In the Marvel NOW! Avengers series, the multi-verse has been shrinking for quite some time. In previous volumes, there's been a round robin tournament between worlds, passively battling for a sole proprietorship of what will be a single-verse. The Avengers have won several encounters by the skin of their teeth or just sheer luck. Tired of these near misses, the Illuminati have been quietly building a planet-killer type weapon to ensure the survival of earth-616.
The Avengers are not the only ones who've discovered that the multi-verse is dying. Evil science organization AIM has taken notice and has discovered a way to open a portal to each Earth moments before it's scheduled to die. Their premise is to plunder these planets of their technological researches but with any wormhole, it's a two-way entrance. When a morally ambiguous Avengers team passes over to our universe, AIM must clean up their mess while the Avengers must cover-up the existence of the multiverse to an unsuspecting public. While the two sides are doing their versions of damage control, the earth-616 Bruce Banner makes a power play audition to become the newest member of the Illuminati.
This volume is another exciting chapter in the Marvel Now! Avengers saga. But with all of these reality changing events going on, I've got to wonder where does all of this fall in other Marvel NOW! series. I've read the entire NOW! runs of FF, Iron Man, Daredevil, and I've dived into several other Marvel series like All-New X-Men and Mighty Thor. With exception of the Avengers titles, the shrinking of the multiverse, is never mentioned. I'd think with these reality changing events, it would be the focus if not at least a component of every Marvel title. But it's not.
So do the Avengers titles take place a few years in the future or the past from the other titles? Is that why the end of the multi-verse is never mentioned in the pages of Deadpool? Not all of the New 52 books occur during the same year. Action Comics and Justice League are set 5 years in the past while the Batman titles are in the present. If that's so, I'd love someone to confirm this.
Despite my confusion over these plot oversights, this doesn't make for a poor offering by the Marvel editors. I love stories involving multiple universes and this volume delivers. It's also leading up to another Civil War between Captain America and Iron Man. Months ago, the Illuminati wiped Cap's memory of the knowledge of the worldkiller device. But from the events in this book, I get the sense that Steve Rogers is not oblivious to the covert actions of the Illuminati.
The writing was perfect. The art was good. I even enjoyed the gallery of variants covers, many of which focus on a mash-up of classic Avengers and X-Men covers. (Although 24 variant covers of Avengers #24 is a bit excessive.) 'Adapt or Die' was a great read and it's got me pumped for volume six.
The possibilities for this series are endless, even if it looks like the multiverse of Marvel Comics is rapidly shrinking to a galaxy of one.
Worth Consuming.
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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