Dark Ages #1
by
Tom Taylor (story), Iban Coello (art), Brian Reber (colours), VCs Joe Sabino (letters)
The first issue of this, Marvels’ most recent alternate history storyline, sees Tom Taylor take the reigns of the whole M.U. much like he did during the Injustice saga over at DC – albeit on a much smaller scale as this series is only six issues long.
Unlike the 1602 or other limited series, this one is not set in a Dark Age, but it is one where the starting point is much like the main 616 universe but a calamity hits the planet right at the start of the issue which sees The Watcher appear in the Baxter Building and declare that the world is indeed ending. The heroes of course burn hell for leather as a cosmic machine-creature called The Unmaker trapped within the Earths core is awakening; a group of heroes manages to make it to the threat and at great cost and sacrifice, they stop the danger and save Earth, but the planet is now plunged into a technological dark age and conditions are created that prevent electricity and modern technology from ever being restarted.
This is an explosive first issue and 100% it succeeds in drawing you into the story and wanting to see what comes next, far better than many comics I’ve read from Marvel in some time. Taylor once again shows his prowess at handling huge amounts of characters across the many sub-franchises within Marvel and balancing the pace and events as the world is literally collapsing and disaster is ensuing on nearly every page at one point. I also got to see the work of Iban Coello for the first time here and I have to say that his layouts and rendering of the characters was excellent! I found no flaws that stood out on any page anywhere and not only was he faithfully able to bring the multitude of characters in the script to vivid life, he was able to do it in a way that fit – from his swinging Spider-Man, to the toothy Wolverine (Laura) growling and slashing to Dr. Strange magic-ing and more. It was all spot-on and there was a visible sense of dread and urgency and chaos in the environments he crafted. All of it was given greater depth by Rebers colours which were a nice balance of bright and shadow and explosive brilliance where needed.
Overall a fantastic start to the series.
Dark Ages #2
The Unmaker has been stalled at the Earths core but at a great cost – it remains sealed away but the resulting permanent E.M.P created to keep it asleep has plunged the whole planet into an irreversible world-wide Dark Age. Between the last issue and this one, seven years have passed and the face of the world has changed.
Taylor continues to show his skill at telling big stories and being able to handle a big cast well while keeping characters intact and distinct. This second issue does a nice job right from the jump as it dives right into showing us how the heroes spent the days of the fall and the aftermath and the efforts made to hold the world together and prevent humanity following technology into darkness. Leading us into a future that is far from perfect but surprisingly better than one would expect. Spider-Man and his family are shown as a primary voice in the story and we see how things have changed, like the supernatural evils like Vampires being a known threat now that tech is down and darkness is more present in the world, making hero-squads that hunt them a thing that exists now – in addition, it seems that Europe has a new ruler in the form of Apocalypse who has plans of his own on what the worlds future should be, plans he begins to implement in this issue itself. Meanwhile our heroes in North America have been building a new nation/haven for humanity where our better angels get a chance to show and they even seem to run a dangerous refugee rescue operation to bring people from Europe and elsewhere to the newly formet super-cities, all of which stay in contact through the telepaths and psychics like Professor X.
A solid follow up that is more or less on par with the first chapter in terms of both story and art.
Dark Ages #3
As the story rolls on, the kick-off both to set things up in this new world as well as the aftermath seeing the new machinations of the global threat known as Apocalypse, a.k.a, En Sabah Nur, are well and truly underway.
The heroes in Wakanda are trying to piece together the kidnapping of Tony Stark and what it means and making efforts to learn what Apocalypse is planning. Can’t really say too much without spoiling things but Quicksilver is involved, there are some shocking turns in how events play out and some sad deaths that follow – a dear cost to be paid by the surviving heroes, even as some glimmers of good news come with it. Meanwhile in his European stronghold, we see the devious lengths to which our primary antagonist is willing to go as his goals to revive technology for his own evil ambitions are revealed to us.
Stellar story and art continues this saga that proceeds at a break-neck pace and the creative team continues to do a masterful job in presenting both a believable and carefully balanced story and a large cast.
With all that has happened, the heroes who assembled in Wakanda decide that time is of the essence and aside from rescuing their friends, they have to find out precisely what Apocalypse is up to and (if need be) they may have to stop him. The assembled team includes Spider-Man, Blade, Wolverine, Sue Storm, Black Panther, Pepper Potts (in a steam-punk Iron Man armour), Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Moon Girl, Devil Dinosaur and Dr. Doom – yup, Doom works with the heroes now and is hands down one of the most entertaining characters in this series and Taylor does a good job using him sparingly but to great effect. The former S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier is now just a carrier ship on the ocean and used by the super-cities to ferry refugees from Europe and is captained by Nick Fury and this is their ride. Everyone is stretched and things are hard and will get harder still en-route to the Portuguese coast, but the journey must continue and the fun surprises and twists continue.
Oh yes, there are definitely some very fun choices made that take creative advantage of the fact that this is not “canon” with the main Marvel universe!
Dark Ages #5
After braving the hellish dangers of the oceans, our heroes have arrived in Portugal, stowaways and all. On arrival, they take a moment to honour fallen comrades and take a beat before they begin the last part of their journey towards Apocalypse and a very real possible end of the world.
Deadpool finally makes his appearance and I genuinely enjoyed how he was used here – much like Dr. Doom, Taylor seems to have found a way to use his character just right and not push too far or be too restrained. This leads to moments like the heroes travelling to Paris by road aboard the “Deadmobile” on a (as DP puts it) “family road trip to the heart of darkness” and we see a red bus with a dinosaur on the top rolling through the countryside. The cover of this issue gives away the next big threat they face as Apocalypse sends more hurdles to stop them or at least delay them enough – and while it is fairly obvious, there are yet twists to come.
The artwork is spot on as it has been throughout this series and the dynamic, high-octane feel of the action sequences continues.
There isn’t much I can say about this issue that would not give a few things away and make it less fun so I won’t.
From my previous reviews, you’ve gotten as much about the story as I could mention without spoiling the really fun parts – suffice it to say that the creative team brings it all to bear as we have nothing but all out mayhem and madness as well as some truly satisfying moments as the narrative finally comes to a head.
The heroes have reached Paris and Apocalypses plan to gain the power of The Unmaker at any cost whatsoever is forced to accelerate as the heroes arrive and it is all our WAR! Some of the standout moments are there for Storm, Dr. Doom and Sue Storm but there are so many story beats and moments I did not see coming that made this a truly surprisingly good finale. It had action, character moments and tonally remained consistent with the preceding issues all the way through to a satisfying conclusion.
Heartily recommend this series to anyone who loves Marvel or even superhero comics but is sick and tired of convoluted continuity, mediocre writing and absolutely sick of the poor quality dreck that is the live-action comics universe these days – this series doesn’t try and pander or pretend the reader/viewer is dumb or anything. It tells a fantastic story that makes the most of its storyline and characters.
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