What struck me is there's something pretty same-y about all three. They all deal with creating parallel universes, though in different ways. In House of M it's via the Scarlet Witch, who's manipulated by Magneto into creating a world where he and mutantkind are the big shots. In Age of Ultron it's Wolverine going back in time to kill Hank Pym before he can create Ultron, which thanks to the "butterfly effect" creates a terrible new reality where Iron Man is a cyborg dictator and Asgard fought a war with Latveria where Thor was killed and so forth. In AvX it's the Dark Phoenix who gives Cyclops and other mutants the power to create a new world where again the mutants are in charge. This isn't really a parallel universe at first, but it becomes one thanks to the Scarlet Witch and Hope Summers. Fans who read all these in real-time might not notice the similarities but when you read them back-to-back-to-back like this it's pretty obvious and becomes somewhat tiring. Ultron was actually the last one I read and by the end I was thinking, "Gee, haven't we already done this before?"
And I know I'm missing probably a few more of these events such as Age of Apocalypse, which I'd like to read but from what I can tell it's in 4 volumes and each one is $13.99 and I don't feel like spending that much money.
I can't single Marvel out on this as DC does this stuff all the time too, notably in Crisis on Infinite Earths, followed by Infinite Crisis, followed by Final Crisis, followed by Flashpoint. And especially in the 90s DC and Marvel had a whole slew of Elseworld or What If comics. So it seems parallel worlds are a staple of event comics, or at least they have been since 1985.
It's not to say I hated any of those books. They're all entertaining and it's interesting to see what different characters and associations the writers can come up with. But it would be nice if for the next big universe-spanning comic Marvel and DC could come up with something that doesn't involve parallel worlds or time travel.
But perhaps the reason why these are so prevalent is it's hard to come up with a problem big enough for all these heroes. I mean if you say an asteroid is going to wipe Earth out, then all that needs to happen is Superman goes up there to punch it into little pieces. Other problems like global warming or world hunger or something could also be fixed pretty easily by some costumed heroes but they just seem to choose not to do it because they don't want to meddle in world affairs or some such nonsense. When you get down to it, what does that really leave? Well if you're me it leaves an alien weapon that turns the world's population into women, followed by Omega the World Devourer showing up.
That's it for now! At some point I still have New 52 Wonder Woman, Superior Spider-Man, and Batman/Superman origins.
The relationship between Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis is very deliberate, the latter being a direct sequel. Final Crisis is unrelated, although it is typical Grant Morrison in that he does his version of the concept in ways most readers still barely comprehend, so they end up saying they're disappointed and lay it at his feet as a failure. It's basically his version of the ultimate New Gods epic, mashed with contemporary and iconic versions of DC's mainstays. The one sticking criticism is that Wonder Woman alone of the Big Three is converted into one of Darkseid's minions, although the other way to look at that is that if any of them was to go that route, better to have the warrior among them. Without their principals it may be argued that neither Batman nor Superman would be as effective. Their strengths are very much in the way they understand their abilities. (It's just not as effective to say Bad Batman uses all his ingenuity for evil, or the same with Superman. They work best in the full knowledge of their limitations.)
ReplyDeleteIT'S PAT!
ReplyDeleteThe parallel universes are fun, but it does get old to have the same type ting over and over again.
*thing*
DeleteWell, event stories can be somewhat similar I suppose, especially if the world/universe is about to be destroyed. I'm glad you enjoyed them at least. I don't mind rereading the same book multiple times if it's good. I suppose the comics folks feel it's okay to tell the same story over and over again too.
ReplyDeleteEveryone wins.
Great points. I always assumed it was because they keep writing themselves into a v corner.
ReplyDeleteYou make me want to read comics again.
ReplyDelete