Original Sin

by Mark Waid, Ed Brubaker, and Jason Aaron

Jim Cheung (Illustrator)

• ISBN10: 0785190694
• ISBN13: 9780785190691
• Publish Date: 24 November 2014 (first published 22 October 2014)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 29 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Marvel Comics
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 392
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Original Sin is a compilation of several stories, collecting Original Sin 0 through 8, as well as 3.1 through 3.4, 5.1 through 5.5, and Original Sins 1 through 5. Between that and the fact that it sets the stage for many different characters (and thus different series) it gets a little bit confusing. Specifically for those following the Thor plotline (like me), everything in this volume happens between the time for Thor: God of Thunder and Thor: Goddess of Thunder.



Needless to say, there is a lot that goes on in this volume. We have the main plot, Original Sin, which follows many of the Marvel characters trying to solve the death of the Watcher, most notably (in my mind) including: Nick Fury, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk (well, less solving and more smashing in his case, I suppose), Captain American, Black Panther, Winter Soldier...I really could keep going if I wanted to, but you get the idea. From the main plot are two spin-offs, one includes issues 3.1-3.4 (have I mentioned that this gets confusing?) which focuses on the relationship between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. The other spin-off has issues 5.1-5.5 and is about Thor trying to get back his long lost sister, Angela (whom he didn't know about until this arch). The final (thankfully) plot is Original Sins, which follows the Young Avengers escapades during the time of Original Sin. I think it could have been split into its own volume, but really, who's going to complain about getting more issues in one volume?
Since SO much happened in this volume, I'm going to focus on what I found to be the most notable. First there’s the Watcher dying; yikes. Having read some other series that are dated later than this, it didn't come as a huge surprise to me, but I was still surprised about the whole thing. They made him seem more human right before they did it too, to get you right in the feels. Fury is recruited by Captain America to help solve the murder (which is extra relevant because the Water collected dangerous weapons, many of which have now been looted). Fury in turn recruits Black Panther and has him set up specific teams to go to explicit locations for investigating (red flag, anyone?).
Orb, Oubliette Midas and her father are all involved, but on the other side of things. Interestingly they come in contact with something courtesy of the Watcher, and it causes a transformation in them. That part was particularly interesting. I would have been happy if that had been focused on more.
If you want to follow up on the Orb, I know for a fact he shows up now and then in Doctor Strange (also by Jason Aaron), and I'm assuming in other series as well. Oubliette shows up in Mighty Thor: Lords of Midgard and later volumes.
If I'm being completely honest with myself though, I read this entire volume for one moment: to see what happened or didn't happen to Thor to make him lose his hammer. Needless to say, the one page spread given simply wasn't enough (and by that I mean I am very greedy and just want Unworthy Thor to come out and answer all of my questions). It did give me some additional context however, so that made it worth it.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[pamela]

At first I loved this! it was gripping, fast paced and exciting. I wanted to know who killed The Watcher, I wanted to see where the many twists and turns would lead. Then I got to the end and thought, what?

Original Sin was both too much and too little. It had too much to cover and not enough time to do it in a satisfactory way. There were so many plot lines opened and yet the narrative became over saturated, making very few of them resolved, or even making narrative sense on closer inspection. characters played a part who disappear entirely, other characters are constantly present but seem to exist only to pad out the number of superheroes present, and there are some huge plot points opened up which deserved exploration which seemed to be glossed over.

I was engrossed while reading, and indeed kept telling everyone how awesome it was. But that was while I was expecting a satisfying finish, with a decent amount of resolution for a self - contained story arc. The compilation seemed longer as it's last quarter is a number of self contained stories, and so visually it kept looking like there was still plenty of reading for a resolution. But when it came, it felt disappointing, casting a shadow over everything that I'd read previously.

I will still recommend Original Sin, even if only for the art, which is stunning. It serves it's function perfectly while remaining a work of art in its own right.

All in all a disappointing read, but worth picking up if you're a fan of Marvel.