Comic Book Reviews: MARVEL'S Fear Itself # 5 (of 7)

Written by Matt Fraction

Pencils by Stuart Immonen

Published by Marvel Comics

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**SPOILER ALERT**

What can be said about Fear Itself, Marvel's huge blockbuster event, that hasn't already been said a thousand times? This issue is just like the rest- featuring very little actual plot progression and action that, while explosive, is mindless and devoid of emotion. Perhaps worst of all, it features zero of the much-promised (and heavily advertised) real-world allegory that made Civil War such a unique event. It baffles me that Marvel would try so hard to sell their event based on something that is almost entirely lacking from both the main event and the tie-ins. False advertising should be a crime (oh, wait- it is...).

So- what do we get in this fifth chapter? Seeming as we should be heading into the final act by this point, surprisingly little. Thor dukes it out with The Thing and Hulk but, seeming as they are not in control of their actions, they may as well be mindless drones. The scene is that dull. Captain America fights Sin/Skadi and, in doing so, appears nothing at all like the Cap we know and love. There is no evidence of his pain over Bucky's recent death (it's barely mentioned) and he does something that Steve is never supposed to do- it's supposed to be his defining characteristic- he gives up. In other circumstances this couldbe understandable, but the threat is nothing more than a bunch of angry, hammer-wielding brutes- The Avengers have fought much tougher before, and lived to tell the tale. Why they're being such wimps here is, to put it simply, a little baffling.

On the plus side, Stuart Immonen's art continues to impress, and his clear understanding of scene staging provides a kinetic, rampant feel to the action sequences. However, maybe it's just me but there was something just a little off with his depiction of Steve Rogers in this issue. Maybe it was the attempt of portraying him with a sense of fear, but his eyes seemed to bulge out of his head like a bemused pill-popper at the end of the night.

With only two issues left, Fear Itself really needs to kick into high gear. As it is right now, it will be remembered (if at all) as an event with very little story and almost completely lacking in character development. Sure, Buckydied and Tony Stark went back to the bottle, but those (admittedly, very interesting) plot points seem unlikely to be continued in the main series, instead being saved for their own books once Fear Itself wraps. That's the problem with most events- they seem more concerned with setting up the future than focusing on the present. There's no doubt that, once the dust has settled, the Marvel universe will be radically different,but the means of getting there could have been so much more interesting. MattFraction's a great writer, but editorially mandated events rarely play to a writer's strength. Shame, really, as it's a colossal waste of talent.