So I just finished reading the epic conclusion to Age of Ultron… and I’ll be honest. I’m not 100% sure what the exact ramifications are. Obviously some Marvel “Time line” and “Universe” altering possibly. AND, there are 2 big things revealed.
The first I think most knew about, the introduction of Angela into the Marvel Universe as a “Guardian Angel”. The second, That Galactus, the 616 Galactus is in the Ultimate Universe. We also saw lots of teasers of time line type imagery of “history” of characters being shown in panels. What does that ultimately mean? I turn to you, My favorite Marvel Zombie… Assess! What did I miss? What do you expect? What changed? GO!
Tracie
I'm not 100% sure of the ramifications myself but Bendis seems to believe it's opened up a lot of potential. Suppose we'll know in the coming days/weeks/months. There are the obvious ramifications. Angela and 616 Galactus versus Ultimate Universe which will be covered in the secret "Hunger" mini-series coming up. I think it's also safe to assume it's also the reason for Spider-Man 2099 showing up in Superior Spider-Man and for Hulk's upcoming time travel problems. May also tie into the Battle of the Atom story in the X-books dealing with the 3 X-Men time periods colliding. I'm not sure Age of Ultron quite worked out like I hoped but I'm definitely interested in the fallout and the larger plan. Curious how Angela will fit in. There's also the persistent rumor that this might be the beginning of the end for the Ultimate Universe which, at this point, I'd be fine with so long as there was some way to keep Ultimate Spider-Man around... and if we're already shuffling characters between universes than I'd say this is it. Miles has already met 616 Peter and we don't even HAVE a 616 Peter right now so Miles could probably fit into the core universe (or whatever amalgam it turns out to be) pretty easily.
Robb
I agree, this isn't the story I thought they were going to tell. And it makes me curious if Bendis has this story all along and Marvel knowing that the opportunity was there said, "Let's take this AOU story and weave it into a larger reality altering story." I don't think 2+ years ago when it was teased, was this what he had in mind. But I could be wrong. I do like what it means and could lead to. Is this the reason why we've seen so many other reality Avengers coming into the team? I'm sure Hickman had a lot of this in mind while leading to Infinity. And of course Bendis and his Battle for the Atom. Can we safely call it the "Infinity Crisis" summer yet? KIDDING!!! I read the article about possible mash ups on Newsarama. And the hints of Old Man Logan, and Pirate Thing, and others in panel flashes in AOU Issue #10. This possibility excites me. Ok Then we have Angela. I'm sorry... but nothing about her really excites me. Should it? She was Ho-hum in Spawn. And I'm sure that Neil had to run his victory lap and wave that trophy in the face Todd. But is she being shoved into a Universe that she already doesn't look like she belongs in? She was an Anti-Spawn back in the day. (If my memory serves me right... it was like what 2 decades ago). What could her greater purpose be? I did like seeing that she will appear in Guardians of the Galaxy. Meaning Bendis had something in mind while bringing her back. So I'm open minded. Last, you touched upon it and I agree. The best possible ramification... Ultimate Spidey, Miles Morales in the 616! I loved the 3 issues I read of Spider-men. Loved them and it left me craving the Trade and wanting more. Miles would be an excellent addition to the Marvel Proper. I'm all for that! So Tracie... Overall score. I say the ending was a little bit of a fizzle. Not the result, but the buildup. That story started so good. It felt so crazy and important. And at the end, it felt like... ok we have an important thing to get to, but the story being told to get there isn't so important now. Do you agree? Did you feel like it suffered due to length? There were some great issues and moments but those drastic events seem less sever now. Thoughts?
Tracie
If you read Bendis' interview on Newsarama, he explains that it was all part of the original pitch. Not the specifics like Angela and Galactus. Angela was Joe Quesada's idea and Galactus in the Marvel U came from Matt Fraction but the way the story unfolded and the "time is broken" outcome was all planned from the start. Not a Flashpoint shoehorning. If time and space is broken all across the galaxy, the largest result of it, right now. You have an warrior angel torn from heaven (and why not, the Marvel U has plenty of actual demons from Hell but not really any angels to speak of... just gods). It seems like (to call another Flashpoint comparison) Angela is the Pandora of this event. The one who's here as witness of what is truly going on and the one who's angriest about it. That's why she goes right into the next issue of Guardians (or the one after... I think #4 is next, then she appears in #5). Bendis has a plan. Gaiman is co-writing to issues and Joe Quesada came up with much of the new background for her as to how she fits into the Marvel Universe. And the first image you see of her is her slaying a Jack Kirby monster so that's pretty telling. Pretty provocative. I'm onboard, I'm interested. She didn't show up very often but she was always the only thing about Spawn that I was actually interested in. Overall, I'm a little underwhelmed by the story as a whole. I was super stoked for it but the Bryan Hitch issues went on too long with not enough happening in them... I'm all for setting a tone and what have you but I'm not the biggest Hitch fan ANYWAY so it was like 4 issues of everything looking the same. The time travel stuff got me more excited but it was like... for all the time it took to tell this story, (10 issues, albeit shipped frequently) it didn't feel like the time was managed very well. The choices weren't clear enough, the worlds weren't explored deep enough... There wasn't anything I DISLIKED but there wasn't anything I LOVED. There were some nice moments and lots of potential... my favorite issues were the tie-ins in Avengers Assemble and Fearless Defenders and FF and such. I wanted it to be CRAZY and instead it was just like what are you guys doing, you're nuts, I don't understand. It was okay but I'd say it was like a C if Siege was an A and Fear Itself was like a B-.
