Since the real Nick Fury made his presence known in Original Sin the outcome of the entire event is unknown. Jason Aaron has presented a Nick Fury that is neither a hero nor villain to the story. He is somewhere down the middle and it is unknown what side he will end up leaning towards when all is said and done. All that I know is that I am ready to see where Aaron takes us next with Original Sin #7.
Creative Team
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Mike Deodato
Colorist: Frank Martin
Story Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Review
The mysterious ride that is Original Sin continues with Nick Fury fighting the Avengers, who are looking for answers from their one-time ally. While the entire fight had a predictable outcome it was the emotion that Jason Aaron was able to inject into the dialogue, along with Mike Deodato’s phenomenal artwork to back that dialogue up, which made the issue work.
Original Sin #7 may very well be the best issue we have gotten so far in this event. This is because Original Sin #7 does the best job in balancing character development and fast-paced action. It’s something that this event has not been known for, as most issues have been more concerned with a lot of talking head scenes. This is not to say that all the talking head scenes weren’t important or interesting but there has to be a balance when it comes to events such as this.
Jason Aaron is able to strike that exact balance here with the Avengers finally confronting Nick Fury. Even when it was clear that the Avengers, specifically the ones who shared a history with Nick, where holding back Nick was not. For Nick, this was a battle for survival and he wasn’t willing to let the Avengers stop him from accomplishing his mission. Nick’s actions were given an even greater weight thanks to how Aaron wrote Captain America, Black Widow, Falcon and Wolverine’s interaction with Nick during the course of the fight in space. Wolverine being offended about Nick violated the sanctity of “Meat Night” and Captain America, Black Widow and Falcon’s confusion in Nick’s betrayal added weight to the entire fight.
The fight itself was well-choreographed, with Deodato bringing a lot of great impact to the punches and energy blasts all the characters were throwing around. With the exception of Spider-Man and the Hulk, all of the characters involved got in their fair shot in during the course of the fight. But even though the Avengers threw all of their heavy hitters at him, Nick was still able to overcome the team without much of a scratch. His final words to Captain America also gave Nick’s final decision even greater weight as other Watchers arrived on the Moon.
The Watchers arrival played in nicely with all of the flashback sequences that were woven in throughout this issue. The flashback scenes gave an added sense of tension to the fight that was unfolding on the moon and did paint Nick as someone who knows he is on his final mission. The Orb, Dr. Midas, Exterminatrix and the Mindless Ones presence on the Moon also help to make what happens next a bit more unpredictable. What these characters do when they meet with Nick is unknown but exciting.
That said one part in this entire sequence was how Nick took down Thor. Seeing Nick be the one that causes Thor to become unworthy of Mjolnir, making room for the female Thor that Nick teased to being Thor Odinson’s sister, did not feel earned. This is because up to this point Thor has not played much of a role in this series and his history with Nick is not very deep. It would’ve made more sense for the event that leads to Thor becoming unworthy of wielding Mjolnir to take place in Aaron’s Thor series or Uncanny Avengers, where Thor is a major focal point. But for it to happen in Original Sin #7 feels cheap and only done here because Marvel wanted it to be a “shocking” moment in the event.
I was also not a fan of how the group Nick assembled are nothing more than side characters in this story. These characters have spent more time arguing with one another than doing something on their own accord. If these characters don’t do something big in the final issue of Original Sin their involvement in this event will be a waste of a group of great characters.
Overall: Original Sin #7 had all the elements to be an outstanding issue. Unfortunately, there were a few things that held this issue back from reaching that level. But even as this issue does not get to the quality it should be at there was a lot to like in this issue. Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato showed us a Nick Fury that won’t let anyone get in his way, not even the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The Avengers’ interaction with Nick was the heart of the issue that helped make the anticipation for what happens next harder to wait for.