Siege #3 Review
Siege #3
It’s been six weeks since the last chapter of Siege. Six weeks since the Sentry tore Ares in twain. Six weeks since Steve Rogers and his large assembly of makeshift Avengers joined the battle for Asgard. Six weeks of anticipation ended.
And it was more than worth the wait. Be ready for some big time spoilers.
The issue begins with President Obama (or at least a shadowy Chief Executive that implies it’s Obama) being appraised of the situation in Asgard. The prez is irritated that Osborn would even think about attacking Asgard after he was told not to. And as the situation escalates in front of their eyes, they realize that when times like this hit the fan, they would call the Avengers… Norman Osborn’s Avengers. Obama calls for the arrest of Norman Osborn and all his lackeys for Treason against the United States.
The heroes arrive and begin taking on Osborn’s gang directly. Thor engages the Sentry and realizes that Sentry is something far more powerful than imagined. The Hood and his gang of criminals arrive to tip the scales back in favor of Osborn. Speed (of the Young Avengers) delivers a very important case to Maria Hill and Tony Stark. In order to buy the heroes some air support, the president gives the order to bring H.A.M.M.E.R. down and the Air Force destroys their helicarrier.
Thor and Sentry continue their battle. The Sentry is looking more demonic and deformed. Red constructs of some sort of power sprout out of his body. The only way I can really describe them would be to say they look like crab legs or something. Iron Man arrives and shuts down Osborn’s stolen Starktech suit. In a last ditch effort to win the war, Osborn orders the Sentry to “bring it down”. To Thor’s horror, Asgard falls in a pile of smoke, fire, and rubble.
Calmly, Steve Rogers tells Osborn he’s under arrest. When Osborn uncovers his face, his face looks like the Green Goblin. He tells the heroes they have no idea what they’ve done by defeating him. Despite a solid right hook from Spider-Man, Osborn tells everyone that “He’s going to kill you all.” He looks up to find the Sentry completely transformed into a monster and waiting, almost lording over his handy work.
This series continues to impress. Brian Michael Bendis is possibly writing his masterpiece with Siege. This issue in particular was paced perfectly. So much happened within these pages, but none of it was rushed or drawn out. Even in a time when event fatigue weighs heavy on every comic fan or while Blackest Night has done such a great job of telling a big story, Siege is knocking it out of the park. No, scratch that, it isn’t just knocking it out of the park, but clear down the street. And it is doing it in just four issues.
We’ve all seen Osborn’s descent into his good old insane self in the pages of Dark Avengers and other titles leading up to this series. But in his defeat, Osborn doesn’t just go over the edge, but completely falls apart. Bendis’ handling of Osborn’s character has really been top-notch. Say what you will about Dark Reign, but you cannot deny Osborn has been one of the best villains in comic history. Forget about the Green Goblin. This past year, Norman Osborn has been ten times as terrifying.
Lastly, I cannot give a review of this book without talking about the spectacular Olivier Coipel. This story’s success has equally hinged on Bendis’ words and Coipel’s gorgeous art. Issue after issue, page after page, from one panel to the next, Coipel’s art is epic and just positively the best art on an event series at least since Phil Jimenez on Infinite Crisis, if not going all the way back to George Perez’s art on Crisis on Infinite Earths. Between his work on Thor and Siege, Coipel might just be my favorite artist working in the business today.
With one issue to go, Siege is on its way to a spectacular finish. The final battle with the Sentry is likely going to lead to one of the biggest, bloodiest battles in Marvel’s history. I predict that there will be death waiting for at least three characters. I can’t imagine Norman Osborn or the Sentry living through this series. I suspect a hero will fall as well. Either way, I am now salivating even more than I was this morning waiting for issue #4.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Coipel's art continues to prove to be the best I've seen in a very long time for an event. Bendis is still proving that all the ups and downs for the past seven years has been worth it for this payoff. | Even after a second reading, there's nothing here to even nitpick at. |
| Rating |
Siege Reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4
All Other Things Siege: CLICK HERE
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(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
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Great review – I agree 100%. This was a fantastic issue. I also agree that this is Bendis’ masterpiece. I can’t wait until the next issue as I have no idea how they are going to take down The Sentry/Void.
Phobos kills Sentry. End of Siege.
No substance. F-
Your review is excellent, as always, but I cannot concur. Siege is boring, predictable, contradictory, apathetic, and lacks anything that we haven’t seen before. It’s a bunch of re-used ideas that are tossed together hastily to put certain titles at the top of the sales charts so people go see the movies when they come out. Typical, calculated, Marvel shenanigans. Bendis has written a lot of stories that I’ve enjoyed, but this “event” is an abhorrent disgrace.
Here’s a rather critical review of Siege #3 that echoes my thoughts after I read the issue: http://bit.ly/97qdQ3
I have to agree with krakkaboom, at least in part. My biggest problem is that Siege is at least a month too long and spread over too many books. I just dont need to see the same thing from so many different perspectives. This is probably why krakkaboom finds it boring; we keep reading the same damn thing in different books. I think ‘Civil War’ was a lot more ‘re-used ideas’ heavy than Siege, meaning Siege is more original than Civil War, but not much more.
Oh and Seige Director’s Cut was a waste of my time and money. Don’t buy Siege Director’s Cut unless you missed the beginning of Siege. I want my money back!
The whole event just doesn’t seem like a natural progression of the overall direction of the Marvel Universe. I understand that Osborn has to fail, but the event seems like a cop-out to put things back to how they used to be. Dark Reign was totally aimless and needed a central book to make it coherent.
Siege feels like an insult to those of us who want to read a more intricate story, which Bendis is very good at. Instead, we get two issues of build-up (as if all of Dark Reign wasn’t enough), then a predictable, ho-hum Hollywood movie-esque issue three. I’m glad that most people loved issue three, because to me it didn’t feel natural. Not only that, it didn’t feel like it meant anything. Asgard crashed to the earth and I yawned…then uttered “Odin’s eye”.
Coipel has some really poor panels in issue three, specifically the one that spans two pages and is divided into thirds. I’m guessing he divided it into panels for pacing, but it just didn’t work. The top panel is so out of place, and the bottom two didn’t need to be divided. Ultimately, there are hardly any fight scenes in any of the three issues. However, there are a bunch of splash pages with no one fighting anyone.
I’ll cut myself off. This event just feels hollow, thus far. I have high hopes for issue four. Come on, Bendis! Knock it out of the park, man! I’ve loved so many of the Avengers books you’ve written in the past seven years. This is where you make me eat my words for criticizing you.
I think we’ll just have to agree to disagree. But I can say that this is exactly why I love writing about comics. Whether anyone agrees with me or not, it’s great to hear the opinions. Thanks for reading!