Conquest is a mediocre event because it's two principal characters are annoying as all hell and the plot has been building to something very slowly over the course of 11 months. The story opened with a bang in the Prologue issue, but has just been meandering around since then. The only really great aspect thus far has been the characterization and, again, that was just in the Starlord mini. Quasar, Moondragon, Adam Warlock, Wraith have all been boring and/or annoying as all hell, while badasses like Super-Skrull, Drax, and Ronan have been forced on the sidelines the whole time. I love Ultron's character, but he has had so little presence in the story; he's been off-panel for the majority of Conquest.
I'll acknowledge that compared to ANNIHILATION, it isn't fast paced. I'll even admit that a lot of the successful stars of the aforementioned event haven taken a back-seat to Phyla and Warlock. But I kind of admire the courage of it. It would have been a no-brainer for DnA to go, "Yeah, just have Ronan, Nova, and Drax tear the threat to the universe a new a-hole again" like last time. But I think they wanted to do their own thing, boost some other characters. Adam Warlock was a big figure in 90's space stories, the apex of the genre at Marvel, so to me it felt like a natural progression to try to dust him off. He's a bit emotastic, but he's had his moments.
Wraith was a big fat waste, though. Aside for his convenient power, he has done nothing and that seems sloppy to have a brand new character contribute so little. He wasn't the best, but man.
But I think the threat that Great Ultron's Phalanx is still a massive one. The Kree empire was the last "superpower" in the region (least unless you count the Shi'ar, who are always too busy with the X-Men) and they were infected and taken over in one issue. Now we see that Ultron wants to lead his armada back to Earth to finish off his Avengers enemies once and for all. It has been a slower ride but I see it as a great evolution of Ultron's character. I'm all for trying to boost other characters rather than overdoing the same stars over and over again, even if it isn't always a gamble that pays off. I mean, that is how most of the X-Men who weren't Wolverine, Gambit, or Rogue got smothered during the 90's.
Giffen's story had more explosions, but I feel CONQUEST is a sequel that deals with what is left. There was less smashing because there was less to smash; there were only the Kree and they lost in the Prologue.
Plus, you never know. Nova may end up saving the day anyway.
But finally, and perhaps most importantly, there has been no immediacy to the story. You never get the feeling that the universe is screwed. Compare that to the first Annihilation: the Nova Corps was wiped out, the Skrull empire was destroyed, Galactus was captured, his heralds were being hunted down, and there was never a shortage of badass moments (Annihilus vaporizing Quasar, Drax ripping out Thanos' heart, etc). Conquest hasn't had any of that kind of stuff yet. It's been a very slow-moving event that's really lacking the no-holds barred storytelling of the first Annihilation. Things feel a little too safe if something on Conquest's scale is to be taken seriously.
I don't know; seeing Gabe die or Groot do his thing were pretty cool moments. The Ultron reveal was solid. The issue that tied everything that Ultron did in the past to what he is doing now was effective. Like I said, there may seem like less immediacy and less of a threat because the Phalanx are basically taking over the scraps left after the Annihilation Wave wrecked everything.
I never cared about Adam Warlock before; he's been a bit stereotypical here, but at least he is trying to beat people with energy blasts, instead of sucking their souls.
It is a different sort of story, but I am still enjoying it a lot more than the mainstream Marvel event.
No it doesn't. Only ROCKY V sucked.
And yeah Blade Trinity was a disappointment, though I did like it, BO reviews showed the fans didn't but that can't be blamed on Blade. Heck, Blade didn't get most of the air time, it was Biel's and Reynolds. Blame Goyer, though I still like his work. And the tv show, though I didn't like it, was one of the highest watched shows on cable tv. Spike just couldn't afford to keep it. So yeah the character does have lots of steam left. 
I like AC but its nowhere near as exciting as the original. Starlord mini was the best and the story is meh/exciting at the same time if it makes sense.
