m glad of it, almost takes away from what has come before.
So Annihilation Scourge has been a mini event, consisting of six issues in total. As such my expectation would be that readers would read all the issues, but it’s written with a quick recap of what all the characters have been up to that all the one shots are optional. So if you wanted you could get away just reading Alpha and Omega. Two issues. Two. That’s not nearly enough to tell a tale of this scale.
The tie-ins ended up feeling very paint-by-numbers as well which was disappointing. By making them optional it takes away from any impact they could have on the event.
The art is good though. There’s a great double page spread featuring a number of our heroes which I really enjoyed. Unfortunately it’s not enough to save this event.
I wish Marvel had taken the time to tell this tale properly and give it a bit of space to breathe, as it stands however it’s rushed and a big disappointment. Some of the art was really good however, and I enjoyed the fact it gave Nova a big role, but these alone aren’t enough to save it from mediocrity.
A Look Inside
