Again, exactly. I wholeheartedly agree. I got that feeling from ANNIHILATION, much as I do for some other Marvel books like RUNAWAYS, YOUNG AVENGERS, DR. STRANGE: OATH, GLA, THE THING, and especially Image's INVINCIBLE.
To counter some of what I say about USM, comics like ANNIHILATION are WHY people read comics.
Unlike CIVIL WAR, where an equal amount of characters seem to be destroyed as are those who have become stronger, in ANNIHILATION, I could argue that almost every major character who didn't die became stronger in some way or another. Thanos got a redesign and finally "won" over Death. Nova went from "ex-sorta New Warrior" and occasional guest star to a bad-arse lone surviving Corpsman with mega power and more than enough cajones for not only a great showing here, but a shot an at ongoing (the last time he had an ongoing, it was the late 90's, it was done by Erik Larson, and it tanked in less than a year). True, Quasar died (and that irked some folks), but an even more obscure cosmic character, Phyla, at least got to inherit his legacy and mantle in dramatic fashion. Drax got a total revamp (and acted as a prelude with his own mini). Ronan & Super-Skrull, B-List FF enemies at times, become co-starring heroes and now have some new status quos to play with. Silver Surfer, although back heralding Galactus, at least looks due for more facetime (a regression, I suppose, but one character vs. the ENTIRE mutant race in Decimation is chump change). Peter Quill & Moondragon got used after years and years in the dumpster, and they're not alone. And even Annihilus got fleshed out, revamped, and evolved from B-List FF whipping boy to universal powerhouse. And I am sure someone could go on. Even Ravenous has gone from a "who dat?" to a decent level baddie.
Too many writers fear a "predictable" story, but what they fail to realize is that some stories fail by following a formula and some succeed by it, and it depends on the writing quality. You KNEW that the bad guys would go down here, that eventually Nova would have his showdown, and in no way did Giffen & Co. attempt to mislead you or deny it or feel ashamed of it. They just did it damn well. THAT is how it gets done. And it works every time.
Joe Q sometimes doesn't make good decisions, but publishing this "second string" even despite the fact that it's not his personal preference deserves a word of acknowledgement. Lord knows I rarely praise him. I mean, if we trash him for bad books & events, we have to give some credit for the good.
Hopefully, the next NOVA series will knock it out of the park. Who's writin' that one again?
