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| By Atlee Greene |
The Black Vortex is the current big event going on in Marvel Comics with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the X-Men teaming up to stop an ancient artifact that is imbued with immeasurable power from destroying billions of lives across the universe.
This event will be a three month trek with four books that were released in February, five installments to be released in March with the final four chapters hitting shelves in April.
Here we’re going to examine the first four books while looking at story progression, character depth, and things that look to be shaping up. If you haven’t started reading this event yet, consider this your Cliff’s Notes on The Black Vortex.
There is one question that needs to be asked and that is, “why should we care about this event when Secret Wars is right around the corner?”
The Marvel Universe as we know it will be melded into one single cohesive alignment called Battleworld where continuity could be changed, altered, or remained untouched. While crossover events should deliver some high stakes excitement that augments the overall scope of the universe in some way, shape, or form.
However, sometimes, it’s all about providing a sense of wonderment while seeing your favorite characters in uncommon situations.
If you’re a Guardians and or X-Men devotee, seeing them interact is half the fun.
I should mention that The Black Vortex is a mirror that shows a person the most powerful version of themselves. If you dare step into the mirror/vortex, you become the immensely powerful being you saw in the reflection. Seeing your potential and being able to obtain it within a couple of footsteps is tempting proposition for anyone.
It’s easy to see why bad guys would want to use this weapon, but what happens when the heroes of the day succumb to temptation?
In order to bring to major entities together, you need a spark that ignites a member of each team.
In this case, Kitty Pryde and Star-Lord have developed a romance as of late and their travels bring about an opportunity to do some good which entails stealing The Black Vortex from Star-Lord’s father, Mr. Knife, who is working with the son of Thanos, Thane.
Once they see what the Vortex actually does, they realize they are way in over their head and call on their respective teams for back up.
Let’s look at the players:
GOTG: Star-Lord, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Drax, Captain Marvel, Venom, and Nova
X-Men: Kitty Pryde, Beast, Storm, Magik, X-23, and the 1960’s time displaced x-youngsters Hank McCoy, Angel, Iceman, Cyclops, and Jean Grey.
Sam Humphries does a great job with this introductory chapter by explaining The Vortex while highlighting its mythology and reputation across the universe. The premise is simple and straight to the point which was a breath of fresh air considering galaxy spanning saga can be bogged down by being too clever.
Ed McGuinness’ artwork usually screams bigger is better with stunning detail and keeps true to his style here as action sequences and page layouts are busting with an exciting flair.
The first ensemble image of both groups together was exceptionally done and conveyed a mixture of emotions while giving the reader a possible hint of things to come. Seeing Captain Marvel hug Beast like she won a stuffed animal at the county fair will bring a smile to anyone’s face.
Of course, the pleasantries are short lived as The Slaughter Squad crashes the party in an attempt to retrieve the Votex. The fighting ensues, and it doesn’t look good for the good guys until the very end of the book where it is revealed that Gamora has stepped through the Black Votex and is even more powerful than before.
Excellent choice with Gamora being the first hero to use the artifact because she is a deadly warrior who will do whatever it takes to defeat her opponent. While most in her camp would look at the vortex as something not to be trusted or used, Gamora sees the practically in its application.
Brian Michael Bendis has been doing a fantastic job with this series and gives us our first look into the reality of what can happen when two super teams have to do business together. All of the warm and fuzzy sentiments are over with and disagreement is running rampant on what to do with the Vortex.
Some want to use it while others feel it needs to be destroyed.
We also see a little bit of both teams jockeying for position as leader of this endeavor.
Storm, who is leading the X-Men here, feels they should call the shots because….well, they are the frickin’ X-Men, for crying out loud.
Not to be outdone, the Guardians point out that they have more experience with intergalactic matters which is why they should be the authority in this situation.
In a humorous way to alleviate the tension, Kitty brings up the Phoenix Saga and Rocket Raccoon calls bullocks on why mutants must always bring up Phoenix when arguing or comparing notes. Bendis is great at juggling several different plot points and making them all matter in the larger scheme of things.
We get to see more developments from Kitty and Star-Lord’s romance, then we shift gears where the Slaughter Crew are starting to see the cracks in Mr. Knife’s plan while Thane is bring tempted by a much higher plan. Switching back to our heroes, more planning takes place until Beast steps through the Vortex and becomes the second person to succumb to its allure.
