Avengers has had a pretty good TV history through the years. Assemble may not have been a big hit, but EMH and United They Stand were pretty good. This comic collection deals with things that happened in Avengers EMH. Interestingly enough, it is exactly how things happened in the show, so you may only want to get this one if you haven’t seen the episodes yet.
The first comic deals with Dr Doom as he attacks Avengers mansion! He also attacks the Fantastic Four and manages to kidnap Invisible Woman and Wasp. Reed Richards doesn’t approve of this and he gathers the Avengers and the Fantastic Four for their ultimate assault on Doom’s castle. Win or lose, Dr Doom will know that he’s been in a fight! There is a twist at the end and things definitely get interesting!
The next comic involves the Technovore and he attacks Tony Stark. He wants to devour the Reactor that he has near his heart, but the Avengers + War Machine are here to help. The only problem is that Aim is also around and they don’t plan on losing to the heroes. Maria Hill is also here to remind Iron Man that he should have the Avengers join SHIELD. Tony doesn’t think that this is a good idea and declines as he prepares to fight!
The third comic dealt with the Enchantress as she decided to get revenge on the Masters of Evil. Her magical abilities are very formidable and she makes short work of the first few members. Baron Zemo quickly realizes that the Avengers are his only hope and he tries to make a deal with them. They agree to help him defeat the Enchantress and also to let him go. Not a bad trade, but can they really defeat this sorceress!?
Ronan The Accuser has come to judge Earth in the following comic and his power level is pretty high. He manages to give the Avengers a pretty good fight and tells the Earth to surrender. The Avengers take the decision out of America’s hands and tell him that they do not. An epic battle begins and the humans may be more doomed than they think!
The final comic has Hank Pym as the main character and he has hired the Heroes for Hire to help him find out who stole his tech. The perpetrator is powerful and he actually manages to subdue Luke Cage and Iron Fist. It looks like Hank Pym may have to don the old suit and show the world what it means to be a true Avenger! Meanwhile, some villains like Piranha Jones may be ready to cut lose and take the heroes down!
I do have to wonder a little too the point of these comics. Since they are really just screen caps of the show, why buy them? I guess it’s good for people who refuse to watch the animated adaptions of the comics or just prefer to have it in comic format, but that’s a pretty limited audience. It also feels a little on the lazy side. Imagine if the Yugioh GX manga had just been copy and pasted images into the volumes. It just doesn’t feel right. This won’t affect the overall score, but it just doesn’t feel like they’re really being creative with this method of making the comics.
Well, the art is really good since it’s the show and everything flows together. The dialogue can feel very broken and unnatural at times, but that isn’t a huge negative. Still, it’s hard to imagine Captain America calling Black Panther…Black Panther in a normal conversation. Usually, he just says Panther or T’Challa. Of course…Captain America may not be as he seems!
Let’s just say that the stakes are high in these comics and you’re thrown right into the middle of it. The first comic should let you know that something is wrong with the Earth since the Skrulls seem to have invaded. All that I will say is that not everyone can be trusted. If you caught the earlier comics of the show, then you will know the twist. I don’t want to spoil it just in case, but it shouldn’t be a spoiler because I will assume that you didn’t skip the first three volumes to check out this one.
The characters all look pretty good in this collection. Nobody seems to be out of character, although Reed Richards should look a little more impressive. Shouldn’t he suspect the truth about the plot twist in the first issue? He should have been the first to realize this soooo…hmm. I hope that they aren’t starting to give him less respect like with what they did to Spiderman in the modern comics. That definitely wouldn’t be right!
Unfortunately, Thor has to miss out on all of the comics because he’s busy in Asgard. That’s too bad since he’s one of the main Avengers and it would have been fun to see him here. On another note, someone should realize that Cap is acting a little off. He doesn’t recognize the Thing when they meet and asks about who he is. He does the same for the villains that attack and it just makes you wonder. The Avengers must not be as quick as I thought!
Overall, this is a decent batch of comics, but I don’t see why you’d choose to read it instead of the TV show. That being said, if you didn’t know that there was a TV show and just happened to pick it up; it makes for a fun read. There are a lot of plot lines that are left open for future comics (Although it was cancelled after one more issue soo…they’ll never resolve them) and we get a pretty big cast. This is the last of the trade paperbacks for the series so I can’t say that it has much of an ending. I guess that it just feels like you’re reading a broken comic. Parts feel disjointed and I’m pretty sure that there is a major typo in the collection, but I forgot which comic has it. I recommend it to Marvel fans who haven’t seen the show, but I’d much sooner recommend that you check out the show. It’s best seen in that format and it will make a lot more sense.
Overall 7/10
Stats time!
