Guardians of the Galaxy #5 has been a much-publicised issue for months now as fans were promised Neil Gaiman co-writing alongside series regular Brian Michael Bendis due to this being the comic where Gaimans character Angela makes a substantial appearance; except things didnt work out that way. A few weeks ago Gaimans credit was dropped to consultant and only in regards to Angelas dialogue, so Gaiman fans expecting a more lyrical outing instead just got Bendis usual jokey fare (which isnt that bad to be honest). But the situation Bendis has created with the end of Age of Ultron brings the series quality down. GotG #5, like several other comics this week, references the fallout from Age of Ultron where one too many time travel trips (the latest being made by Wolverine) has caused time to splinter and break. Star-Lord is having strange visions of times hes not sure have happened or not, and tries to find answers from an unlikely source. Meanwhile the main event of this issue is the Guardians encountering Angela with Gamora crossing blades with the celestial bounty hunter. The issue made me wonder, not for the first time, why Marvel chose to spotlight Angela and make her a big deal. How big of a fanbase did she have from her brief time on Spawn in the early 90s? Certainly not enough to make her a household name and yet shes being treated as such. Maybe shes getting a movie, or is going to be a player in the GotG movie next year? Its a very puzzling and obscure choice to have her play a big part in anything, let alone one of the titles Marvel is pushing hard onto readers in anticipation of the forthcoming film. Angela remains an awkward and arbitrary choice for this series. The previous storyline, which spent an awful lot of time setting up the complexities of King JSon of Spartaxs plan against his son Star-Lord and the Guardians, has been pushed to the side by Angelas appearance. But she doesnt have a storyline. She just shows up. Shes angry at being displaced and wants to kill somebody to take out her frustration. Thats it. Despite Gaiman having a consulting credit on the dialogue, she doesnt say anything different from what she already said in her first appearance at the end of Age of Ultron, ie. Something along the lines of Why am I here? Im angry at being displaced. Im going to hurt someone. THATS her story? The Guardians, minus Star-Lord and Drax, encounter her and, because Rocket has no info on her, decide to fight her. They couldve at least tried talking to her for starters! But no, Gamora launches herself at Angela and we get a smackdown on the moon. The plus side is that Sara Pichellis art makes the entire issue look awesome, especially this fight sequence. Gamora and Angelas attacks look powerful and devastating and Pichelli knows when to take a closer look at the action and when to zoom out.
Besides the Angela part, Star-Lord is in some Mos Eisley-esque town with Drax when he encounters an old pal, Mantis. Shes another green-skinned hot alien chick like Gamora but has telepathic powers and was also part of the Abnett/Lanning Guardians series though whether shes going to be a member of this iteration of the Guardians seems unlikely. Together they try figure out whats happened to time before giving up, leaving Star-Lord to seek answers from a major villain in the Marvel U. I wont give away who it is but I was surprised at the way Pichelli drew him. He currently has his own mini-series and has somehow grown several feet in this issue. That or Star-Lord has shrunk. Either way its a weird visual. The best part of the issue is Tony and Rocket fixing Tonys armour and talking about Tonys tryst with Gamora in the last issue yep, that happened! Space booze is potent stuff. The dialogue between the two is great with Bendis giving Tony and Rocket an easy-going and highly amusing banter. I still wonder though at Tonys inclusion in this series. Hes not added anything to the group and seems to be a hindrance at best, given how advanced the Guardians tech is in comparison to his which is currently in pieces. I know Iron Man is way more famous that the Guardians but I think readers wouldve embraced this series without one of Marvels famous faces included. The dialogue and art is the best part of the issue while the storyline is scattershot at best, thanks to Age of Ultron. Guardians has gone from an interesting and exciting series to one mired in the detritus of a weaker series that unfortunately needed to be addressed. Despite being one of the most hyped issue in the series so far, its definitely the poorest, and I think Bendis needs to justify why Angela has suddenly become a big part of the Marvel U quickly and give her a storyline beyond Grr. Angry. Fight.
Guardians of the Galaxy #5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli is out now