For those wondering why, after Thanos appears at the end of the Avengers film, he is not the big bad in Avengers 2; it might be time to check out some Guardians of the Galaxy. The current series from writer Brian Michael Bendis is obviously setting us up for the film, a point driven home by the appearance of everybody’s favorite purple, blue and gold villain at the end. GOTG #5 also marks the first appearance of Angela, the warrior witch from the McFarlane Universe. She’s very unhappy about being torn from her world.
The first four pages of Guardians #5 are some of the best writing Brian Michael Bendis has done in a long time. It’s not action; there is no huge plot reveal or massive twist. Instead, there is a very real scene between Rocket Raccoon, Gamora and Tony Stark. Having slept with Gamora, Stark is not in a world he’s unaccustomed to. The first is embarrassment. Stark did not perform to the standards of a green warrior princess, and now he’s on a side of a relationship he’s not used to. Second, Stark can’t vanish. He’s trapped in deep space with Gamora and the Guardians. The first four pages layout the tensions of the situation perfectly, and include some laugh-out-loud lines from Rocket Raccoon.
Meanwhile, Star-Lord is trying to figure out a vision he’s had involving multiple timelines at one time. Star-Lord is experiencing the fallout of the time rift via Age of Ultron, but having no idea that happened, he’s clueless as to the meaning behind his vision. After a series of dead ends, Star-Lord is pointed to the one entity that can explain it to him. Thanos.
As Star-Lord holds court with Thanos, the rest of the Guardians and Iron Man run afoul of Angela. Gamora tries to tangle with the angelic fighter, which seems to end disastrously, though readers will be unsure of the outcome until issue #6. Bendis is setting up the next round of hurdles for the Guardians, and between Thanos, the time rift and Star-Lord’s father, the prongs of destruction are coming from multiple angles. Nothing outside of the first four pages is especially well written. Bendis seems to be relaxing his fire in the rest of the book. It has a very lazy feel to it.
Sara Pichelli’s art is well executed, save for the human characters. They’re just a bit too cartoony, especially her Tony Stark. Interestingly, her Angela is beautifully done. Powerful, bold, sexy – this version of the character will make cosplay folks ecstatic. Pichelli also excels with the sci-fi elements. Gamora is first rate, her Thanos is killer, even Rocket Raccoon comes across as grizzled and tough, which is not an easy call for a raccoon. I enjoy when an artist that revels in sci-fi is allowed to pencil a sci-fi book. Sara Pichelli is clearly a great fit here.
Guardians of the Galaxy is an exciting book. There’s something in here for geeks across the board.
(4 Story, 4.5 Art)
