Is it a spoiler to say that someone dies in Avengers Arena when its very concept rests on the question “Who will die next?” Well, there’s your spoiler warning anyway. Another one bites the dust, shrinking the cast yet again. If this keeps up, writer Dennis Hopeless will have to start borrowing teenage heroes from the Young Avengers cast. The death results from a series of intense and highly dramatic chess moves that all stem from character moments we’ve seen throughout the series. Although, when Arcade makes a move, you can bet he’s cheating.
While the first two deaths of Mettle and Red Raven earned my sympathy (“Nooo!” and “Whyyyy?!” were my reactions, respectively), this one strikes an entirely different chord. I kind of wanted it to happen ("Oh, snap!" I think I said). Has Hopeless really made it so I’m relating to these kids in their desperate situation so strongly that I not only condone murder but am actively wishing for it? Not quite. The situation is fueled by teenage hormones and is downright manipulative of the reader, but that he’s making me feel these conflicted feelings at all means that he’s giving Avengers Arena a dose of much-welcomed moral ambiguity.
No matter how conflicted the story may make you, you’ll feel no such thing for artist Kev Walker’s absolutely stunning pages. The latter half of the book has some crazy moments that are sold by Walker’s visceral details. The look on Katy’s face as she went bloodthirsty made my stomach drop. You might not agree with the path Avengers Arena is taking, but it’s hard to argue that it makes you feel something every time.
Joshua writes for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl or on IGN. He is not human, he is a meat popsicle.
Source : ign[dot]com
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