Fear Itself #6

For another issue, Fear Itself wanders aimlessly and slowly to its conclusion, apparently not aware that it comes in the very next issue. The plot progresses mere inches at a time. Characters panic as if they haven't faced similar and worse threats dozens of times before. Odin stands as the sole character written with any real depth to his characterization. Basically, it's just another issue of Fear Itself.

I do honestly wonder if Matt Fraction is aware that this is supposed to be a seven issue limited series and not another of his ongoing series story arcs that almost endlessly drone on for about a year. This is supposed to be the last issue before the big finale, but it does nothing that such an issue should. Do we see the rise of the much hyped Mighty, ready to take on the Worthy in a final issue clash? No. We get a couple glimpses of those weapons, but there is barely any forward momentum on that front. What about the Worthy? To we finally learn more about them to make them fully realized threats just in time for the final battle? No. The Worthy have completely faded into the background now. They, literally, only appear in the background of one panel.

So what does this issue accomplish?

Not much, honestly. Tony Stark is still getting all the weapons ready, so his subplot has barely budged despite Fraction also writing the tie-ins covering that. Odin is still assembling his army and threatening to burn down Midgard, so that hasn't moved either. Thor is still getting ready to face off against the Serpent and his fated demise. Captain America is still upset that his shield got busted. All that changes from last issue is that the two Avengers teams have separated and the Serpent arrives as the World Tree. It is incredibly underwhelming.

The one gem in all this comes from parallel scenes between the Serpent and his daughter Skadi and Odin with Thor, showing two fathers willing to do all this for their child. The Odin side of the equation is far better and more substantial, putting Odin's actions in the context of trying to prevent Thor's predicted death. Odin has consistently been the only real star of this entire event and the only one it feels like Fraction has put any real thought and effort into writing. He has motivations and depth, which is something completely lacking from the Serpent and the Worthy. And this is why the Serpent's scene with Skadi is nowhere near as effective. Fraction has left his villains so underdeveloped that there is little weight to their scene. Who is the Serpent? Who is Skadi? What is their history and relationship? I need something to care.

On another note, Fraction writes an awful Steve Rogers. He somehow manages to write a good Tony Stark and a good Thor but fails when it comes to the third member of that iconic trio. This Captain America is an ineloquent loudmouth who loses his cool and talks defeat. It's a Steve Rogers who abandons his post as leader of the defense to play soldier on the ground and then has to try to assemble some townsfolk to help out because he's no longer in the position to coordinate actual military support. I miss the Captain America who cried at the end of Civil War, because at least he put up a fight first.

Further padding an issue consisting almost entirely of padding, Spider-Man finds Aunt May and then leaves Aunt May. Seriously. That is the substance of the scene and the apparently payoff to Spider-Man taking off early. I am at a loss as to why Fraction felt the need to cover this in the main event. Spider-Man is not even a major player in the event.

Fear Itself is turning out to be an abomination of story pacing. The substance of this issue could be combined with last issue's and you would still have barely enough real material for one issue. The least this issue could have done was end on the reveal of the Mighty, but it doesn't even come close. Matt Fraction writes the storytelling equivalent of styrofoam and has buried this event in it.