Hope Rising
Recommended!
There were only a few ways this mini-series could end, and I have to say that I am satisfied with the results. This issue is wrought with spoilerific content, so I will do my best not to mention any of it here. In fact, it took me a while to decide which image I should pick for the review, as many of the panels would give away key plot points in the story.
You will definitely want to pick up this issue (and likely the previous three) so that you can experience the pretty significant plot development for the upcoming Avengers vs. X-Men event. While I don't believe it is required reading for the event, it will definitely be worth the minor investment to see how all this key information is presented.
As far as the story itself, outside all the key content, the characters seemed "off". Wolverine acted more like an ass than usual and Spidey's humor and kidding around felt forced - so much so Wolverine needed to comment on it, which made it feel even more forced. I am not sure why that type of interaction was added to the story, as it was not needed. It makes you feel like Wolverine and Spider-man were added to the story (and cover) just to get people to pick up the issue.
The art was on par with the rest of the series. It was a bit more "cartoony" than I like, but it did not distract to the story. It was bright, colorful, highly detailed and the facial expressions were on the mark. The style of art did make many of the characters look younger than I imagine them to be (especially if you compare depiction of Hope in the story with the Hope that is in the AvX advertisement/preview story in the back of the book). The variant covers were way better than the original (as has been the case for each issue in this mini-series).
As I eluded to previously, there were some MAJOR revelations about key characters in this and the upcoming AvX event. It will definitely be interesting to see what the actual spark for the "war" will be this time, as this issue only gives more evidence that they should all work together.
I did find it interesting to re-read the the Issue #0 Preview of AvX right after this story, as it made some things make sense, while confused others. I realize this preview (and one other) have been adding pages to weekly Marvel titles for weeks now, but since we are getting close and this issue is a direct precursor to the event, I figured more pieces of the puzzle would start fitting... Time will only tell how this mini-series and all the previews will actually align to form the event on the horizon.
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To see the rest of my reviews for this mini-series, be sure to check out my Avengers X-Sanction - Mini-Series Review Gallery!