Batman 13% 602 Points
Robin 60% 1267 Points
Nightwing 30% 816 Points
Batgirl 17% 5682 Points
3D Character Models
Heroes 2/5
Gadgets 0/14
Vehicles 0/5
Villains 0/8
Thugs 0/20
Toys 0/25
Concept Art 6/15
Graphic Novels 1/42
Batman hasn’t had the greatest track record for video games in the past so you will always be a little hesitant to make the purchase. Batman Vengeance had a great opening level, but it got a little iffy after that. Still, I can’t resist anything that says Batman and also says Gamecube on it. That’s a winning combo, despite what previous experiences may suggest. Batman Begins was pretty good after all, so this one could be the next big thing! Did this game turn out to be the next DBZ BT 3, or would it be more of a Prince Caspian? Time to find out!
Well, the plot revolves around a mysterious villain named Sin Tzu and he has released all of the villains in Arkham Asylum. He’s actually pretty legendary and even Batman respects his power and influence. If not for the escaped convicts, I’m sure that Batman would have this in the bag. Unfortunately for him…..these villains mean business. Some of the bosses include Mr Freeze and Scarecrow. Batman may be able to give them a good fight, but just in case there’s trouble, he brings in the big guns. Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl are here to help and they’re not going to stop until the villain is defeated! Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordan is acting very suspicious. Is he really who he claims to be!?
The animation for the game is pretty fun. You can definitely tell that this takes place in the DCAU and the designs are all top notch. The actual animation may not be some of Gamecube’s best, but it’s still the way to play. It has a retro N64 or PS1 feel to it since the characters are a little blocky. The energy attacks can also look pretty interesting.
The soundtrack for the game is pretty unique and I’d say that it’s pretty solid. We get some intense rock themes and even some that contain lyrics. I’m not big on the lyrical songs in this case since they weren’t really my style, but the other themes were good. This game’s soundtrack may not be as impressive as Dawn of Fate’s, but it’s still pretty good.
The gameplay is usually the deciding factor of a video game so let’s talk about it! It’s essentially the same as the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for Gamecube. It’s a beat em up where you need to fight until the end to win! Well, not in those exact terms, but there will be a missions. In one level, you may need to rescue 9 hostages or diffuse 9 bombs. Basically, that means that you need to beat a lot of enemies which lets you advance from room to room. After you’ve beaten enough enemies, then the level will end. There is a timer for how quickly you need to make it to the next objective, but you really don’t need to worry about it. If the timer goes down to 0, it quickly goes back up so you’ll make it in time. I’m not sure if it’ll keep doing that indefinitely, but I wouldn’t stick around to find out! (Yes, that line is used a lot, but it still works!)
There are four playable characters in the game. We have Batman, who is the powerhouse of the group and his attacks deal a lot of damage. He’s pretty cool to play as since he’s the main character and he gets all of the lines. We’ve got Batgirl who may lack power, but she’s quick and shouldn’t be underestimated in a fight. Robin is the fastest character of the group and he can land a lot of hits on the enemy. Finally, we have Nightwing. He was my favorite character to play as in the game and he has a pretty sweet 6 hit combo attack.
When beating a level, you obtain points that can be used to upgrade your character or buy emblems that can unlock things in the trophy room. The points come in handy and while there are a lot of melee moves to buy, I also like the projectiles. The electric batarang comes in handy during the final boss and there’s also a grapple hook to buy. It’s pretty bad in a fight, but it does look cool to swing and hit someone with a flying kick. You’ll need to beat the game at least 5-10 more times if you want to buy everything. That’s definitely a lot of times so I wouldn’t count on unlocking everything unless you’re seriously a collector.
I give the game some props for the final boss. He was surprisingly difficult and you really need to have good reaction times to deal with him. All of the attacks in your arsenal cannot hurt him and you must rely on super moves. To get enough energy to use a super move, you must unleash some serious combos on Sin Tzu. Once you use a super attack, the meter starts going back to 0 and you have to rinse and repeat. It takes around 10-15 super attacks to finish him off, so you’ll be playing the level for a long time. Luckily, he calls out minions once in a while, which gives you time to breathe and also a chance to get some health and lives. Not a bad deal eh? The key to beating him is to use the roll-attack to get past his defenses and to make sure and dodge his 4 hit combo. For some reason, he cannot react to rolls and they will always allow you a free combo unless he is already preparing to attack.
Sin Tzu is a pretty good villain. He’s definitely powerful, which makes him a worthy opponent for Batman. He definitely likes being a general, but you have to question his motives. Aside from revenge, he doesn’t seem to have much of an ultimate plan. Taking over Gotham isn’t going to sit well with the other cities and he’d be out of office pretty quickly. It would be nice to see him in a comic or a TV show someday so that he isn’t a complete one shot character. He has potential!
