Original Sin #1 Review

Writer: Jason Aaron

Artist: Mike Deodato

Colorist: Frank Martin

NO ONE IS WATCHING

Uatu the Watcher is the being that records every single event that goes on throughout the universe. Can someone like the Watcher have enemies? Join the Avengers and the rest of Earth’s mightiest heroes as we solve the mystery of, who shot the Watcher?!

The Ups: If you ever wondered if Marvel could pull off a murder mystery and turn it into a major crossover event, then you are in for a nice surprise. Jason Aaron takes a very interesting approach on what normally would be a big super hero quest to find the villain, to getting down to the fine details and letting an old hero shine. The old hero I am speaking of is the original Nick Fury, who makes his appearance after Age of Ultron and grabs a strong hold of the lead role. Aaron gives Fury this Dick Tracy vibe as he uses his connections and old fashion crime solving skills over the big fights and explosions method. The Avengers as well play a big role in this issue, but other characters such as Moon Knight, Gamora, Winter Soldier Doctor Strange and the Punisher are being called in to help understand what lead to the Watcher’s death. There also seems to be more to the Watcher’s death then we realize as Black Panther is solving a mystery that might just be bigger than who is the Watcher’s killer. While this issue has some action, including an appearance from a classic Fantastic Four villain with a bit of a different personality, it did not stand out as much as the scenes with Fury. Now what really brought this issue full circle, is the spooky yet striking artwork and coloring from Deodato and Martin. The use of strong shadowing and shading gave a dark looming visual that looked like a Dick Tracy’s murder mystery. Martin’s command of colors were fantastic, even during the action sequence, the artwork switch to being bright and vibrant with a big super hero style. The fact that Deodato and Martin were able to fluidly shift vibes in the artwork from dark to intense vibrancy, gives me hope that Marvel just might hit it out of the park with this event.

The Downs: This issue hit all the right spots.

Overall: Marvel has promised a murder mystery and that’s what we got. What I noticed from this issue is that the series will not solely focused on the Avengers, which for me is a great thing. Characters like Moon Knight and Winter Soldier will be playing key roles which makes me excited. They deserve the the spotlight because have you read both their series lately? And with Fury taking the lead, being backed by powerful writing and artwork, ‘Original Sin’ is shaping up to be another one of Marvel’s classic events

Grade 5 of 5