At first, elder Beast stepping into the Vortex seemed kind of dumb because he is much smarter than that. However, it hasn’t been established yet if stepping into the Vortex is brought on by enchantment or personal desire. The Vortex doesn’t just grant power upon the recipient but also brings knowledge which is something Beast has an insatiable appetite for.
Sam Humphries’s current story arc in this particular series had focused on the romance between Kitty Pride and Star-Lord.
They have some fun together, argue for a little bit, get into some trouble, save the day, and their relationship is stronger for it.
The majority of this issue is one big slug fest between Vortexed Beast, Gamora and now….Angel, against the combined might of the X-Men and Guardians.
Angel was a good choice to turn here because he puts up more of a fuss than the rest of the time displaced X-Men when it comes to being insubordinate and messing with history.
The new triple threat escape and the our heroes need to think of an alternative solution until Kitty Pryde and Star-Lord get into a lover’s quarrel that only lasts one page but serves as a good reminder of what is important to them.
Kitty cares for her students while Star-Lord… well, is not exactly goal-oriented but gets the job done when needed. Their words towards one another were strong and made you wonder if their relationship will survive the stress of this saga thus augmenting the story and their personal arc.
Brian Michael Bendis and Andrea Sorrentino work extremely well together here, and they are able to produce different tone from the other All New X-Men books thus making this the issue of The Black Vortex where things get serious.
The opening pages show a majestic looking trio of Angel, Gamora, and Beast as they banter among the cosmos about a higher calling.
All three of them deliver excellent speeches declaring their agenda as a unified group. This was well done because Bendis gave each of them their moment to shine and stand out which was needed.
Things look good for the trio until BAM!
Ronan the Accuser comes out of nowhere and stakes his claim for the Vortex.
Sorrentino makes the battle between Ronan and Gamora look like two gods clashing in space and Marcello Maiolo’s coloring is beautiful and augments the energy on the page.
The end result of this encounter is scary and a bit of a head scratcher.
The trio is supposed to be nearly unstoppable with their Black Vortex upgrades and it was even discussed how easy it would be to destroy the likes of Thanos. Then Ronan comes in, lays the hammer down and takes for Vortex.
No, my money says Ronan can’t take Thanos, and he beat the Vortexed Crew, so that means Thanos was never in any real danger and why does Ronan even need this weapon?
Looking at this from a different perspective, what this could mean is that if Ronan was already dangerous enough to defeat Beast, Gamora and Angel, imagine what he can do once he walks through the Vortex.
This issue ends with the return of a particular X-Men character that will no doubt add some much needed drama to this event.
Final Thoughts: So far, it appears The Black Vortex sounded good on paper, but not very well realized once it came to life. The Vortex itself is merely a MacGuffin where its abilities have been established, but a perilous threat to the galaxy seems farfetched at this junction.
When a large cast of characters is used, it’s inevitable that some of them won’t really matter in the overall scheme things. Star-Lord, Kitty Pryde, Storm, Beast, Gamora, and Angel are the good guys getting the most screen time. Rocket Raccoon is comic relief, and Venom, Captain Marvel and Drax are complete non factors who are barley seen after the first issue.
There are some improvements that could really make this story stand out as something unique and different. Mr. Knife and his motives need to be fleshed out more instead of just wanting to be more powerful. Every bad guy wants to be more powerful, we get it. Ronan’s inclusion into the story really bothered me because he proved he doesn’t need The Black Vortex, but why does he want it?
Time displaced Cyclops was brought in as the symbolic answer to everyone’s problems, however, the problems Guardians and X-Men face call for more than the mutant’s optic force blast. You have Captain Marvel who is pretty much a commando version of Supergirl and young Scott Summers is the answer to this galactic calamity?
There are nine more issues left with Chapter 5, All New X-Men #39 coming out this Wednesday.
Changes should be made, but I have a feeling that Marvel is going to stay its present course with this one. While things could get better, and the individual books are good on their own merit, there is nothing right now about The Black Vortex that is currently exciting beyond the usual rank and file that makes it a must read event.
