Review: Original Sins
Quick Summary
Pros: The main event tie-ins have their positive moments. The shorter stories are excellent and give a unique look at humorous aspects of the Marvel Universe. The artwork looks good in nearly every chapter.
Cons: One of the main tie-ins may only appeal to Young Avengers fans. The other main tie-in has a disappointing flaw. The new series preludes don’t add much to the volume.
Overall: This is a unique comic collection that has a few big positives that are somewhat lost in a sea of mediocrity. The big positives come from unique short-stories from various Marvel characters, most of which are funny in some way. However, the rest of the collection is more mixed when it comes to quality and tends to just be passable. This collection will primarily appeal to fans of the Young Avengers and readers who are very interested in all aspects of the Marvel Universe.
Story
Original Sins can essentially be split up into three different types of stories. The first are direct tie-ins to the action from the Original Sin (Review) event, wherein heroes deal with fallout from this epic event. The second are preludes to new comic book series, which exist as a result of what happened in Original Sin. The third are short and often humorous tales that reveal unique secrets from throughout the Marvel Universe.
Due to the vast range of stories contained here, Original Sins has a diverse level of quality. On one hand, the main event tie-ins and the new series preludes are all pretty average and fail to do much that really stands out in a memorable way. On the other hand, the short tales from the Marvel Universe are incredible and are the perfect complement to the Original Sin (Review) main event. This makes the collection worth it in some ways but not worth it in others.
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The longest and most prominent story in Original Sins is a direct tie-in to the main event. This story, written by Ryan North, follows a few members of the Young Avengers as they try to fix a local problem that took place during Original Sin (Review). This is an entertaining story with a couple of exciting twists and turns to keep things interesting. However, its focus on character development for the Young Avengers limits its appeal to readers who are already fans of their characters, making it harder for other readers to simply jump into this story.
The other tie-in to the main event has Nick Fury reveal that Dum-Dum Dugan has been a Life-Model Decoy since the 1960s. Though this is an excellent glimpse into the twisted mind of Nick Fury, it also effectively robs a major Marvel character of dozens of fantastic stories.
Original Sins also contains the preludes to a couple of new comic series that arise in the fallout of Original Sin (Review). Each of these preludes is interesting and stands out as something unique. However, they aren’t entertaining at all on their own. Instead, these feel like commercials for something yet to come and don’t really add much to this particular volume.
The biggest positive in Original Sins ends up being the short, humorous tales focused on revealing random secrets from throughout the Marvel Universe. These range from a quick and wholesome story where Lockjaw attempts to find his lost bone, to a more elaborate tale about a man who believed he could outsmart Doctor Doom. Each one of these stories has a certain appeal to it and helps give a diverse look at events across the Marvel Universe. Honestly, the only problem with these tales is that they go by too quickly. If this entire collection had comprised of short stories like these it would have been far more worthwhile.
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Art
The artwork in Original Sins is as diverse as the story but tends to trend positive. The entire collection fluctuates from serious and detailed depictions of realistic characters to more lighthearted and wacky depictions depending on what the particular story demands. For example, Alex Maleev’s gritty artwork in the Doctor Doom issue is a wonderful compliment to the anxiety-inducing story. Meanwhile, Chip Zdarsky’s more lighthearted art in the “No Sin-Situation” story works better with the comedic nature of that particular story. This balancing of tone can be seen throughout this comic and is handled well in nearly every story. Overall, this is a visually positive collection.
Continuity
Original Sins is a miniseries created as a tie-in to the Original Sin (Review) event. All of the stories here take place sometime after the conclusion of Original Sin #2.
Most of the stories here conclude either in this volume or at the end of the Original Sin (Review) event. However, a few go on to create new comic series. These include:
- Deathlok’s story, which continues in Deathlok Vol. 1: Control. Alt. Delete.
- Black Knight’s story, which continues in Black Knight: The Fall of Dane Whitman.
- Lineage’s story, which continues in Inhuman Volume 1: Genesis.
This volume also makes references to another comic book, detailed below:
- The Young Avengers story contained here is somewhat of a continuation of the team’s story from Young Avengers Vol. 3: Mic-Drop at the Edge of Time and Space.