I'm going to post this then read the thread, so sorry if I repeat anything.
I was quite disappointed in #10.
First, we get exposition. #10 of a 12-issue series is too late for plot points. At best, this is #4 of the 6-part Grand Theft America story. At best, it's past halfway. Especially since this is supposed to have been 'plotted very carefully'.
Also, the 'suicide bomber' metaphor, instead of being on Red Skull, is on... THE ENTIRE ARMY. I'm sorry, having your leader be a living martyr (ain't that a great contradiction) is one thing - but the entire army of the Liberators is dead in a month.
... Is this a temporary invasion?
Pym is obviously going to betray the Liberators with his Ultrons, but those Ultrons were cool.
As was Red Skull being weak and sickly prior to becoming 'the Colonel'.
And Nick Fury's current predicament.
Iron Man does use those nanites that were mentioned once in #4. I think it was a bit hokey, but to be honest, it was pretty good. Especially clattering Natasha with a bottle.
Sadly, Black Widow being the traitor is still a bloody stupid idea. I'm not looking forward to it being brought up again. Also - "Oh please. The Russian spy? I can see why you'd think I'd be the last person to betray the team." Nice jab, Millar. However, Tony should've said, for the audience - "Sorry, but you're right. It's stupid of me to assume the Russian will betray America. This is the 1960s after all, you ****ing whore." It also isn't really fair to say, "It's the most obvious candidate, duh" when you've spent the last several months having characters going, "I didn't have you pegged as a traitor." which is now evidently shameful manipulation of the audience.
Black Widow being the traitor could've been good if the follwing things had happened -
1- Black Widow had become a developed character and not Tony's bit of fluff. Regardless, the reveal of the traitor should add to her character, and grant us insight into her. When people were imagining Cap or Stark as the traitor, the characters actually become more than they had been. Instead,Black Widow doing it because she's the Russian spy actually takes away from her character, by removing insight and turning her into a cardboard cut out.
2 - It had been set up in the actual comic effectively so it meant something. I did the Traitor and Loki manifestos. I've gone through the previous issues. There are NO HINTS that Widow is the traitor. There are numerous hints towards Cap and Tony, which were red herrings (which was great), but in there place there should've been real moments where, if we were to look back on them, they'd make more sense. As it is - we have Black Widow saving Hawkeye's life and telling Thor how great America is. It's shown that this traitor thing was always there, not a gradual turning like Pym. If it was the latter, these moments of heroism would be from her pre-traitor mindset. But it isn't. She's always been playing the part - so well it seems, that there is no hint of it at all. This, to me, makes it cheap and meaningless.
3 - We are told Black Widow is the traitor in #5, long before the team even know there is one. This would allow the set up of her motiviations and allies and create a sense of impending doom. What would be lost was the wonderful feeling this comic had from the first issue of the second volume, which was that there was something completely alien and unknowable coming to **** with everything and we couldn't stop it. Carbon copies of the superheroes kinda killed that though.
4 - Black Widow had been proven to NOT be the traitor. This would've at least given us the shock value of having a character we were certain couldn't be the traitor. It's red herring, the bluff, that's a wonderful convention of whodunits since the 20s. Imagine if Hulk or Thor had been the traitor. I know - it's doesn't make sense. But imagine if Thor had been playing us all this time. Imagine if Thor betrayed the team to make way for the Vikings of Asgard to claim the Earth. It's what he's been saying was going to happen for ages. Now imagine if he tried to do it through peace, but Fury's warmongering sped up the time table and there was no more time for diplomacy and Odin said that they had to strike. So Thor slowly took the team apart from the inside to make it as quick and painless as possible. That would've been ****ing out there.
Another little speculation - Black Widow is scarred and the Colonel has yet to be named. Either the Colonel is Red Fist, or BW may become the Red Skull as her face and brain may be messed up. Eh, whatever. I give up, back to the issue.
So then we get to Hawkeye. A quick not on Dragomir: if this series is plotted so carefully, it would've been nice to hear about so this scene means something, perhaps an ultimization of Swordmaster or one of Hawkeye's 616 villains - maybe he is? But a set up in Ultimates would've been nice.
Anyhoo, so then Hawkeye breaks out of his bonds using his fingernails. While it was established that Hawkeye is Bullseye in #7, I have to wonder how the hell Hawkeye actually took his fingernails off. I'm actually okay with him using his fingernails as weapons - what pisses me off is that he just developed the ability to remove his fingernails at that precise moment.
How about this instead?
Dragomir actually gets to torturing Hawkeye. Which is EXCRUTIATINGLY painful - but Hawkeye doesn't scream. The doctor jokes that since he's not screaming, they should give Hawkeye something to bite on so he doesn't swallow his tongue. Dragomir says he has a better place for it - he wants his scream.
As he uses the tongue depresser in an off-screen manner, we see all the soldiers and doctor very close, looming over Hawkeye, who has his teeth clenched, jaw locked, refusing to scream.
But there is a crack.
Blood starts pouring from Hawkeye's mouth - and he spits his teeth out at all those looming over him and kills them all.
Then, as the extra guards are sent in as people panic he's killed everyone, Hawkeye, the doctor lying, dead on his chest, using only his mouth, which is drenched in his own blood, to get the key and unlock himself.
Which he does. The rest plays as it does in the comic.
But now imagine how cool the "run" panel would look now. :twisted:
Then we get Captain America being 'freed'.
Why the hell was this issue the SAME SCENE repeated three times?
Tony is at the mercy of Black Widow - only he shows he never was! He was pretending and he takes her out.
Hawkeye is at the mercy of Dragomir and the doctor - only he shows he never was! He was pretending and he takes them out.
Wasp and Captain America are at the mercy of Schizoid Man and the troops - only he shows they never were! They were pretending and will no doubt, take them out next issue.
Also, these scenes would be a nice repeating theme if they were put in a progressive order - first Captain America, then Iron Man, and finally Hawkeye's "run" panel. But even then, they're too samey. Hawkeye and Iron Man end in the same place - their captors defeated, while Hawkeye and Captain America share the exact same scene (Hawkeye's just goes longer).
I dunno. I'm disappointed.
Mainly because #11 will be yet more of the same. People breaking out of prison to fight their opposites in #12. Really - come on. "Okay, now let's break out Thor. Now Hulk. Are we all together? Then let's fight" is monotonous.
This should've been a lot better considering the previous issues. It really feels like that they just kinda came up with it on a break.