Robb
I'm not sure I 100% believe it was always intended to be a story to "break time". My instincts make me feel like waaaay back when we got teases in those first issues of Avengers during the "Heroic Age". Wasn't the tease a lot more ominous and had a different feel? Maybe I'm remembering it differently. It was a while ago. :) But even so, that's fine. Bendis got to tie up a loose end and I'm glad. But Story felt rushed and drugged out. (if that's possible??) I agree, maybe a C+ because there was some great moments and some crazy cool things. Just overall not cohesive. I also agree. There wasn't anything I disliked. Just some things could have been better executed. And I do like what the end result is. I think Marvel always has their ducks in a row, as a company telling stories. Much better than DC. As a universe as a whole. DC is getting better. But I feel the creators at least understand what each other are doing and incorporate things very well. I don't feel like this story was shoe horned to fit. But maybe just not what it true original purpose was. But you could say that about Star Wars, so I don't have a problem with the story's evolution. Besides Miles, are there any characters you'd like to see pulled in? Maybe have a new Exiles team come out of this? Maybe some more Old Man Logan stories.
Tracie
They're already using Old Man Logan in Wolverine and the X-Men. (as well as his brother Dog from Origin) We just had some Age of Apocalypse people in our world and, I guess, the destruction of that world. I'd like to see the Next Avengers kids show up again. Any Heroes Reborn reference tickles me and we got a glimpse of Heroes Reborn Iron Man in IoU 10. Curious if 1602 will play into things since the Nick Fury of that world seemed to escape but was never followed up on... and since Gaiman is co-writing Guardians... I want Access to show up again but there's no way that'll happen. I trust Bendis when he says the "time is broken" thing was the plan all along because it's come up in more places than just AoU and is a major point that's supposed to get explored in All-New X-Men which he's been trying to get off the ground for years. His X-Men story was in the planning stages since Heroic Age and it was teased in that Kang story (more time travel). Everybody's been doing time travel stuff and I don't think it's any coincidence. Age of Ultron's biggest effect was too establish that we've been doing way too much time travel and it's affecting things all throughout the galaxy. As a result Angela is ripped from Heaven (or wherever), she runs into the Guardians, the Guardians go investigate the X-Men. This is all stuff that seems pretty obvious is happening (since we already knew Angela shows up in Guardians and the Guardians are going to show up in All-New X-Men... just now I believe that these things are linked) Hulk recently traveled into the past to team up with classic Thor, pre-Avengers, and there's an upcoming story where he fights dinosaurs that says "time is broken." They reused pages from the Ultron story in Avengers 12.1 with the safecode that Hank gave himself. That was a story involving a Spaceknight which wasn't supposed to be on Earth.
Robb
As always... I bow to your knowledge and research. :) I can't dispute your facts. Heroes Reborn stuff would tickle you? You mean a Liefeld Captain America with incorrect muscle tone and a United Airlines pin on his mask? (KIDDING!!!) I didn't know Old Man Logan was doing appearances. Very cool!!! How cool would Access be? And maybe Hulk will appear in the Man of Steel Sequel!! Yeah keep dreaming fanboys! Too much red tape I'm sure. But would be great to see. Next Avengers... Forgot about them. That would be epic! To see Thor and his daughter... I would love to see that. Speaking of, You mentioned all the time Travel in the Marvel U. You could say that's what is happening in the Godbomb story in Thor. Always so perceptive Tracie!! I would like to see some of the 1602 make its way into this... and I just remembered... Alex Ross' Earth X story. I loved the imagery used. Not so big on the characters exactly. But his future Captain America was damn cool. Once Again, I feel like Marvel has things at least rolling in a unified direction and creative teams understand their roles without sacrificing their own stories being told. Why can't DC get closer to this???
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