The penultimate issue of the Age of Ultron is finally here. Does it get the ball rolling for a hopeful epic conclusion? You would think so, but it’s actually by far the worst installment yet.

Here’s the official description from Marvel:

To save the planet Earth – and maybe the entire galaxy! – the heroes of the Marvel Universe made the most controversial decision of their lives. The results have brought disaster the likes of which they have never seen before. And now, with one final chance…can they make it right?

This has got to be one of the worst comics I’ve read in awhile. After a surprisingly interesting issue last time, the event takes a pretty awful turn full of dialogue and little to no action. In such a blockbuster event, the lack of action is pretty disturbing. That is not the major fault with #9 however, it’s the lack of the title antagonist. This issue has Wolverine from the warped Marvel world travel back in time to stop himself from destroying Pym. It’s an interesting plot point, but quickly drags on since we know exactly where it’s heading thanks to the dialogue.

Brian Michael Bendis can write a really good and funny Wolverine. The dialogue with him, his other self and Pym was very good. It gets old fast for a few reasons. Pym is written as very unlikable, and the story while technically revolving around Ultron isn’t even about him. Again, he doesn’t make an appearance, unless you count the weird final page. With this issue, the question comes as “What’s the true point of all this?” Now I think the original idea behind this event has been cast aside and is instead bent using the title to do its own thing in shaping the Marvel Universe.

Brandon Peterson and Carlos Pacheco’s art might just be the only good thing about this issue. The opening with the destroyed New York looked pretty fantastic. (Though that scenery is already old since it was the focal point of the earlier issues.) The characters look great, this comic has some of the strongest art yet. The main cover is a pretty uninspired piece of Wolverine stabbing his other self, kinda dull. The second cover is better, having Henry Pym taking center stage. The Ultron variant is, like always, the most stunning. Too bad it’s a tease of what we should have gotten here.

Overall, at this point Age of Ultron is beyond repair. What should have been a really good issue is washed away with dialogue talking about what Pym should do about the Ultron situation. Supposedly the next one will be an ‘epic conclusion.’ It’s going to have to put a strong emphasis on ‘epic’ if it’s going to save the event.

1.5/5

My name is Daniel (@Destroyer_199), the main guy for comic reviews here at Unleash the Fanboy. I was born in 1995 in the Big Apple, spent my formative years in Staten Island, and currently reside in the awesome state that is New Jersey.