The Hammer That Fell on Yancy Street… what a cool title for a book. It would also be a cool name for a band. ‘Fear Itself’ Book 3 is all over the place this month, from New York City to Washington DC to Asgard. There were a couple of times while reading this book I actually had to check and make sure I didn’t skip a page.
One small minor thank you to Marvel before I get into all my thoughts on this installment to Fear Itself. Thank you for the role call at the beginning of the issue, the Breakers of Stone, Wills, Men, Worlds, Oceans and now Souls; it can be kind of hard to keep track of them all month to month. So, thanks for that.
Just because this book had a lot of story to tell this month and hopped around in doing so, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. As the mysterious hammers continue to fall and claim heroes and villains, Ben Grimm (the Thing) is added to the ranks. The Thing has had a lot going on in Marvel lately with the death of Johnny Storm still weighing on his soul and the new Future Foundation still in it’s infancy. Needless to say, he has a lot on his mind. While investigating the hammer on Yancy Street, he is claimed and becomes Angrir Breaker of Souls.
I know Fear is spreading, but I have to wonder what is going to happen to all of these hammer bearers. Will there be some kind of lasting effect? This is far and away the part of the story I am finding the most interesting thus far.
The next big story is the continued fall into madness by the All-Father Kind Odin. Thor is imprisoned as Loki frees the God of Thunder warning him of Odin’s plans for Midgard (better knows as Earth). Odin is so afraid of the Serpent and Fear, his plan is to lay flame to Earth and eradicate Mankind to cut Fear’s power base from beneath it’s feet. Standing in the way of Odin’s plan is Thor. Lucky for Thor, Odin decides to give him a fighting chance and returns him to Earth in order to protect the realm; he even sends along the Mjölnir just to make it a fair fight. This continues to be an interesting story and the showdown between Odin vs. Thor and Odin vs. the Serpent both promise to be epic.
The third main story story this month deals with Steve Rogers and the Avengers battling Sin, now Skadi, and her army’s devastating attack on Washington DC to kick off her Blitzkrieg, U.S.A. As Captain America, Black Widow and Falcon get their “Avengers Assemble” on as they try to stem the tide, the daughter of the Red Skull and the current Cap (Bucky not Steve Rogers) battle it out in a showdown decades in the making. SPOILER ALERT >>>> This battle is crazytown! Sin is the first Avatar of the Serpent and systematically takes Bucky apart, literally leaving behind nothing but a hero missing his mechanical arm and a gaping chest wound as he dies in the arms of the Black Widow. Warning everyone the Serpent is here. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to make room for Steve Rogers to return to the Shield just as his summer blockbuster movie is upon us. <<<<< END SPOILER ALERT.
Fear Itself is shaping up to be a very good Marvel event. There are lots of questions, lots of answers and a lot more story to go. I haven’t been this interested in anything from Marvel in a very long time. Make sure to check back in July for Fear Itself Book Four: Worlds on Fire.
