Avengers Arena #6 Review

By Marcell Hines on Wednesday, March 13th, 2013

Well the alliances have been formed…for the time being, and the kids each head to the scattered safe zones. What will they find once they get there? And more importantly who will make it there alive?

Here is the summary from Marvel:

Betrayal! Secrets! Murder! Shock follows shock in the stunning conclusion to our first story arc! Who will win the race to the supplies…and what are they willing to do get there first? Who is not what they seem…and which player will draw first blood?

As stated in the summary, betrayal is certainly the name of the game in this issue. Things start to move more quickly as the 1st arc comes to a rather shocking conclusion to say the least. Groups are separated, alliances break, relationships start to develop, someone actually DIES this issue, and Arcade shows back up to screw with and mock our young captives.

There is more development on the Braddock kids this issue (since the death was from their camp) and Dennis Hopeless does do a good job of setting up the seeds, but still leaves it ambiguous as to who gets the axe (heh heh wordplay) until the last page. The main focus is put on Anachronism & his camp (Bloodstone & the newly ousted Nara) as they try to make their way to the safe box, and find out who has been the one manipulating the group. Things break down with the Academy kids (which is surprising since they are the tightest group besides the Runaways) & it seems that the only team to stay cohesive in the book is Cammi & the Runaways (see how long that lasts.).

Kev Walker’s art continues to paint this gruesome picture well, detailing the collapse of the Braddock Academy well with savage, barbaric action scenes and a death that is beautiful to look at but nasty all at the same time. He draws a nice parallel between the disillusion of the 2 academies and the peace of the Runaways & Cammi, which makes you wonder what they will go through when the times come.

As the 1st arc wraps up, Hopeless draws us back in with a few alliance shifts, a death, and a new gaming element. As the kids struggle to survive, it is going to be see where Hopeless will take us next and who will be the next one added to the kill count. Also, will ANYONE figure out how to get them off the island?

4/5

S#!T Talking Central

http://www.facebook.com/jonathan.berry.3538 Jonathan Berry

This book just keeps getting better and better. Hopless has me rooting for these guys, even when I don’t like them. I can’t wait to see what happens next. I’m still hoping Justin isn’t dead, and we find out what happened to him and his Sentinal.
- http://www.facebook.com/marcell.hines1 Marcell Hines
  
  I just hold to the hope that X-23 lives lol
http://www.facebook.com/fobos.dudo Fobos Dudo

i have no hope for this seris, ironically. there are good things here, but the bad things are just utterly distracting.

did you know that the character red raven died in a way she could not die? not onyl was the death stupid and forced, how many people die by colliding into forcefields in comics, but it is because Hopeless did not understand what her hollow bones meant.

she was a bird like person. she has bird bones. this would not mean her bones were weak, only that they were lighter. it was at the presumption her bones were weak is why the forcefield caused her neck to break, which they were not.