No News Satire Roundup today - I’m away for a wedding and have only had a chance to see about half of this week’s Daily Shows. Expect that post later next week.
If the first volume of Winter Soldier started off a little removed for my tastes, this one kicks it up several notches. It’s not without its issues, but I’m a lot deeper into this story now and ready to read more (light spoilers.)
If the first volume of Winter Soldier started off a little removed for my tastes, this one kicks it up several notches. It’s not without its issues, but I’m a lot deeper into this story now and ready to read more (light spoilers.)
Following
on from the events of the last volume, Bucky is on the trail of a ghost from
his past, a sleeper agent that he trained back in his Soviet days. Leo Novokov has woken from deep freeze and is
slowly grappling with the world in which he now finds himself. Flung into the present but steeped into the
past, he sets in motion a plan to torment his old trainer Bucky (as well as his
old Red Room cohort Natasha.)
I like
this volume way better than the first one.
While I’d still say I prefer the overall tone of comics like Ms. Marvel or Jughead, what really makes this volume work for me is the personal
stakes. Even though the sleeper agents
plot was introduced in the first volume and obviously tied into Bucky’s past as
the Winter Soldier, it mostly felt like a job that Bucky and Natasha were
uniquely qualified to address. Here,
though, with Novokov’s vendetta against Bucky, it’s so much more personal. This is a guy looking to hit Bucky where it
hurts, and Bucky has a hard time maintaining his composure in the wake of this
onslaught.
Another
thing I love is the scenes of Bucky and Natasha working together. I love watching kickass couples fighting
alongside each other in an equal partnership, and I feel like this volume
delivers on how I’d imagined Bucky/Natasha since I’d first heard that they were
a pairing in the comics. Moving in
tandem, implicitly trusting one another, able to see individually to different parts
of a task in the mutual assurance that both can handle themselves. It’s truly a pleasure to see.
Unfortunately,
that’s where I do run into a complaint with the volume; there’s not enough of
that. Novokov’s plans for Bucky involve
Natasha, and while I wouldn’t say she’s damseled – it’s more complicated than
that – the second half of the volume focuses more on Bucky and other guys
banding together against Novokov on Natasha’s behalf, rather than Bucky and
Natasha against Novokov. Even though the
specific way Natasha is involved in the plot is interesting (and certainly
designed for maximum impact,) it bugs me that she’s made into a piece on
Novokov’s chessboard instead of continuing on in her capacity as Bucky’s
partner. It’s not enough to make me
dislike the story, but I do hope volume 3 brings that aspect of the comic back
where it ought to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment