“X-Men: Battle of the Atom” will decide the fates of three generations of X-Men. (Cover by Arthur Adams; Property of Marvel Comics)
By: Jacob Elyachar
There have been two crossovers that I have been looking forward to this year have been Battle of the Atom and Forever Evil.
Both of these storylines will have massive repercussions for Marvel’s Merry Mutants and the entire DC Universe respectfully.
In this edition of Comic Book Reviews, I have looked at both opening salvos for these enormous storylines and here are my thoughts on each of these superb issues.
By the way…SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!
X-Men: Battle of the Atom (Creative Team: Brian Michael Bendis/Frank Cho/Stuart Immonen/Wade Von Grawbadger)
Battle for the Atom focuses on the original X-Men as they continue to live to co-exist with the present-day X-Men. However, their world is turned upside down when they meet the Sentinels for the first time during a mutant reconnaissance mission. Tired of their immaturity and worried for their safety, the present day X-Men vote to return them to the past. But just as they were about to get into an argument, another group of older X-Men appear and tell them about a major mistake they were about to make.
Bendis’ story perfectly balanced humor, action and romance plus was able to sprinkle in elements that will please both newcomers and hard-core X-fans. The art team did an impeccable job with bringing Bendis’ vision to life and the multiple two-page spreads throughout the book will astonish fans. So far, Battle of the Atom has the potential to really join Inferno, Messiah Complex and Second Coming as the most memorable X-Men crossovers to date. A
The villains took over the DC Universe in the premiere issue of “Forever Evil.” (Cover by David Finch & Richard Friend; Property of DC Comics)
Forever Evil (Creative Team: Geoff Johns/David Finch/Richard Friend/Sonia Oback)
The Crime Syndicate of Earth-Three has arrived! The Justice League’s vile counterparts want to take over the world and they started their reign off in pure horror as they instigated a massive prison breakout and turned Nightwing’s life into a pure hell. This nightmarish change of events left Lex Luthor wondering: “This is a job for Superman. So where the hell is he?”
Forever Evil started off nicely as Geoff Johns delivered a superb script that saw Lex Luthor and the Rogues at their finest plus an interesting conversation between political powerhouse Amanda Waller and longtime Aquaman foe Black Manta. It also showed that the miniscule hole that could drive the Crime Syndicate apart later on in the story. When readers reach halfway into the book, they will find an exceptional four-page spread of DC’s nastiest. Props for David Finch, Richard Friend and Sonia Oback for delivering a superb moment that can lead to a game of “Name That Villain” once the reader is done reading the issue. I strongly believe that readers will be picking up the sophomore issue next month. A
For more information on “Battle of the Atom,” visit Marvel’s website: http://marvel.com/
For all things “Forever Evil,” head to DC Comics’ website: http://www.dccomics.com/