Batman looked good as to be expected in this game. He definitely fears nobody and he acts like a seasoned veteran. He gets to show off his detective skills and effortlessly defeat everyone in his path. We also get some hintings at his past, but you should know about Batman’s origin by now through some other form of media. If not, it’s a pretty intriguing plot point!
The big negative that will keep this game from being one of the big winners, is the fact that the gameplay is very repetitive. It will feel like you’re playing the same level over and over again. There are only a handful of area and each area has a boss at the end. The problem is that each area has quite a few levels and it makes the game pretty time consuming. It may not be as long as Shattered Dimensions, but it will feel longer because you just don’t know when the level will end.
Most levels will involve taking out 60-80 enemies and you must keep on moving along. The scenery changes, but the missions and gameplay don’t. It’s literally the exact same thing for each level. The only thing that changes are the boss fights. Most of those just involve hitting the boss and then beating the minions that he sends out. Rinse and repeat. The boss battles were still fun, but they can also be time consuming.
Overall, Batman’s next adventure on the Gamecube may not have been that great, (Barely gets a 6) but we got to see him show us why he is…Batman! Batman looked really good and the story was definitely solid. They just needed to add some variety to the gameplay and make it a little less monotonous. The graphics were good enough and we won’t be forgetting them. I don’t recommend this game if you want something quick or something elite. This game is good for those who liked the Ninja Turtles game for gamecube or really enjoy beat em ups. I do slightly recommend this game, but there are much better choices out there for the Gamecube. If you want a true beat em up, check out Mystic Heroes!
Overall 6/10
Guardians of The Galaxy has gotten pretty popular lately since the movie is coming out. Right when the movie was first being speculated and only mildly confirmed, they quickly started the comic series. It definitely had a lot of potential and Iron Man was also added for good measure. Would this be the next Xmen or Avengers? (I would mention Fantastic Four, but those guys just aren’t as popular anymore)
The plot of the comic is pretty straightforward. Starlord decides to assemble a group of heroes(?) to stop whatever his father is up too. He doesn’t know exactly what that is, but it can’t be good for the Earth. The King (AKA…His Father!) arrests them, but can you really arrest such powerful combatants for long? The Guardians must now stop a fleet of alien invaders from destroying Earth. Will they be able to succeed!?
The collection of comics is pretty short so the story isn’t that large yet. There are other plots that will occur soon like Thanos and the other Raccoons that have mysteriously appeared. Those will be dealt with in future issues, but this was more to do with seeing how the team could cope with their first big threat. They did pretty well and we’ll see what Starlord has in mind for them. There’s no big threat attacking yet so they can do whatever they want. I’m hoping that they decide to go and take the fight to the council! Unfortunately, they can’t count on the other teams since the Avengers, Xmen, and Fantastic Four basically disappeared when the aliens attacked. Communications were down and I guess that none of them noticed the alien invasion…..hmmmmm. It’s not something that you’ll want to think about for too long because it won’t really help the realism factor!
Star Lord is the main character of the comic and one could argue that he’s also the leader of the team. It would be a tough argument to pull off, but maybe you would be able too. As a kid, Star Lord is definitely not likable and while he did have his “Hero” moments, you just couldn’t root for him. He didn’t get much better when he grew up either. He had a Captain Kirk type of scene and he seems to be really similar to him in other aspects. He wants to stop his father’s big plans for conquest, but does he really have what it takes to win? It’s a good thing that he has some partners to help him!
Groot is another one of the main characters and he is known for saying “I Am Groot” more times than you may expect. It seems to be the only thing that he can say, or he could just be messing with everyone. Regardless, he’s just not really my type of character. He’s all right I suppose, but it’s just hard to root for him. Being a tree means that he’s incredibly vurlnable and that is dangerous. On a ship where aliens have laser guns, he realistically shouldn’t stand a chance at staying alive. Still, he did all right in his origin story and he Is a Hero. I’m not really a fan of him, but I’ll likely root for Groot when he’s in a fight.
Rocket Raccoon is definitely one of the best members of the group. He is the fan favorite and this time I can agree with the many that like him. Rocket Raccoon does get some pretty intense lines and he makes the most out of his laser blaster. He always likes to remind people that he “murdered em” once he’s taken them down with the laser. Usually he accompanies this with a “Blam”, “Blammy”, “Blammoo”, or something like that. He reminds Tony Stark that it isn’t the armor that makes the man and he definitely does a lot of damage to the enemies. That being said, he’s a character that the writers need to thread lightly with. He’s a character that can be wrecked very easily if the wrong writers come in. (Case in point…Ultimate Spiderman!) Still, this is one Raccoon that has definitely earned his spot on the team!
