There's not a lot of action in issue 2 of New Avengers: The Reunion (Jim McCann). It's primarily the infodump issue, answering a number of questions that have built up in the few months since Mockingbird's Secret Invasion return. And it's still completely enthralling.
Ronin (Clint Barton, formerly Hawkeye) and Mockingbird (Bobbi Morse) hop a plane to Europe to stop some super-terrorists from taking out a world scientists' convention, and we finally learn who Bobbi's been working for since her comeback: herself. Turns out she's the one who rounded up the former Skrull captive S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and started a brand new counter-terrorism agency, complete with flashy new James Bond style toys and a nerdy support staff. (Who needs a H.A.M.M.E.R. when you've got a blonde with a big stick?)
At the same time, flashbacks reveal just when in 1990s Marvel continuity it was that Mockingbird got nabbed by the Skrulls. These scenes could have been full of horrible fanwankery, but instead they served to ratchet up Reunion's emotional stakes beautifully: Bobbi had been on her way to inform Clint she'd just filed divorce papers. It's not melodrama for the sake of melodrama, either, but grounded in the relationship's own tempestuous history. Granted, it's a history I only know from Wikipedia entries, so I can't say how much of the flashback dialogue is lifted directly from old comics and how much is reinterpreted. But either way, the basic events are well-established, and McCann does a great job weaving the relationship's past and possible future into one cohesive tale.
He also packs a lot into the details. At one point, getting ready to infiltrate a swanky party, Clint goes off on Bobbi for the blue and purple outfit she's picked out for him. Ronin may finally have moved beyond his 1960s-1990s colors, and Bobbi may be the one insisting they're no longer a couple, but part of her is still looking for Hawkeye and the years the Skrulls took away from her.
More subtle is the page on the plane where, though Clint and Bobbi in fact sit facing one another, a simple panel reversal makes them appear back to back, turned away from each other and isolated. It's one of those simple visual tricks that only really work in comic books. Film and TV can use a split screen to similar effect, but split screens always look like gimmicks. It can never look as natural as it does on the page.
Clint and Bobbi's story moves one step forward and two steps back in this issue, but the reader's ride just keeps getting better.
- JC
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment