MARCO SPEAKS SPIDEY: DARK AGES #1 REVIEW

Every now and then, we are forced to ask the question regarding what happens when the day comes that the heroes are not able to save the world. Too many times, the Marvel Universe has relied on the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four… and yes, Spider-Man and his continually growing family to get rid of universe and reality ending threats. But this new series, Dark Ages, takes things up a notch and shows us, the readers, a scenario where the battle may have been won, but the war was lost. And the darkness has already taken over. It’s good to know that Spider-Man and his family play a huge role so far in this epic storyline, and I cannot wait to see how this tale unfolds.

OFFICIAL MARVEL COMICS DESCRIPTION:

This is what the Watcher has been watching for! A danger older than the Earth threatens everything. For once, the heroes who have saved the planet so many times are almost powerless in the face of it. X-Men and Avengers assemble. Spider-People and Fantastic Four come together. Heroes for Hire fight alongside Champions. None of it will be enough. The lights are about to go out. The world outside our window…is about to end. An all-new saga of the Marvel Universe as you’ve never seen it before from Tom Taylor and Iban Coello!

GET READY FOR A BLACKOUT!

PROS:

• I found it very interesting how the premise was set-up. It was a refreshing twist and turn of events. Initially, we are led to believe that the main “villain” of the event will be the cosmic and living machine, the Unmaker, that was once meant to preserve the universe. But, after being tainted and corrupted, it awakened and turned its sights on our planet. And, in fact, it did act as the big baddie for the bigger portion of the first issue. Earth’s heroes had to unite and find a way to prevent the Unmaker from basically unmaking everything and everyone. But at what cost? Doctor Strange was able to use an E.M.P. to stop the cosmic entity, but the ending result was that it shut down all the power, turned off all the lights, and disactivated anything electrical. Permanently. What was shocking was how even Spider-Man’s web-shooters were affected. Something so basic, and something we all take for granted, just stopped working in a blink of an eye. It will be intriguing to witness how Spider-Man is able to adapt and evolve as a superhero years later, after the darkness has taken over. And thus, the premise is set, and it was definitely surprising, and far from what I expected. The Marvel heroes won, supposedly, but more was lost in the process.
• For all the Spider-Man fans reading this, it is my pleasure to say that Spider-Man and his family play a very important role in this issue. The comic actually starts with his entire immediate family, in their peaceful lives, and ends with the effects of Dark Ages on each and every one of them. And thankfully, the storyteller that we get is actually an older and wiser Spider-Man, so it appears that he will be the eyes, ears and voice for readers during this Dark Ages series. We also see in this issue how strong his daughter is, and how much potential she has to be the next generation of superhero.

CONS:

• Watcher still isn’t going to do anything??? Nah, he tweakin’!

FINAL GRADE: A

This initial, introductory issue passes with flying colors as we are thrown into a daring, dangerous, and very uncomfortable new universe where the lights are off and there is no power… literally and figuratively. But as hinted in the comic book, there is always a way, and there is always a light of hope at the end of the tunnel. But the people at the last page are surely not going to make life any easier for the Marvel heroes and the survivors post-Unmaker. It’s just good to know that Spider-Man will be at the forefront, giving all of us a view of this brave, new world. I am definitely going to pick up the next issue to check out what happens next. What do you guys think?