Gabriele Dell'Otto

The premise of this book sounded intriguing, but the lackluster reviews gave me pause. After reading it, I can see why. This isn't an Avengers book, or even a SHIELD one. This story is Fury’s, and just how far he will go to “protect” the world. In many ways, I thought Secret War paralleled the film Swordfish; John Travolta was nominally the bad guy, but what it came down to was an ends justify the means scenario: any war is going to have casualties.

Not only is the tone of Secret War show more dark, but so is the imagery. The panels are mostly set at night, with somber hues to reflect a more serious tone. Fury has gathered together a group of heroes to go a mission not sanctioned by SHIELD or the president, and the consequences will be devastating for all involved. The story opens with the first casualty, when Luke Cage is attacked and ends up in the hospital in critical condition. And the doctors can’t perform surgery due to his steel-hard skin. We then jump back to see how it all began.

The structure of the book can be off-putting; it is not truly linear. Plus, much of the storyline as it follows our heroes is broken up by SHIELD confidential files and interrogation transcripts. While this does interrupt the flow of things, I feel it works for book rather than against it because that is how Fury views the world. He’s cold, calculating and all about outcomes. So, while there are some action sequences as the heroes face off against the villains, they are not fully developed. But, readers do get the results. I was gripped by the story and also a bit surprised to see Fury’s dark side on display so blatantly.

Overall, I can see how this book is a precursor of what is to come in Marvel’s Civil War event. Alan Moore summed up the intrinsic dilemma of superheroes: who watches the Watchmen? Secret War implies that Marvel is about to ask that very question. Recommended. show less

It ends a bit abruptly and generally feels like it needed another issue or two in the second half to flesh the story out, but this is otherwise an intriguing in-story look at one of the many more minor logical holes of the superhero genre (how the many minor villains finance their insane tech weapons and armours), and providing a chillingly cynical, real-world-feeling explanation. The artwork is stunning (a bit dark to look at, perhaps, but it works with the book's mood) and the writing has show more the typical Bendis flair and quips. There is also an insane amount of "Secret S.H.I.E.L.D. Files" type prose material between each issue, and even more so following the final one, which really serve to flesh out the characters and premise in exciting ways. show less

An affecting and well-written one-shot story in which Spider-Man goes up against the Kingpin, teamed up with a federal agent who introduces herself as Teresa Parker -- the sister that Peter Parker never knew he had. Generally a taut and well-plotted story, with one or two plot holes. The strength of this story is in the questions and emotions Peter has regarding his dead parents, who were themselves federal agents. A particularly poignant moment comes when the Parkers' mentor in the agency show more is reminiscing to Peter about his parents, especially Richard Parker's habit of making jokes and wisecracks when danger was at its peak. "Can you imagine?", he says to a reflective Peter, who can indeed imagine. The artwork here is also quite nice, and fits the tone of the book. show less

This was cool and had the Nick Fury I-am-the-only-one-who-really-knows-what-is-going-on-and-it's-okay-if-a-bunch-of-people-die thing going on. I wanted more though. I felt like I missed something the entire time I was reading it.

*******SPOILERS*******
Yes I realize it's called "Secret War", but I want to know what happened there. How did the mission fail? It really seems like there should be a mini-series about what happened in Latavia. And how was Luke Cage injured by an explosion, but show more Jessica Jones was not? show less