BATTLEWORLDBATTLEWORLD

ROUND 1, BATTLE 1

Follow the bracket here!

A-FORCE #1

VS

DEADPOOL’S SECRET SECRET WAR #1

For whatever reason, I’ve jumped into Battleworld Battleworld attempting to read these books as a first-time reader. Maybe it’s because some of the PopFilter writers working on this tournament are newbies, and I’m hoping they can enjoy these books without needing a lifetime of studying the Marvel Universe(s). Maybe it’s because I want a major comic book company to finally succeed in planning an event that actually does bring a new generation of readers to comic books. Whatever the reason, it’s made me re-focus on what it takes to create a first issue, or what a first issue needs in order to be successful. In the first battle of the first round of BWBW, we get an issue that nails it.

 

It seems like it’s going to be hard to reboot a universe with dozens of titles that are so attached to past Marvel events. That’s not the case for A-Force, which probably owes more to DC’s Wonder Woman than it does to anything from Marvel’s back issues. It tells the story of an island, located along the Wall that protects Battleworld from a bunch of Ultrons and zombies, that is the home to seemingly all of the women in the Marvel Universe. It’s not a secret island – all of the men know where it is – and yet they just allow it to be full of peace and harmony, somehow avoiding rubbing their proverbial penis all over it. One panel shows Luke Cage shopping at a farmer’s market, and I’d venture to say it is the best farmer’s market in all of Battleworld. The island is protected by A-Force, a team made up of many Marvel female characters. Like all of them. She-Hulk is the leader, Medusa wants to be, and Captain Marvel is the island badass. Even Nico’s there, which is always welcome. And if you don’t know who any of those ladies are (it’s not like they are in any of the Marvel movies that have been released yet), that’s O.K.

The book starts with a description of Secret Wars/Battleworld that does more in 20 words than I did with 2000 last week. And as our narrator walks us through a normal day of expositioning, we meet all of the ladies, complete with those little boxes that tell us their names and power sets. Six pages in and we get it all. It’s established that the island is perfect, then something goes wrong, then something gets worst. Sure, that’s how literally every story ever works, but here it gets put in the forefront, without the crushing continuity in the way. It’s a strong start, and exactly what I was hoping for.

That isn’t to say that its opponent, Deadpool’s Secret Secret War, was total bullshit. Writing Deadpool seems like it’s like constantly walking a tightrope: fans demand he be funny (which is hard on it’s own), but it’s very simple for those attempts at comedy to become incredibly grating. I think the key is moderation. No one should be demanding that every word bubble shooting from Deadpool’s mouth is legendarily funny. Too often, it feels like the author went back through his boring, vanilla dialogue and re-wrote each line so it felt more…Deadpooly. Cullen Bunn does a pretty good job here of toning down the banter, but ultimately we’re left with Deadpool running around roasting 80’s superheroes, and not much else. There’s some good takes on the over-exposition of 80’s Marvel comics, and the bloatedness of event comics and general, but it’s hard to compete against a comic as clean A-Force #1.

So congratulations to the ladies of A-Force, including writers Marguerite Bennett and G. Willow Wilson, as they move on to Round 2 and leave G. Waderow Wilson in the dust.

 

– Ryan Haley

 

COME BACK TOMORROW FOR MASTER OF KUNG FU VS PLANET HULK!