NB of the Week

Avengers #3 - The Garden
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Drawn by Jerome Opena

As Ex Nihilo, Aleph and Abyss prepare for their new Earth to be made, their first Adam is born. Only something is wrong. He seems to be speaking in Builder code. As they ponder how this is or isn't a bad thing, in comes Captain America and the new recruits: Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers has the title now), Falcon, Shang-Chi, Supspot, Cannonball, Manifold, Smasher (of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard), Captain Universe (a female. Again. Not sure who this one is, though I may be alone in that) and Hyperion. After some pretty awesomely drawn fighting between peoples, Captain Universe sees the new Adam and seems to recognize him (or his language). Soon she appears in a bright flash to Ex Nihilo, Abyss and Aleph. Nihilo and Abyss drop to their knees, seeing her as their mother, "the Universe herself". As she plays(?) into this, she tells them that things have failed and they are to stop their process and goal and creating anew. Aleph, however does not recognize her as their deity and puts up a fight. No a smart idea. Proving just how powerful she can be, Cap Universe disintegrates Aleph into thousands of pieces. The Avengers take this new Adam and leave Nihilo and Abyss to Mars. "Mars is your world now. Make it something beautiful."
On the last page, however, we get a very ominous narration, seemingly comparing Steve Rogers and Tony Stark to Nihilo and Abyss and one may be life and the other death.
One of the things I love about this book is also something that I argue against. Knowing Hickman, you can tell something is happening. You can feel the seeds for a bigger picture being planted here, even though they may not be that visible yet. I feel it helps to know Hickman's writing in order to see some of these clues. Now, I argue that a work should stand on it's own and you shouldn't have to rely on the past works of somebody to understand it. While I still feel this is true, it's also something that isn't necessary here, which is why I say I love it even though I argue it. You don't have to have read Fantastic Four or SHIELD or Secret Warriors to understand Hickman or this title. But it sure helps with seeing somethings. This issue by itself was great but pretty strait forward. However, knowledge of Hickman or not, you get a scope of how big things are for this team. You know there are high stakes and you know things are going to explode eventually and the ride to that point should be pretty damn impressive.