The Mad Titan rebuilds his reputation.
As much as the new Marvel NOW relaunch has been about pitting Marvel's veteran heroes against the rookie newcomers, there's also been a clear trend of putting major villains in the spotlight. Victor Von Doom has become one of the new Iron Mans. Venom is getting a new series next week and seemingly reverting to his villainous ways. And perhaps most significant of all, the mighty Thanos finally has a solo comic to call his own again. Thanos #1 serves as a solid beginning to the newest chapter in the Mad Titan's life.
Writer Jeff Lemire loosely builds on recent events in Thanos' life, including his involvement in Secret Wars and his defeat at the Avengers' hands in Civil War II. But none of that really matters except to establish a general status quo in which Thanos is eager to rebuild his reputation as the most feared being in the universe.
Despite the title, this series actually has more of an ensemble focus than a solo one. Lemire focuses as much attention on characters like Corvus Glaive (now an usurper to Thanos' throne), Thanos' brother Starfox and son Thane. This helps inject a little variety to the issue and also build a more ambiguous conflict. For now, at least, there's no real hero or villain in this series. Each character has their own set of motivations, and none neatly fit into the good or evil category. This plays well with Thanos' morally ambiguous nature. Sure, he's a genocidal tyrant who once murdered half the living beings in the universe, but he's also a psychologically damaged creature who often proves to be his own worst enemy. There's no point in trying to paint him as hero or villain of his own comic, just as there's no point in painting Starfox or Thane as noble knights pursuing a great dragon.
Lemire captures the voice of each character well. His Thanos has the right balance of gravitas and fragility. His Thane channels the complicated nature of a man saddled with an unwanted and nearly impossible mission. Starfox's hedonistic nature lends a touch of humor to the script even as his rivalry with his brother promises no end of family drama ahead. I'm not thrilled with how Lemire depicts Death, though that's as much a visual problem as anything else (more on that in a bit).
Lemire's narration has it strengths and weaknesses. The omniscient approach gives the script a sense of weight and scope that befits a character of Thanos' stature. At the same time, the narration tends to be a little heavyhanded. It's enough to wonder if this story was better told in prose form.
Mike Deodato's recent Marvel work has been nothing if not frustrating. In many ways, Deodato's style peaked during his Thunderbolts run, striking a great balance between moody darkness, cinematic detail and a use of photo-referenced materials that stopped short of being distracting. But these days, Deodato relies far too heavily on photo-reference and computer-rendered elements in his work, resulting in art that's often stiff, repetitive, and poorly suited to the bright, colorful world of superheroes. With that in mind, Thanos at least serves as a better home for Deodato than books like Invincible Iron Man or Star Wars. Deodato's CG elements and inhuman environments, along with Frank Martin's eerie colors, are far better suited to the cosmic side of the Marvel U. than Tony Stark's lab. And because the book features a cast of alien characters, there's less room for photo-referenced celebrity faces. All of this frees Deodato to do what he does best - creating hulking, monstrous figures and building epic, sweeping battles between opposing forces.
But there are still instances where Deodato's weaknesses become apparent. His depictions of space battles become cluttered with dozens of identical, 3D rendered ships. And it seems that regardless of what corner of the marvel Universe he explores, Deodato's women will always look identical. His Death could just as easily be Susan Storm or Mary Jane Watson in a slinky Halloween costume.
The Verdict
Thanos #1 isn't an immediate home run, but it does start the new series off on solid footing. The book boasts both strong characterization and a morally ambiguous set of protagonists, both of which help offset the sometimes heavyhanded narration. And while Mike Deodato's art style has its share of problems, the cosmic setting is a much better showcase for his storytelling strengths than other recent assignments.
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