Marvel’s big summer event continues and boy is it eventful
in this issue! Fraction ignores the outcome of his first run on Thor altogether
as the Asgardians make their way back to Asgard. This should technically bring
back the Red Meanies, but hey who’s keeping track of that right? The world then
literally creates itself beneath their feet as Odin spouts off on the return of the Serpent and how earth is lost. Thor
calls him a coward and is then shackled by some manifestations from Odin. Back on Earth hammers begin
falling towards the earth next to some of the biggest villains in the world. The
first lands next to Juggernaut who
picks it up and is transformed much like Sin
was in the first issue.
The second hammer lands next to the Hulk and Betty; this is
actually the only interesting part as Hulk
is transformed as well and turns to Betty
and tells her to run. The last hammer of the issue lands next to Titania who informs the Absorbing
Man that she will take him to his own hammer. There’s at least one more hammer
in play after Absorbing Man’s, but
only the cover and back of the issue reveal that it’s Grey Gargoyle. The issue ends with Sin driving a Nazi Gundam suit and attacking Capitol Hill... I thought she had a hammer?
The second issue is more interesting than the first that’s
for sure, but it does nothing to push the story forward or develop the plot at
all for that matter. It’s literally just hammers falling to the earth and
people picking them up. The best part is that not everyone picks up their
hammer so we’ll probably see more hammer lifting in the next issue. Fraction is
a good writer and Marvel has put a lot of stock in him, but I don’t think he’s
an event writer and one thing is for sure, as much as he likes Thor he’s not a
Thor writer. He’s also not an Odin writer as he’s largely inconsistent with him
and makes him come off like an idiot more than the asshole he’s supposed to be.
Immonen is the best part of this book and his designs for
the “Worthy” are pretty cool even if they feel Tron inspired. His visual
storytelling abilities add a lot to the lacking talents of Fraction;
particularly the scene between Hulk
and Betty. A lot of artists are great
about cramming a lot of characters on the page and making it “feel real”, but
Immonen actually limits the amount of people he draws on each page. The good
thing about this is that the characters he does draw tend to look and act like
themselves rather than a figure with a costume drawn on.
This series is just hallow and comes across as a cheap tie
in for the Thor movie. I want to like it, but it’s just hanging out. Also the
tie-ins they’ve had are pathetic. Home Front should just be titled, “We do this
with each event now.” Hopefully when Marvel's ongoing series begin to reflect the
changes in the world a'la Dark Reign, this “event” will really take off and
have a true sense of effect on the Marvel U. Right now it’s taking a step back
from the way Marvel handled previous summer blockbusters and that’s a big step in the wrong
direction. Have the story interrupt the ongoing titles and make it feel like
real change is happening in the Marvel U, otherwise you end up with Final
Crisis and nobody wants that again.
Overall Score –
6.0/10
*New Readers not welcomed, but blame Marvel for that*