So I just want to start off by saying that if you decide to go buy this issue prepare to drop your pants and grab your ankles. I say that because your going to pay 5 fucken dollars for 20 pages worth of reading. That is of course unless your a Rocket Raccoon fan in which you might think the rest of the book made the 5 bucks all worth while. It's because of shit like that why I don't buy that many new books these days.And so, onward to what this posting is really about. Annihilators #1 opens up with Dr. Dredd (yeah I thought he was dead too!) http://marvel.com/universe/Doctor_Dredd commandeering a Rigellian survey ship that was studying interdenominational rifts. After Ikon "drops in" on the Annihilators she decides to throw down with them one by one. Later we find out that her fight with them was to prove a point. That being that each of the Annihilators are so powerful to the point where they are actually too self conscious about their actions and ultimately dysfunctional as a team. Eventually things settle down and as expected they have the inevitable "get to know you" group gathering. Another thing apparently Wendall Vaughn is back. Not sure about his return trip from the dead but I'm glad he's back.
We discover here that although Wraith World is destroyed the Black Sun of the Dark Nebula still very much exists and is being watched over by Galador's Spaceknights since it is the source of the Dire Wraith's sorcery. Cosmo senses a great disturbance in the Force . . . just kidding, he see's a squirrel in the Dark Nebula and off he goes along with The Annihilators and Ikon. They all show up at a Galadorian stronghold on the edge of the Dark Nebula. It's been majorly fucked over by Dr. Dredd who is using the data collected from the Rigellian survey ship to bring the Black Sun of the Dark Nebula into Galador's solar system. The last panel shows a bunch of Death Wings raising all kind of holy Hell on Galador.
So what do I think so far? It's not bad. Apparently we're back to Spaceknights who wear armor as opposed to being cyborgs. I'm not so sure how I feel about that but I'm gonna just go with it for now. Ikon is pretty cool so far. This new artist has her looking more like Jacosta then like a Micronaut action figure or one of those droids from I Robot. Clearly the armor she wears and her title are paying homage to the ROM legacy. And by making Ikon a woman she can at the same time stand apart from ROM more easily as a character. Plus it doesn't hurt to add some estrogen and plandenium clad boobs to the Annihilators. Personality wise it looks like the writers are trying to establish her quickly as a real G.I. Jane type. She reminds me a lot of the character Erin Sunne (Claudia Black) from Farscape. The Wraith warlock Dr. Dredd who we thought had been strangled to death by ROM back in the day has made a come back somehow that will hopefully be explained later. But I must say he so far has established himself as one formidable s.o.b. His plan is pretty ingenious and he's displayed impressive power and ruthlessness on par with Hybrid. I'm also happy to say that a direct reference to ROM (but not by name unfortunately) has indeed been made already as I had hoped and it looks like Ikon won't be the only Spaceknight we'll be seeing. Overall the plot looks pretty good so far. Looking forward to #2.
I'm glad we also get to see Galador it's self. You might say I like what they did with the place it's come along way from the nuclear holocaust like appearance it had at the end of the original ROM series. They may or may not explain how Galador came back from the brink as it did especially since ROM and Brandy were supposedly the last people there. I speculated a while back that there were probably other Galadorian survivors in hiding and that others on off world colonies came back to pitch in on getting the planet fixed up again and repopulated. Here are some links to reviews done on Youtube.
Actually, according to what Chris Batista told me 10 years ago, they are cyborgs, but the technology has been taken to the next level. They have cybernetic implants to connect to the armor, which they can summon from subspace like Rom did with his gadgets. He told me this after I expressed doubt that Rom would let his children become Spaceknights after all the agony it caused him. And it makes perfect sense! The Galadorians learned their lesson with the second, evil generation of Spaceknights, so instead of making them less human, they made them more human. Of course, whether you consider the whole thing canon or not is another matter, as I don't think it's been explicitly stated in the comics.
ReplyDeleteAs I discussed over in my review (blatant plug), Batista also was assuming the Galadorian colonies survived apart from Galador and contact was re-established.
Now we just have to wait a month for #2. Argh!
well i like your theory Lee about this current generation of Spaceknights we'll see if it pans out. so far i've seen enough to have me looking forward to the next issue with enthusiasm. i certainly hope in the coming days we get to hear other people's thoughts on the matter. oh and by the way the Rocket Raccoon story blows. he's ok as a supporting character i suppose but to carry his own book is stretching it. i mean that's basically what we've got going on with this two in one format. it's only because the Annihilators books seem to be doing a pretty good job of continuing the ROM anthology that i'm willing to put up with this Rocket Raccoon driving the cost to $5 bull shit.
ReplyDeleteI hate it when they put filler like that in the comics. But the comic in and of itself sounds great! And it looks awesome. I'm digging Ikon so far. And I like the fact that she's a girl. That shot of Galador is sweet! Thank you so much Dave! I cannot wait until I actually get to comic store.
ReplyDeleteRead it. Liked it.
ReplyDeleteCool to see Dredd again, as well as Galador and the Wraith "world".
And the ROM "reference" was nice.
Sadly, unless you know of whom she speaks, it's a "lost" throw-away line.
Still, a good read (except for the Rocket Raccoon back-up. I mean, I LIKE R.R., but not worth a buck to encroach upon a book I am buying. I call shenanigans to that.)
But with a nice revival/homage to the ROM mythology is welcome.
~P~
yesterday i scanned and sent a bunch of the pages to Randomnerd so she could get up to speed on the issue beyond this posting and Lee's review. it seems ~P~ that we're pretty much all in agreement that thus far things have been handled well in regards to ROM's legacy. just three more issues to go. although it's quite possible, perhaps even likely that the Spaceknight/Dire Wraith presence will be something of an ongoing thing in the Marvel Universe beyond this mini-series. as someone who was at one point a heavy weight in the ROM bloggers circle i'd sure like to know Siskoid's thoughts on this Annihilators #1.
ReplyDeleteLoved Rocket Racoon, loads of fun - better than the first story. Mind, the most intriguing bit of said opener were those connected to Rom.
ReplyDeletenow i see why your review posting only features clip art from the RR story. well i guess Martin you got your money's worth with that book i suppose.
ReplyDeletewell folks, i've been looking through out the internet for postings most any where of reviews for Annihilators #1 today. it seems that among ROM fans and those who just like Cosmic Marvel adventures it's pretty well received thus far. the owner at the comic shop i bought my copy at (Crush Comics) says it's selling pretty well so far.
Finally got a chance to read the issue over the weekend. Liked both stories, but I agree that the lead story felt like it was a little rushed, whereas the Rocket story seemed written with the right pace for the number of pages it had to work with. Perhaps the Rocket back up was a last minute thing, and some tinkering had to be done to the main script?
ReplyDeleteEither way, I enjoyed the issue, and I am interested in seeing what happens next in both stories.
well you came to the right place to share your thoughts Max, thanks. as far as the "rushed" script goes i'm not i'm really feeling it. the pace of the story seemed ok to me. but it's all good. after all, how fun would it be to share our various points of view with out those minor differences? the important thing is that you over all liked it and are looking forward to #2.
ReplyDelete