Avengers Arena #9 Review


Juston has found his attacker and the killer of his best friend (his Sentinel), will his quest for vengeance engulf everyone around him as well?

Here is the summary from Marvel:

Apex—the mean girl you love to hate—makes her move! Issues #2 and #3 both sold out and needed 2nd printings – don’t miss out again!

Juston & Laura happen upon the Runaways/Braddock Academy group and the young boy makes a beeline for Katy, who has now become…Tim?! Chase, using his new Darkhawk powers, engages in a brawl with Juston until Tim uses his powers to shut down all technology on the area. With things cooled down for the moment, the kids all sit down and discuss their next move as Tim begins to tell the group the bizarre tale of Apex.

Dennis Hopeless brings on the intensity with this issue. After the fight scene in the beginning, things slow down to a near crawl and there is a hanging fear in the air, which fits perfectly. We learn of Tim/Katy’s origins and it’s bit more complicated than a simple split personality. Katy is much more crazy and sadistic then we initially believed and it shows in this issue as desperation and fear continue to take hold and it shows, especially when the group takes a vote on whether or not to kill Tim. Death Locket gets some more development, a long standing alliance is broken, there is even more to fear than 1st believed, and to top it all off we have another death this issue. It’s not as bloody as previous, which makes it all the more gruesome and frightening.

Kev Walker’s pencils still do good work, and the more uncomfortable scenes are detailed well. The cover done by Dave Johnson couldn’t have fit the feel of the issue more perfectly; manipulation and mind games are the theme of this issue and the cover exhibit’s that. The colors are dark and moody and add the the issue’s already tense atmosphere. Again the art helps further the story more.

Avengers Arena #9 is another good issue to the controversial series and could possibly be the best issue of the book so far. Hopeless keeps things interesting with each new twist and turn implemented and Kev Walker’s pencils match him beat for beat. This issue hits the right emotional chords and the final panel, is a haunting harbinger of things to come from someone who is much more dangerous than Arcade.

4.5/5

 

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