Fear Itself Is Pretty Awesome

Most events usually disappoint.  Many of Marvel's events in particular suffer from tired, bloated storytelling despite fantastic concepts.  Take Civil War and Secret Invasion.  Both were wonderfully imaginative ideas that should have made for unforgettable stories, but fell short for one reason or another.  And now we have Fear Itself, the latest Marvel event which just debuted it's first issue.  And I have to say, it's pretty awesome.

The premise at it's core is very simple: the ancient Norse god of fear has returned and is going to start wreaking havoc.  Meanwhile, the heroes of the Marvel Universe are trying to come to grips with the fact that some issues they can't punch in the face, and how to deal with a public gripped by fear.  I don't think it has the same pizzaz as our planet being infiltrated by shape shifting aliens or the superhero community being torn in two, but it's close.  The stage is set for something truly epic, and if the Serpent and his Worthy are as nasty as I think they are, I have no idea how Earth's heroes could possibly pull through this time.

The undeniable star of the series is Odin, and to a lesser degree his son Thor.  We're seeing old school, grim, unrepentant bastard Odin.  And he's awesome.  If Matt Fraction can do anything right, it's writing authentic dialogue.  He's nailed the elegance of Asgardian speech, and we see it executed perfectly with the father/son dynamic shown here.  I don't know who Thor should be more afraid of: the Serpent or his own father.

Right now, Thor and Captain America are the focus of the event.  Which makes sense, because this comic was originally meant to capture the interest of their upcoming movies.  That being said, the focus on these two heroes is completely natural and makes sense story wise.  Steve is practically leader of the free world, and you can't have a story about Asgard without Thor.  I hope we get to see other Avengers shine in such a crisis, but I happy with the current focus on these two characters and their struggles.  I think Steve is going to finally take up his shield and uniform again, because if one man can take on Fear Itself it's Captain America.  God I love comic books.