Original Sin Event Coverage: June 11, 2014

Sin is rampant in the Marvel Universe. Comic Booked continues full coverage of Original Sin, the big Summer crossover event from Marvel Comics. We continue with reviews of each book and wild speculation about what it all means. There were four books out this week, so let’s get on with the reviews.

Reviews

Mighty Avengers #11 – Last issue, we left Blade in the clutches of the evil Deathwalkers. Who are the Deathwalkers you may ask? I had no idea until I read this issue of Mighty Avengers. Having been caught in the blast of the “secrets bomb” detonated by the Orb at the end of Original Sin #2, Luke Cage learned that his father, James Geary, had actually been the head of a team of “superheroes” back in the 1970’s. Of course his dad defined it more like “fighting nightmares with nightmares”. This is the story of how it all started, with the death of a person who looked like a half-human half-bat creature. The great thing about the “Original Sin” storyline is that it is really bringing some of the more obscure characters back to the forefront, like The Orb, Exterminatrix and Dr. Midas, and, now, Kaluu, a sorcerer who was given power from the Darkhold by Varnae the vampire. Turns out that James worked with Blade, Kaluu, Blue Marvel, and a woman named Constance Molina, a reporter on the “freak beat”. This team had been focused on defeating the Deathwalkers, and they thought they had succeeded. Now, all of this is coming home to roost as Blade was hunting the Deathwalkers and has now been captured by them. This issue was all about the backstory, so we have to wait till next issue to really see the story unravel.

Original Sins #1 – Beginning the mini-series to compliment the main Original Sin event series. This issue is divided into three parts. The first is a story of Henry Hayes, a war veteran with Biotek implants. Henry is approached by Seth Thorne, an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., who is a big fan of what Henry Hayes was made into, namely Deathlok. Unfortunately for Thorne, Hayes does not know who he is because those controlling him wipe his memory. Add the fact that the controllers also don’t like nosy S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and things do not look good for this poor agent. The second story focuses on the Young Avengers. Hulkling and Prodigy head into space to get Marvel Boy since his ex-girlfriend, Exterminatrix, is involved in an “altercation” that we all know as Original Sin #2. As they approach the area, after Hulking impersonates Agent Coulson, they see a woman who was not evacuated and enter an abandoned building to save her. What they find is the girl tied up and The Hood making them an offer they can’t refuse. Find out more about that next issue. Finally, a little fun with Lockjaw looking for one of his secrets buried on the moon, who will he get to help him uncover it?

Deadpool #30 – Last issue we saw that Agent Preston and Agent Adsit were bombarded with secrets from the Watcher’s pilfered eyeball. We still don’t know what Adsit saw, just that it was something terrible about Deadpool’s family, maybe his parents? Preston heads off with her lead to find Elanor, Deadpool’s daughter. Meanwhile, Deadpool has travelled back in time and retreived Dazzler from the 80’s to help fight a new breed of enhanced vampires (enhamps?) using her powers of turning sound into light as the ultimate vampire-killing weapon. Shiklah, Deadpool’s wife, enters into negotiations with Dracula’s henchman, but that doesn’t last long as soon as they find out about Deadpool’s attack on the nests. The battle seems to go well, and Deadpool and Dazzler are having way too much fun working through “Deadpool’s naughty vampire list”. In Chicago, Preston finds what she needs and heads to Winnetka, Illinois. What will she find when she confronts Butler’s brother? Will Elanor be okay? Will she even want to know about her dad? Will she be horribly deformed? All these questions and more may be answered next issue.

All-New Invaders #6 – This issue begins with the story of Radiance, a Japanese-American pop superstar that is practically worshiped by her fans. She came back to the United States to further her career and was caught in the blast of secrets from the Watcher’s eye. The secret she was given was about her grandmother, Golden Girl, and something that the Invaders did, or didn’t do, back at the end of World War II. It all boils down to the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. Somehow the Invaders had the opportunity to stop it, but they didn’t. She wants revenge for what they did to her country, but also she wants answers to fill in the blanks of the secret the Watcher’s eye gave her. Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch, is called in for a debrief by S.H.I.E.L.D., because of the hostage situation that he was involved in when Radiance took control of a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. This is bound to be an explosive situation.

That’s it for this week. Original Sin continues next week. If you have missed any of our event coverage, catch up here, and I will see you back next week. Thanks for being Comic Booked.