Avengers Arena #1

Arcade is back, Arcade is actually a little scary, and he is making sure he 's not going to lose anymore.

Time to tell truth. Raise your hand if you have read most of the Arcade stories. Anyone? Anyone, besides me? Oh just a couple of you? Well he has been a goofball, in most stories, but he has been increasingly nastier the more he has lost. He was once a renown assassin, and he enjoyed challenges, even if it meant he lost from time to time. He has decided his reputation has taken enough of a beating and everyone will pay.

So here is the truth. It is written well, the art is good, and for the first issue it offers both some setup with a decent amount of action.

So why won't I like it / why will I like it?

This is where it gets heated. This is going to be one of the more polarizing stories. It deals with death and brutality, the uglier side of human nature, as well as the obvious similarities to a couple of books.

Lets start with the similarities. Arcade explains that he got the idea while reading some popular books in prison. It has an obvious ring of possibility, because if there were a villain like Arcade he most definitely would think battle royale would fit perfectly with his murder motif. Sure people will still cry foul, even though every super hero and comic is blatantly ripped off of something else. Several of the heroes are copies of other heroes.(Not all of your favorite supes were the original either) We stole Greek stories and gods, Norse stories and gods. Christian themes, along with demons and angels. The Brood came out right after Aliens, etc,etc,etc, etc, etc,etc. Basically either everything is original or nothing is. Its a steep slope and you would have no ledge to stand on for your soap box, as far as originality goes.

Alright, how about brutality? Someone had stated that death was being used as a plot device. Umm, yeah, everything is used as a plot device, to move a story and analyze how the heroes will react to the situation. However what this really comes down to, is, many don't like their favorite character being killed. Fair enough

A murderous villain, albeit until recently a somewhat unsuccessful murderous villain, wants to prove that he can still be one of the best is likely going to try to kill. Probably a lot. Arcade was always hyper intelligent, so of course if he had the inclination he is probably going to kill someone eventually.

I see this story as a chance to watch these heroes under extreme circumstances, and see what they would truly do, in the worst of times. All humans have dark impulses that are corralled and blunted by societal norms. What would happen to a group of superheroes without social pressures to keep them in check. What would you do with super powers and your most baser instincts to survive tested. Everyone has a solution, but generally its somewhat easier to answer without having to really have to deal with it, and from the safety of their couch.

So Bottom line: If you like lighter heart-ed stories, or are uncomfortable with human's uglier nature, no you will not like this. If you are terrified that your favorite character might die, well, there is a good chance your favorite character could die.

However, if you want to see a breakdown of superhero social psychology under intense duress, this book has taken some interesting first steps. If this follows up at all with how it started, I am looking forward to a very challenging look at what superheroes would do to survive.The survivors of this will definitely be changed forever.