The New Avengers: Illuminati #1

When I first started finding out about the Illuminati, I believed that they'd only appeared in specials and "one off" issues of The New Avengers. I later learned that they had a mini series of their own and so I wanted to check that out.

Man, aside from the obvious, I don't really care for any of these characters but I love them together (though I wish Black Panther was around).

The story takes place shortly after the Kree/Skrull war as this bunch decides to flip the would-be invader Skrull the finger one last time. They appear on a Skrull vessel with a terse warning.

The proud Skrull consider it their destiny to own Earth and so they tell Mr. "Fantastic" Richards to stuff himself. In response, Black Bolt demolishes their ship with his hyper-destructive vocal abilities as the team teleports back to their own mode of transportation, all to Namor's great delight . 

Ha ha ha ha! You could easily argue that he's being a complete dick but seen from the point of view of a monarch who has seen numerous invasion attempts against his turf, it seems pretty much on point. 

Of course, it bites him in the ass though as the Skrull won't let them leave that easily.

The Skrull then begin studying the genetic anomalies of their various prisoners, Namor included of course.

Still better than an anal probe...

An armourless Tony Stark escapes the poking and prodding (in rather questionable fashion, in my opinion) and one by one, frees his teammates. 

It is a brief moment but Namor shows the most passion for hitting things when the time comes to free Richards from torture. In light of their many battles, verbal and physical, a certain amount of affection is still evident there. Nice job there by writer Brian Michael Bendis. 

 

The restored team swipe a ship and beat it, handing the Skrull yet another defeat. Or...did they?

Ooh! Cryptic!  

There isn't anything particularly innovative about a story in which the heroes are captured, one escapes and the others are freed one by one, but big action, a couple of personal moments and the low key cliffhanger directly above made for an entertaining debut. I'm on/off with Bendis and don't typically expect much from his books but this was a nice start to a series.

The New Avengers: Illuminati #1

I've loved the concept of a secret union between the top dogs of the Marvel universe from the moment I first laid eyes on the cover below. I'm glad to finally get around to reading it, regardless of the various criticisms I've come across about the Civil War story.

We begin with the first meeting of the various men above and...one more. They are gathered in Wakanda years ago and naturally, T'Challa, the Black Panther, is also in attendance. It is shortly after the Kree/Skrull War that took place, in real time, in the early 70s, I believe.

Iron Man makes his pitch. He suggests that the various teams should unite under one banner to take on the world's problems. Namor is something other than impressed.

Namor argues that the public perception Iron Man expects, and cooperation between factions, would not happen because of some of the "questionable characters" among them.

And yet...He votes in favour of it on the condition that the entire operation be done with secrecy. This little program even includes a little mental monitoring by Professor Charles Xavier, something that I would think he would reject immediately but apparently not.

Black Panther does reject the proposal and warns that the whole thing will end badly.

And so we jump to the near present. The Hulk has devastated Las Vegas, killing several people in the process. Iron Man is being taken to task on the SHIELD helicarrier by some lady named (commander) Hill. I'm sure she's a big deal but I don't really know her.

They go over the old argument; If Spider-Man had simply killed the Green Goblin at some point, he'd have saved countless lives (the example works far better with Batman and the Joker...). Instead, the Goblin just goes back out there and kills a few more people. When is Spider-Man at fault for this? How often should the Hulk get away with this?

(Never. That's a stupid argument. No one can have the burden of murder thrust upon them)

With that in mind, the Illuminati meet. They plan to launch the Hulk into space where he can do no harm (in theory). I mean, they won't kill him, just...launch him into an endless void. You don't want to be cruel or anything.

But Hulk has a defender in Namor (see what I did there?), of all people. Those two have fought and argued numerous times but Hulk was a teammate and Namor's opposition feel quite appropriate. He will not tolerate the mere thought of this plan and makes his stance quite clear.

Namor and Iron Man battle underwater and Namor comes quite close to murdering his opponent here. He rips off his helmet and leaves him to sink like stone. Dr. Strange fishes them both out with some levitation type of spell before that happens.

Namor, then, is quite capable of committing murder to prevent murder. One to file away.

A disgusted Avenging Son beats it in a huff but shows up when invited at the next meeting. In that meeting, Iron Man previews Civil War for those in attendance (Namor, Strange, Reed Richards and Black Bolt). He explains that the government will expect all vigilantes (and mutants, Inhumans, etc.) to reveal themselves and to continue their activities only under SHIELD's oversight. He recommends that everyone sign up voluntarily.

The notion goes over like a fart in an elevator for most of the people in the room, including Namor who basically gives him in the finger.

And so a large crack begins to form in the Marvel universe.

I don't know how much of a factor Namor is in the actual Civil War mini series. It doesn't appear as though he's involved all that much, but he did show up in issues of Black Panther and Wolverine at the time. Click on the "Civil War" tag on the right to have a peek at those.

He is a far bigger part of this book than I thought, being that he is only half visible on its cover. His trademark arrogance and temper are both on display prominently and, as usual, he swims against the current, so to speak.

In typical Brian Michael Bendis fashion, the sitting-around-the-table debates are a little long but that aside, as a fan of Namor, I don't have much cause to complain here. An Iron Man fan might, but that's not my problem. ;-)