One of my biggest pet peeves in comics is when writers kill
off other people’s characters. When a writer needs a big dramatic death, they
need to kill characters that they themselves developed. It’s easy to throw some
pre-existing favorites out to get killed in order to make your own creations
seem cooler.
So this book is not really a good fit for me.
SPOILERS BELOW!
In fact, the only way I’m OK with this book at all is if
this ends up as some sort of virtual reality or LMD situation. The book isn’t
bad, but there is simply no excuse for killing off pre-existing characters so
that Marvel can rip off the success of Battle Royale and the Hunger Games.
And
they aren’t even hiding it! The covers are straight-up homages!
I actually made it through this pretty easily, since the
only favorite of mine who made the roster is Darkhawk. But I know that the
Runaways and Avengers Academy do have fans. They certainly can’t be happy with
how their favorites make out.
Dennis Hopeless does a nice job with the Braddock Academy,
the super-school of England. Hopeless populates the school with Marvel-legacy
students (like a Bloodstone and an Atlantean). I’m always impresses when
creators can insert new characters into the universe, but make it feel like the
character has been there all along. The Braddock Academy totally fits into that
mold. Cullen Bloodstone is a likable kid, even if I don’t see what his powers
are yet. And Anachronism is tailor-made to be a fan favorite too. A computer
nerd swapped in the body of a barbarian? Perfect.
I also like the use of the Red Raven name for another throwaway
victim. Again, no fans followed her adventures and feel shortchanged by her
death.
So cheap death as a selling point is not going to win me
over. That’s why I got this book from the library, not in the comic store. BUT,
I’m going to have to take it all back if Dennis Hopeless ends up pulling a con
and these characters are still alive. Because he does a really nice job writing
this huge cast in character. Clearly the new Deathlocket character is his
favorite, but he does a particularly nice job with the Runaways, Nico and
Chase. They have that same sense of desperation that they do in their own
comic.
Kev Walker’s art is solid, as always. Most of the
backgrounds are pretty well populated, giving the new Murderworld a clear “feel”
as a hostile location. Walker’s take on Arcade is pretty far out considering
his old look, but again, if this is some sort of simulation, that is easily
explained. Walker’s Darkhawk is more bulky than sleek, but that helmet looks
tremendous. And Cammi’s space suit is very effective in making her more of a
sci-fi character than a normal human would seem to be.
So I don’t know how to grade this one either. If this is a
simulation, or the slain characters are actually alive, then this is GOOD. If Hopeless
actually did have to resort to cheap kills to ramp up the drama, then this book
is EVIL.
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