Customer Reviews

Untold Tales of the New Universe

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In 1986, readers looked on with mild interest as Jim Shooter, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, introduced "The New Universe", a 25th anniversary celebration focused around the creation of a new line of superheroes. These weren't Marvel's standard type of spandex-clad extroverts who would save Manhattan 10 times before lunch; instead, this would be heroes and villains of a more subtle nature, based in a reality parallel to the standard MU. Due to shifting creative teams and lack of direction for the various titles, the readers' mild interest turned to confusion, and the New Universe was eventually cancelled - not that anyone really noticed by that point. The concepts were somewhat interesting, but for multiple reasons, the New Universe just didn't take, and it languished for 15 years in Marvel limbo... well, time's up! Thanks to some brief appearances in more recent titles such as Quasar and Exiles, the New Universe is getting another shot, and from what I have seen in the trade paperback UNTOLD TALES OF THE NEW UNIVERSE, they're off to a decent start. For the most part, these stories are well written, and the artwork is good enough to further my appreciation of them. Granted, my interest in these characters petered out pretty quickly in the `80s, but I have to hand it to Marvel for giving this much-maligned property another shot, especially in a time where companies tend to ignore older characters in favor of creating new ones by the second and disposing of them twice as quickly. I have always maintained that any misguided concept, no matter how ridiculous, can find its purpose in the hands of a capable editor or writer. It may take almost 2 decades, but it can be done!

UNTOLD TALES OF THE NEW UNIVERSE collect 6 stories set in the New Universe of the '80s, taken from the one-shots UTOTNU: Star Brand, Justice, Nightmask, DP7, & Psi-Force; Amazing Fantasy #18-19; and New Avengers #16. The book begins with the Green Lantern-ish Star Brand, in perhaps the best story of the bunch, as a dimensional traveler explains to Ken Connell the nature of Marvel's multiverse and shows him how he has squandered the power of the Star Brand. This story plays brilliantly on the actual faults of the original New Universe - it's part parody, part accusation. Then there's Mark Hazzard: Merc, in a short tale that packs an unexpected, humorous punch. Next is Justice, coming to realize the chain of events that could be set in motion by his judgments. Then Spitfire, the armored wonder, must avert the Chernobyl disaster, and Nightmask finally gets around to battling his foe The Gnome for the life of his sister, in a story that was never finished in the original series. The collection rounds off with the team DP7 being recruited to battle an ancient evil , Kickers Inc. literally go to Hell, and Psi-Force battling... another Psi-Hawk? Featured creators include writers Jeff Parker, Tony Lee, Peter David, Fred van Lenten, CB Cebulski, and Tony Bedard; and artists Javier Pulido, Leonard Kirk, Carmine di Giandomenico, Arnold Pander, MD Bright, and Russ Braun, with a cover by John Romita Jr.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the stories in this collection. Does that mean they were all perfect? No - in fact, a couple felt like filler. Unfortunately, there is an even bigger problem with UNTOLD TALES OF THE NEW UNIVERSE: some of the writers and artists didn't take a proper "eighties" mindset for their stories. These stories are all supposed to fit in with the original titles, so having characters use modern slang in their speech or appear with modern hairstyles and attire doesn't set the mood. Alternatively, some creators go overboard with reminding you it's the `80s, with clumsy references to the culture of the time, and then going a step further to explain the reference in case you didn't get it. It's a stain on an otherwise enjoyable collection of stories, but it certainly doesn't ruin it. I'm now looking forward to what Warren Ellis will do with these characters in the upcoming NEWUNIVERSAL.