Well, we’ve finally made it to part 7, and I can’t help but feel a little…meh about the whole thing. There’s this thing about the book that just…well, it just bothers me. It’s hard to put my finger on. The event as a whole hasn’t been all that spectacular. It’s definitely had it’s moments, and this reviewer has given it’s due praise (and it’s due lambasting). But this issue I just find myself indifferent to the whole thing. This whole book was nothing but splash pages. It was one giant battle. I guess you could say that I had some fun with it. It was pretty awesome how Clint Barton mans up and much of the action is spot on, but at this point, it just feels hollow. There’s no emotion, no stakes going on in this book. So far, there’s been no “Oh my god…he just…no way…I can’t believe he…that motherfuc….” kind of moment. The characters that Bendis has messed with have been nominal. I was hoping with this epic battle, we get the stakes raised or something like that, but it just didn’t happen. Whereas DC has killed one of its greatest heroes to kick off its event, Marvel has merely been promoting stories about the return of Nick Fury, the betrayal of Spider-Woman (who, as noted before, I’m completely ambivalent about), and Jarvis being a Skrull. No stakes. And this issue does nothing to change that. My other complaint is with Jarvis. As others have noted, how the hell is he back in Avengers Tower? My only guess is that there are two Jarvis Skrulls, which would explain his uncanny ability to be in two places at once and make a killer cup of joe at the same time.

Before I talk about the art, I did want to point out one of the things that I thought was really annoying about this issue. I know that snappy dialogue is his “thing” but why can’t these characters be serious during this fight? I understand that they have to speak during the fight, but all I wanted to do while reading the issue was slap them and tell them to focus! They’re fighting for the world. This is what I mean by no stakes. His characters are constantly being silly. Some would argue it’s a coping mechanism, which I understand, but if there were stakes in the series, then the emotion could be given to it. Because the book, this issue filled with fights in particular, is so silly, I don’t feel the sense of doom like I do with Final Crisis. And that’s what I want.

Yu’s art has been really strong the last few issues, and it’s been one of the main reasons to buy the book. While I did enjoy his art in this issue, I will admit that there were a few panels and figures that just looked weird. I think sometimes, with his style, those big action scenes can sometimes feature weird things because he focuses so much on the foreground action. But the action is well paced, and the story reads completely clearly. From a artistic standpoint, he has been doing a great job with the book, and I’ve really enjoyed his storytelling.

My only hope for next issue is that this book brings it. I want stakes, I want emotion, and I want some shit to go down. I don’t want more jokes.