Broken Frontier

The Civil War between superheroes is over. In its wake, Tony Stark has been appointed new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Initiative has been set in motion.

The Initiative—the new plans for training superheroes to protect and serve states and communities across the nation (and beyond)—is Tony’s first move to show that his fight for the Superhuman Registration Act wasn’t for naught. And that’s all you’ll really garner from this overpriced book of super-team introductions.

First, we get a neat little twelve page story from Bendis that gives the introduction of Canada’s new superhero warriors: Omega Flight. In it Bendis conjures Michael, the mutant known as the Collective, who killed the majority of Alpha Flight when his new powers overtook him and he ran amuck. Marc Silvestri is in fine form in this story, as he harbors the distinctive talents of a "wide-screen" artist. He also draws some of the most imposing monsters in comic history, and this story allows him to show off both.

Next is a nine-pager from Warren Ellis and Silvestri. It doesn’t amount to much other than a showcase of the new Thunderbolts team and how dirty they play. It’s a teaser trailer for what Ellis is doing in the main book and not a terribly compelling one at that.

The third and final new story is another by Bendis and Silvestri that stretches to fifteen pages and pretty much shows us what Jessica Drew, a.k.a. Spider-Woman has been up to since her disappearance from the Civil War. There is an interesting bit of banter displayed between Jessica and Carol Danvers…and Silvestri gets to show off his T&A chops…but it’s somewhat unlikely that this story is going to carry a lot of weight in future stories of the Avengers.

From there we get five previews of varying length for series and stories spinning out of the Civil War. This does not amount to a great deal at $4.99 considering most of these previews are for stories that came out alongside this issue (Iron Man #15, Captain America #25, Mighty Avengers #1) or anyone can see online for free. I mean, the Omega Flight #1 pages didn’t even contain any dialogue!

While I would never complain that Marc Silvestri is back providing some interiors for Marvel, this issue was pretty much unnecessary. And for $4.99 readers would be better off trying out a new book or two.