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| Cover Art: Steve Lightle |
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Title: "Legion of Vengeance, Part 5: A World of D'Kay"
Writer: Joey Cavalieri
Artist: Shawn McManus
Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti, Ken Branch, & Shawn McManus
Letterer: Steve Dutro
Colorist: Fred Mendez
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco
SYNOPSIS
Ghost Rider and Iron Fist are confronted by D'Kay, the demon responsible for empowering the Legion of Vengeance. D'Kay claims that he has created the Legion as a new breed of hero that will make Ghost Rider and Iron Fist obsolete, then invites them to Hell to see his plans. They agree and are tricked into believing they are torn apart in Hell, though they quickly recover. D'Kay explains that the Legion are his four avatars of doom to bring the downfall of mankind, signifying the betrayals of the mind, body, earth, and God. He returns Ghost Rider and Iron Fist to the cave on Earth, where they are attacked again by the Legion of Vengeance.
ANNOTATIONS
This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring Wolverine/Venom, Giant-Man, and Ravage 2099.
This story was reprinted in the Iron Fist: The Book of Changes trade paperback.
REVIEW
"Legion of Vengeance" takes a breather from the fighting to explain what's actually going on, and it makes for one weird train of exposition.
This is a strange one, folks, but it's one I appreciate on some deeper level than I thought I would. This has not, in all fairness, been a very good story so far. The Legion of Vengeance are bland and a weak sauce attempt to show how off the rails "heroes" obsessed with vengeance can go, which sets up a not-so-subtle parallel with Ghost Rider, and little has been done with the idea other than kung fu fights. This chapter gets a little more expository as a demon lays out his plan, though that plan changes halfway through his explanation. The Legion of Vengeance are either D'Kay's idea of heroic avatars under his control that will cause the obsolescence of other heroes or they're the four horsemen of the apocalypse that will usher in the end of mankind. I like the latter idea much more than the former, and the descriptions of the Legion as the Four Betrayers is actually quite novel and interesting.
It's too bad that the rest of the comic is filled with the same overwrought dialogue and hysterically insane decisions from the protagonists as the previous chapters. Ghost Rider and Iron Fist agree to go to Hell because, like Marty McFly, they can't stand being called "chicken". That's not me misunderstanding their motivations, Ghost Rider literally says they'll go to show they aren't afraid to be in Hell. That makes a ton of sense, almost as much as Iron Fist being able to shrug off having his flesh ripped off by bats with as little as a kung fu pose.
The artwork is pretty great in this one, though, and that's probably due to the influence of finishers on top of McManus' layouts. This serial has been body horror central for poor Iron Fist and McManus seems to really relish getting to let loose with gory details like the bats stripping off flesh. He also does really well with the four panels showing the Legion of Vengeance and their future actions on Earth, giving a great visual representation of something that could possibly have been difficult to depict on the page.
I had little enthusiasm for this serial when it started, and though it has picked up some in the latter chapters its still not very good.
Grade: C+
ANNOTATIONS
This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring Wolverine/Venom, Giant-Man, and Ravage 2099.
This story was reprinted in the Iron Fist: The Book of Changes trade paperback.
REVIEW
"Legion of Vengeance" takes a breather from the fighting to explain what's actually going on, and it makes for one weird train of exposition.
This is a strange one, folks, but it's one I appreciate on some deeper level than I thought I would. This has not, in all fairness, been a very good story so far. The Legion of Vengeance are bland and a weak sauce attempt to show how off the rails "heroes" obsessed with vengeance can go, which sets up a not-so-subtle parallel with Ghost Rider, and little has been done with the idea other than kung fu fights. This chapter gets a little more expository as a demon lays out his plan, though that plan changes halfway through his explanation. The Legion of Vengeance are either D'Kay's idea of heroic avatars under his control that will cause the obsolescence of other heroes or they're the four horsemen of the apocalypse that will usher in the end of mankind. I like the latter idea much more than the former, and the descriptions of the Legion as the Four Betrayers is actually quite novel and interesting.
It's too bad that the rest of the comic is filled with the same overwrought dialogue and hysterically insane decisions from the protagonists as the previous chapters. Ghost Rider and Iron Fist agree to go to Hell because, like Marty McFly, they can't stand being called "chicken". That's not me misunderstanding their motivations, Ghost Rider literally says they'll go to show they aren't afraid to be in Hell. That makes a ton of sense, almost as much as Iron Fist being able to shrug off having his flesh ripped off by bats with as little as a kung fu pose.
The artwork is pretty great in this one, though, and that's probably due to the influence of finishers on top of McManus' layouts. This serial has been body horror central for poor Iron Fist and McManus seems to really relish getting to let loose with gory details like the bats stripping off flesh. He also does really well with the four panels showing the Legion of Vengeance and their future actions on Earth, giving a great visual representation of something that could possibly have been difficult to depict on the page.
I had little enthusiasm for this serial when it started, and though it has picked up some in the latter chapters its still not very good.
Grade: C+
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