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All-New Marvel NOW Point One #1: Review

Jan 2014

Al Ewing, Lee Garbett

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Story Name:

Before the truth has its pants on

Review & Comments

Rating:

All-New Marvel NOW Point One #1 Review by Rob Johnson (January 12, 2014)

Comments for the Avengers story:- Nick Spencer is the co-writer with Jonathan Hickman of the new series. Rags Morales isn't on the series. Indeed he's mainly a DC artist. Maria Hill replaced Nick Fury as Director of SHIELD after his Secret War. She lost the job to Tony Stark after Civil War. Recently she got it back when Daisy Johnson was suspended after she sent the Secret Avengers into AIM Island. Hill was running the Secret Avengers under Johnson, but now they answer only to her.

Comments for the Loki story:- Al Ewing and Lee Garbett will be the regular creators of the new series. The title comes from a quote by Winston Churchill:- "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." In Norse mythology Odin created the sword Gram for Sigmund, and his son Sigurd inherited it. So Loki saying that Sigurd was the 1st Norse hero isn't quite true. This story was told in flashbacks in Thor #296-300 with Sigurd under his German name Siegfried and the sword called Needful (not a translation of Gram, which meant 'wrath', but of Nothung, the name used in the Ring Cycle). Loki says here that Odin locked Gram away until Thor was worthy of it (a state which presumably hasn't happened yet). This may not fit well with the 'fact' as revealed in Thor #297 that Siegmund and Siegfried were actually Thor incarnated by Odin.

Comments on the Invaders story:- James Robinson and Steve Pugh will be the team on the series. The Kree were conquered by the Shi'ar as a result of Operation Galactic Storm which Peter Silvestro is currently synopsising (oops, spoiler!). The Inhumans ruled the Kree during the War of Kings. Supremor doesn't mention that the Kree more recently surrendered to the Builders in Infinity. The Inhumans are of course becoming more populous in the current Inhumanity. Their alliance is the Universal Inhumans (begun in Fantastic Four #577), and Supremor neglects to include the Badoon. Korath the Pursuer was 1st seen in Operation Galactic Storm, and died in Annihilation: Conquest. I don't believe he had a squad of Pursuers then. But previously he had invented the Pursuer technology and sent a Pursuer to capture the Inhumans in #11 of their 1st series, to take part in a War of Three Galaxies that was resolved in Captain Marvel #53.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

All-New Marvel NOW Point One #1 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

This is a prelude to Loki: Agent of Asgard. It is presented as a framing story in between the other stories, but they don't actually have any connection.

Loki wins something by cheating, of course, in a card game on a distant planet. The object is a key reputed to have been made by the Norse gods. It is enscribed with the rune of journeys.

He silently steals another key from the pocket of the Red Skull, even though Skull now has the telepathy of Prof X. It bears the rune of endurance, forged by Wotan. Schmidt notices it's gone, and tries to tell himself he doesn't need what it gave him.

For the 3rd key with the rune of secrets, Loki allows himself to be captured by SHIELD and put in a special cell. But he's actually swapped places and appearance with Agent Phil Coulson, who is under a spell which makes him think the cell is his office.

He gets the 4th key from the Braddock Academy by posing as their new janitor. Captain Britain and Meggan have no clue where it's gone. This has the rune of new beginnings.

The 5th key has the rune of brotherhood. Thor is its guardian, but just gives it to his brother out of friendship.

Loki has done all this on the bidding of the All-Mother. The keys unlock a chest containing the sword Gram, the sword of Sigurd.

Story #2

Girl on board

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

By Marvel Comics

Prelude to Silver Surfer's new series.

Story #3

To tame the very gods themselves

Writer: James Robinson. Penciler: Steve Pugh. Inker: Steve Pugh. Colorist: Guru-eFX. Editor: Mark Paniccia. Letterer: Cory Petit.

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

By Rob Johnson

This is a prelude to the All-New Invaders series.

The scene is Kree-lar, capital of the Kree Empire. Kree warriors fearfully make way for 3 Pursuers led by Tanalth, heading for an audience with the Supreme Intelligence. She is late because the Supremor's messenger was slow in finding her. She's saved the Supremor the job of punishing him - as she throws the messenger's head on the floor.

The Supreme Intelligence congratulates Tanalth on her leadership of the Pursuers since her predecessor Korath died. Their reputation now rivals Ronan's Accusers.

The Supremor summarises the position of the Kree Empire. They are free once more, after being conquered by the Shi'ar and the Inhumans. But they still face opposition from the Skrulls and the Shi'ar with their ever-growing Imperial Guard. The Inhumans have now expanded on Earth, and they already had an alliance with Dire Wraiths, Kymellians and Centaurians.

To counter these threats the Kree need a powerful weapon, and Supremor knows of 1 called the Gods' Whisper that was stolen from them ages ago. (We see an image of someone who looks Asgardian fighting Kree.) He has just discovered that the weapon appeared on Earth during WWII. (We see Bucky, the android Human Torch and Sub-Mariner fighting Hela, the Norse Goddess of Hel.) The heroes split the device into 3 parts, each hidden separately on Earth.

The 3 heroes are still around now:- Bucky is Winter Soldier, Namor is still Sub-Mariner, and Jim Hammond is working as a mechanic. Tanalth is sent to Earth to extract the locations of the 3 parts from their minds, and bring the device back to the Kree.

Story #4

Predator

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

By Marvel Comics

Prelude to Black Widow's new series.

Story #5

Garden state of mind

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

By Marvel Comics

Prelude to the new Ms Marvel.

Story #6

Short term fixes

Writer: Nick Spencer. Penciler: Rags Morales. Inker: Rags Morales. Colorist: David Curiel. Editor: Tom Brevoort. Editor: Jake Thomas. Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos.

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

By Rob Johnson

This is a prelude to Avengers World.

Some time ago Bruce Banner developed a drug that would limit the length of a Hulk episode. Now Maria Hill, Director of SHIELD, tells Captain America that the biological weapons branch of AIM called The End Perfect has stolen the formula and a genetic map of the Hulk. They have developed their own version and have synthesised 6 copies, which they can use or sell to create 6 Hulks that will last for 1 or 2 hours.

Cap sends Cannonball and Sunspot to retrieve the formula and drugs, with Bruce Banner providing remote support. Banner has hacked AIM's surveillance giving them a brief window to invade AIM Island. The pair meet with an AIM guy they 'corrupted' in Avengers #11, who gives them AIM disguises and passes. They successfully go in an get what they're looking for, but they blow their cover on the way out because they can't resist joking around.

Hill thanks Cap for loaning the Avengers duo to SHIELD. She suggests that SHIELD and Avengers should have a closer relationship now she's back in command. Maria evades Steve Rogers' probing about the Secret Avengers team he's heard she's running. Instead she reminds him of when he was running the show. And that SHIELD is currently a shadow of its former self.

Cap agrees to have the Avengers join in on SHIELD ops, but with conditions. He will decide what they do. And he gets access to SHIELD files (which Hill agrees to 'within reason').

Meanwhile the ex-X-Men fight their way off AIM Island by becoming temporary Hulks.

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