Thursday, February 18, 2016

Devil Comics Review | Avengers Standoff: Welcome to Pleasant Hill #1

Hype
Little is known about Avengers Standoff before the first issue hits the stands however we know more about the aftermath. Steve Rogers will return as Captain America while the Winter Solider leads the Thunderbolts. Each will star in their respective series beginning in May. In the recent first issue of Captain America: Sam Wilson, Maria Hill publically denied using fragments of the Cosmic Cube to remake reality without the public knowledge.

Rehash
The issue begins when a boy named Jim who wakes up with amnesia and is taken to Pleasant Hill. We are introduced to Doctor Erik Selvig who is a supporting character in the Thor and Avengers films. Jim saves a baby from a burning building and is warned that Pleasant Hill is not what it seems. Mayor Maria Hill meets with Jim pushing him to escape and find out that Pleasant Hill is a place for super villain incarcerations. SHIELD is using technology to change people into productive members of society. We discover Jim is really Baron Zemo and he is reunited with the Fixer.

Feedback
Mark Bagley was chosen to be the artist of this book for one particular reason. It was to capture the ending of the first Thunderbolts book with Kurt Busiek where the heroes turned out to be the villains.  The Fixer looks like Tony Stark and Jim looks like a young Steve Rogers which would reflect the mirror opposites of their counterparts. The Fixer is the villain version of Iron Man and Baron Zero is the villain version of Captain America.  The book is written by Nick Spencer and it becomes very clear early on how this book is connected to the new Thunderbolts. Overall this was a great issue which should have received a zero issue as it is the kick off for the rest of the Avengers Standoff event.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – 5 OUT OF 5