Avengers Arena #1 *Spoilers*

[LooneyKoala]

Prior to reading this I had no idea who Arcade was, so I did a bit of googling. So I was a bit surprised when he starts not only fighting but getting the upper hand on these juveniles. I thought he had no powers? If someone can explain how he was levitating and shooting energy blast it would be of great help.

Moving on to the actual story, I have mixed feelings about it. I thought it was pretty good for the first issue. It did seem a bit short, and I expected Mettle to last longer than he did. He died protecting Hazmat so I guess that's acceptable. I read the letters page and I still don't see how this can be an ongoing, sooner rather than later you will run out of young heroes to kill. What happens to the book then?

Cancellation.

Or a new round with new people (I hope)

[motteditor]

If it's not some swerve -- and after seeing Arcade be nigh-invincible, I'm fairly convinced it is -- this book is even worse than it appears. I flipped through it in the store, got to the last page and almost decided to put down Cable & X-Force because it made me not want to give money to Marvel/Hopeless.

I'm just baffled why anyone would want to read about these characters just being killed off. That said, I hope every single creation Hopeless does for Marvel gets treated the same way the second he stops using them. Now maybe Gage knows about the seemingly inevitable reveal that this is all virtual reality or something, but otherwise this just seems so disrespectful to Gage, much less the fans who supported books with these characters.

[J/O/J/O]

Yeah the letter column was great.

Yeah about that...is Darkhawk really into BBW?

[Zen-aku]

I'm just baffled why anyone would want to read about these characters just being killed off. That said, I hope every single creation Hopeless does for Marvel gets treated the same way the second he stops using them. Now maybe Gage knows about the seemingly inevitable reveal that this is all virtual reality or something, but otherwise this just seems so disrespectful to Gage, much less the fans who supported books with these characters.

Gage Deserves no respect.

Also i'm going to read because the writing is good so far, and i like to see characters struggel with morality and survival.

[J/O/J/O]

Follow up question:
Where do I request an avatar?
I want one of shocked Hazmat and Arcade's face while sayin welcome to murder world,b**ch.

[LooneyKoala]

This is true. The next issue comes out this month, so hopefully well get more evidence for either side of the argument then.

It's next week So really we just have 7 days until more of this arena goodness!!

[scribbleMind]

I agree that Hazmat's characterization at the beginning feels a bit iffy, but she does come off as the most heroic teen in the issue, impressive for someone who was on the fast track to supervillainy. I have to say, I understand that Mettle saying he doesn't care what happens was supposed to be some romantic declaration of love, but it came off pretty douchy. Uncharacteristically so. I mean, those are his team mates up there. I guess the Reptil/Mettle Bromance really and truly died. I liked the book well enough to keep buying it, as much as I love Mettle his death didn't upset me too much, probably due to the just how fast it all seemed to happen. If you didn't know who Mettle was before, you'd hardly have time to really find out before he dies, and so it doesn't carry that much impact. Even his death was too quick to summon any real emotion. Maybe if we got to see some of the reactions from the other AA students, but I suppose that's next issue.

[Zen-aku]

Love Makes you Douchey.

[InformationGeek]

Avengers Arena #1

Plot:

So one day, a bad guy gets bored and decides to create his own Battle Royale without the commentary or symbolism to it.

Our Heroes:

So, they aren’t heroes then?

Our Villain:

Why so serious?

Our Side Characters:

Nadda, but then again, I have no idea who exactly would be a side character in this story.

Action:

Stabby stabby!

Dialogue:

I’m so getting a Joker vibe off this guy.

Art:

It’s… alright.

Most Memorable Moment:

Obliteration!

Final Page:

See most memorable moment.

What We Should Take from This Comic:

Our favorite or our second favorite youngest have been put into a life and death situation where only one can only come out on top. Who will be the last man, girl, or mutant standing?

What We Do Take From This Comic:

This villain is completely clichéd up the ass..

Yay or Nay?

MMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH


Oh boy, what to say? I’ll be quick and painless about this comic, this plot is completely flimsy. Outside of the villain bringing everyone together to kill one another and maybe some of them working together to survive, there’s nothing else to this story. That’s just so weak as well. We need something else here to chew on.

But perhaps characters. Characters are important right? Well as a new reader, I don’t feel I got anything from this. Oh sure, I got an idea of what Hazmat is like, but that’s it. I don’t know any of these characters and I don’t know why I should care about them other than the fact they are in a bad situation. I need know something more about these people otherwise this all falls apart.

The villain is just so boring. The whole crutch of his character from what I gathered is that he likes to do this just for kicks. Nothing else. There’s nothing else to this guy but the fact that he has some intelligence and seems invincible so far. For a story like this, I need more to him. We’ll probably get a better idea of him down the line, but this an incredibly weak start for his introduction.

My ultimate problem comes from the premise itself. I’m not against character killing and I don’t really mind a story with lots of character death in it, but there’s a problem with the whole premise that irritates me. This is a fan fiction story turned into a professional comic book. Seriously, this is an idea a person on the Internet would come up with and turn it into a fan fiction story you would find on Fanfiction.net or similar. I feel like I’m paying for something I could read online for free (though with less typos) and the bugs the hell out of me.

Now I do admit there is some good to be had here. I think this a good setup issue. The comic wastes no time getting to the point of the story, it introduces the cast (not very well but at least tells you who is in it) and the villain, sets up the premise nicely, and gets kind of leaves you curious to see what will happen next. Plus, I suspect, for people who are familiar with these characters already that they’ll need no introduction, so that’s perfectly fine (though as a new reader, I do need something). The art is perfectly fine, but that’s it. Nothing special about it and nothing bad either.

This comic is very meh. You could possibly like it, but I’m seeing nothing here I could possibly get into, so this will be my last issue. Hope it works for you guys.

[Babyhater666]

Yeah, I'm doubtful that any of these deaths will stick, but if they do, I'll throw a major hissy fit. Nico, chase and hazmat are the only characters I care about though.

[nnelg]

I think they are in the matrix and no body has died yet. The villian is Arcade after all.

[sweetdumbass]

pym should be fired for negligence when this is over.

I can totally picture Pym and Tigra coming from Stark party totally wasted and not realizing the students are missing till the next day.

[direction9]

the premise was what we've been told and the execution was done well
what more can you ask

[hysang]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Not Mettle. I really like(d) that dude.

[Venom Melendez]

I can totally picture Pym and Tigra coming from Stark party totally wasted and not realizing the students are missing till the next day.

The kids who were taken seem to be the only ones still in the Academy, so that might be exactly what happens.

Yeah about that...is Darkhawk really into BBW?

I would be cool if he is.