Avengers Arena #12
Again I say that Hopeless knows how to bring his own twist to this concept, and he surely did. It was a solid conclusion to the first part of this story which was ‘Game On”. So whatever comes next we can assume is more engaging than it was before, especially given the ending which left us with even more questions.
I do have to say I was a bit bored of Katy’s dialogue. While I love everything that happened, she felt very cliche at that moment. As I said previously, the idea is executed perfectly being able to question what someone will do in order to survive, what line they will cross. But the way that Katy was written in this issue felt like that fact was forced when it really didn’t have to be, that time would’ve been taken for more important things like even seeing that internal struggle between her and her brother in their mind.
When not turned off by that moment, Nico coming back was a real shocker. I did not see this coming and the way they explained the story before its initial release made it seem like the spell she cast was to contact someone outside of the game. This would be that twist that I didn’t see coming, yet all the same have to appreciate because this is what she is capable of. Before I was questioning why Nico seemed so weak, and then here she tapped into that potential and Arcade was able to explain it all quite simply, straight to the point which is what I like.
With that said, I do have to wonder what Arcade has been doing this whole time. In most adaptations of this concept, the person in charge was seen more often than Arcade has been and it feels a bit off. Nothing that has actually held the story back, but it’s something that you still think about when he finally appears after 11 issues. Aside from this it was a solid issue and conclusion to a first act. The fighting definitely felt as if they were in a game, and it was nice to finally see one that wasn’t one-sided. The art has remained consistent and I really can’t wait to see what’s in store next.