Drax The Destroyer is another one of the members and he’s easily one of the worst ones. I just miss the classic Drax from the 90’s. He had a cool design/cape and he had a variety of energy attacks to go with his incredible super strength. He was also a much more likable character. Nowadays, he’s basically a gladiator with mild super strength who uses a blade to take down his foes. He just isn’t as cool as he used to be. The old Drax didn’t need weapons and he wouldn’t be defeated so easily. They hint that there is a reason why Drax is so weak in the comics, but since they haven’t explored it yet…I can’t cut Drax any slack. Perhaps he will get better in the next few comics.
Gamora is another member of the team and she has direct ties to Thanos. Thanos trained her to be the best and now she uses her talents to defeat any villain that stands in her way. Her title is “The Deadliest Woman in the World”, but there are too many powerful ones for us to really consider that. (Ms Marvel, Rogue, etc) She is decently strong and she’s great at close combat, but she lacks the overall super abilities to be included in that category. Her strength seems to be around on par with Drax’s, but nowhere near any of the powerhouses of Marvel. That being said, she has great agility and quickness, which give her an edge over the other members of the team. She had a pretty good fight in her origin story and she took out a lot of minions. She can definitely fight well, but we can’t gauge just how strong she is until a true opponent appears. For now, she is strong enough to beat the other members of the team…and that’ll have to be enough.
Iron Man is another member of the team and he joined because…he’s Iron Man! He’s wearing a new armor in this series and I can’t say that I really like it. It’s his space armor and it looks downright evil. Now, it’s not a bad design…that being said, I prefer most of his classic ones. They just looked a lot more impressive. Speaking of impressive, Iron Man’s suit doesn’t look that strong. He’s the only one to be taken out during the first fight with the Badoon. Unfortunately, they take away his armor so we don’t get to see it in action anymore. It’s actually a decently clever way to get it out of the picture.
See, if Iron Man’s armor is at least as strong as his older ones, then he’s instantly the strongest member of the team. That could be dicey because then the villains may not really be threats and that could hurt the pacing of the series. If he can speedblitz every opponent or just finish them off with a Uni Beam, then where’s the danger? Of course, I hope that they don’t do that every time a big threat occurs, because that would get old very fast. Tony Stark himself looks all right and he talks a good game, but I expect more out of him. He’s one of the original heroes so he should take this all in stride. He also takes a shot at Captain Britain which was sad for the poor hero. He was pretty good when he teamed up with Spiderman and I think that Ironman may be underestimating him!
The art for the comics is pretty good and it shows how far we’ve come in the modern days. It’s a lot easier to write comics than it used to be, but it should still be noted when the art is really good. Ignoring the origin stories, the art is very good and can hold up to anything else that we have to offer. It’s nice and streamlined and it makes everything look nice and flashy. It’s what you would expect from one of Marvel’s big series!
The comics have a fun atmosphere and it’s mostly due to Bendis’ style of writing. For better or for worse, all of his comics will have a lighthearted feel to them. You never really feel like the heroes are in danger in these comics, but that’s not really a bad thing. Ultimately, we know that the heroes will pull through so it’s okay to skip the danger part. As long as we still get a lot of action and epicness, then it’s okay. That being said, it can still be a little tough to see them talking so bravely and posturing as if they had just won a battle when they had actually lost. They seem a little too confident in themselves considering all of the close calls that they’ve had. It would be like constantly bluffing through Poker…when you never really win!
There is a council of important cosmic people who discuss important things, which was pretty fun. Frigga looked really good and she let them know what the score was. “Attacking Earth will be seen as a declaration of war against Asgard” is a pretty nice way to tell everyone that it is under their protection. Of course, the Badoon (Well, the other half of the Badoon) ignore this. I hope that Asgard retaliates and Thor will be more than happy to avenge Earth. The other cosmic beings all have their own veiled threats and plans around so we’ll see what they do as well. Of course, Infinity will probably sidetrack those plans for a while.
Overall, this was a fun start to the Guardians of the Galaxy series. I’m not sure if I like the fact that they are called Future Avengers since they are in the present and they should not be associated with The Avengers. Still, the team has always been intriguing and they were pretty solid in Avengers EMH. It’ll be fun to see where the series goes from here and hopefully Drax and Gamora get to look a little more impressive in the next issues. Gamora did pretty well in a fight, but it was mostly with skill as opposed to overall ability. I also wouldn’t mind if someone kicked Starlord off the team, we don’t need two humans in this group do we? I recommend this to comic fans and to people who like to read an adventure featuring action, aliens, and space!
Overall 7/10
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