3. Terrible Storyline/Characters Replace Great Storyline/Characters
Much to my dismay in issue 6, the highly publicised apocalyptic scenario brought about by the robot was abandoned once Wolverine killed Hank Pym in the past, erasing Ultrons creation and the dystopian future he brought about. Ok - fine. But the first 6 issues show a great, interesting storyline that I was involved in and enjoying which is discarded in favour of a far worse storyline. The characters who were more interesting because they were down but not out? Replaced by weird yet strangely boring alternative versions of themselves. So instead of Cap, Spidey, Iron Man, etc. fighting back against Ultron, we have a storyline where a weird cyborg Stark is ruler of the world, the Avengers become the Defenders, and theyre all fighting against Morgana le Fay! The storyline becomes cyborg overlord vs sorceress - I thought I was reading a series called Age of Ultron! What does this thread have to do with anything? The interesting initial storyline is supplanted by a far blander one. Then if that wasnt bad enough, your favourite heroes have been replaced with crappier versions who were supposed to root for. Instead of Cyclops or Cable, we have a badly designed blend of the two; Janet Van Dyne/Wasp is Captain Marvel; Captain America is Colonel America, a mix of Cap and Nick Fury for some reason; and Stark is a dicktator. And if you thought the Thing couldnt look any weirder, check out those pock marks on his, er, skin? Those craters look like gross acne scars! The rest are made up of unchanged characters, like Hulk, Star-Lord and Doctor Strange. The point is, this new group, calling themselves the Defenders, arent substitutes for the real Avengers, Cap, Thor, Hulk, Spidey, etc. These new characters are badly designed, theyre not interesting, and I couldnt give a fig about reading a series featuring the Defenders over the Avengers. Issues 7 and 8 tell a supremely dull story featuring terrible new characters instead of exploring the Ultron storyline were all looking to read featuring great characters with their backs to the wall. This was a really poor artistic choice by Bendis.