Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Roy Hibbert suddenly forgetting how to play basketball, being shocked that a 7’2″ professional basketball player can’t get one frickin’ rebound, or Seth Rogen gloriously going off on Justin Bieber, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
I’m greatly looking forward to Marvel’s “Original Sin” event. Part of it is because the story is topical and reflects recent world events. Part of it is because for the last few years, Marvel’s events have generally been superior to DC’s events. The second part is a little painful to admit, because I’ve usually been (a bit) more of a DC guy than a Marvel guy (though first and foremost, I follow certain writers). Let’s use today’s Coffee Talk to discuss “Original Sin.”
For those of you not familiar with the premise of “Original Sin,” here’s a brief rundown. Uatu, the Watcher of Earth’s solar system, has been killed. As a powerful being that observes all kinds of happenings, dude has seen and heard a lot. The person responsible for Uatu’s death is wreaking havoc throughout the Marvel Universe by leaking some of the Watcher’s closely guarded secrets. From Captain America getting his mind wiped by the Illuminati to the mystery of Star Lord from the Guardians of the Galaxy surviving the Cancerverse, these secrets touch every corner of the Marvel Universe.
Going into “Original Sin,” there are two aspects of it that I love. First off, I adore that it’s a (nerdy) dramatization of the WikiLeaks situation. While Edward Snowden and Julian Assange are interesting characters, they’re dullsville compared to the heroes and villains that populate the Marvel Universe. It’s awesome that Marvel is having its own (nerdy) version of the WikiLeaks scandal.
The second aspect of “Original Sin” that I love is that it gives writers freedom without confusing the reader. Any Marvel book can work with a scandalous secret being revealed, but the individual secrets don’t necessarily have to tie into the main “Original Sin” plot. Writers can explore the characters that they’re responsible for and have fun with the leaked secrets, while readers can just follow the main plot and the characters they care about. It’s nice and neat…
…as opposed to what’s going on over at DC. The last two major DC events were a mess. “Trinity War” started out with a promising bang and ended with a swerve that left many readers with a sense of ennui. That event clumsily lead into “Forever Evil,” which has been a totally wreck. The main “Forever Evil” book didn’t stand on its own, requiring readers to check out other titles in order to make sense of it all. The event was plagued by delays, escalating “Forever Evil” from a wreck to a disaster. There are several DC titles that are in the “Forever Evil” epilogue stage and have moved on from the climactic ending…that hasn’t actually happened because the last issue has been delayed to May 21. It’s an excellent example of a major comic-book event being all over the place and running out of control.
Wow. I feel a little better after ranting about “Forever Evil.” Let’s change the record and return the focus to “Original Sin.” On paper, it should be an entertaining comic-book event that should feature tight storytelling. The way it’s set up, it shouldn’t spin out of control like “Forever Evil” did. Unlike that storyline, the leaked secrets from “Original Sin” can work well as self-contained plots in individual books, as opposed to some of the “Forever Evil” subplots that felt forced.
So yeah! I’m really looking forward to “Original Sin.” I have a feeling that it’ll be fun and the storytelling will mostly be tight. How about you? Any of you guys and dolls looking forward to Marvel’s latest universe-shattering event?
This one has my attention. I tried AvX and the writing was soooo brutal I quit after a few issues. Also Age of Ultron was pretty meh to me but a bit better than AvX. When I first saw this cover I first thought of Final Crisis and that led to a few good runs for some characters too so I’m hoping that does the same for Marvel. Haven’t had many Marvel comics to read besides Superior Spider man and All New X-men. I’m tempted to pick up on the death of Wolverine story too
Superior Spider-Man and All-New X-Men have been my favorite books for the last couple of years. Guards of the Galaxy is up there too. I’m not really looking forward to Death of Wolverine, because I can’t imagine that he’ll stay dead for too long (I’d love to be wrong though). There’s just too much money to be made with that character.