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| Front cover of Marvel TPB Legendary Star-Lord volume 2 |
Score (out of 5 Capes)
A mixed-bag collection that opens with two charming tales of the thrill of new romance, another that starts to set up the Black Vortex event, followed by three chapters in that crossover extravaganza, and ending with an adventure of a related but very minor character. Sometimes fun, often-times confusing, it shows the potential to become quite a source for space adventures but is not there yet.
My Review
The second volume TPB of 2014's Legendary Star-Lord by Marvel Comics continues to add some depth to this character. With family history and a budding romance with an Earth-bound love interest, Peter Quill is given opportunity to express a range of emotions. It is an important chance to stretch beyond his most common frat-boy-esque devil-may-care attitude.
Writer Sam Humphries handles the blossoming love very well. The action in the first chapter of this collection centers around an awkward holo-date between Peter and Kitty Pryde. Long-distance relationships are challenging at the best of times, but what if that distance is measured in interstellar parsecs? Thankfully, the technology exists to allow a hologram call between the lovers, apparently with zero lag time in the transmissions, too!
It is the most fun chapter of the collection. Humphries gives us inner-voice narration by both Kitty and Peter, as they each stress over how it's going and did they just say or do something stupid? Such cute mind-games, made all the more difficult when the Slaughter Squad is trying to hunt him down.
But have no fear - the ever-resourceful Kitty knows a space-jet she can commandeer on short notice, one capable of traversing the distances in minutes or some other relatively short period of time. Which begs the question: why bother with a holo-date in the first place? Why not make what is apparently no more than a day-trip to cover the distance?
Once she does arrive, the dramatic rescue sequence, saving Peter by phasing him out of Mister Knife's fortress, gives artist Freddie Williams II an opportunity for some of the most creative work in the book. The slashing panel, following the tumbling heroine, works perfectly.
All of this wraps around the big twist that galactic villain Mister Knife is none other than Peter's father, the deposed emperor himself. It sets up some fun banter as they argue about his motives and actions. But the whole "I Am Your Father" angle feels overdone, and not particularly well handled in this case either, other than as one-dimensional archetypes.
The middle of this book is entirely devoted to this title's contributions to the Black Vortex crossover event. This ancient celestial artifact fills those who embrace its temptations with immense cosmic energy, making them far more powerful and amping up their greatest strengths.
Spreading its stories over this title as well as Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men titles, the Black Vortex lasted over a dozen chapters in all. Legendary Star-Lord does a better job than the others at filling in key details of the characters and forces at play, so kudos to Humphries for that.
And lead artist Paco Medina infuses the images with a vibrancy and intensity befitting the conflicts between and within these characters and teams.
But it is not a strong or compelling story. As each character is in turn faced with the temptation to take on the cosmic energies for themselves, we do get a little nod to their internal struggles. But it does not compensate for the chaotic story or the excessive number of characters all crowding for panel space. A disappointment, overall.
The final chapter of the book is also the final issue of the ongoing series (ended as part of the Marvel "Secret Wars" storyline and then relaunched with a new premiere issue). It focuses on Peter's half-sister Victoria and her own schemes and plots. In a long-running series, there is lots of room to dedicate an issue to a deep-dive into a secondary character or introducing a new peripheral character. Here, it feels like a place-holder, a throw-away tale while the main characters are on hold, awaiting the company-wide crossover event about to hit. It fosters the one-dimensional "bad Dad" personality of former emperor J-son but little else.
The book, and the series that came to an end with these tales, had some shining moments but they were sadly outnumbered by the uninspired, confusing or overly chaotic sections. I give it two capes out of five.
What I loved
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| Kitty Pryde phases through the enemy fortress |
Kitty to the rescue! With boyfriend Peter in the hands of Mister Knife, her rescue plan was to point her spaceship directly at his coordinates, crash into the fortress holding him and use her momentum to phase through all the barriers until she reached him.
It is a creative plan, with at least a passing nod to superhero physics. Best of all, though, is the way artist Freddie Williams II illustrated the action: a wonderful, tumbling, slashing strip cutting diagonally across the page, with loads of fun little encounters en route.
What I didn't love
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| Black Vortex version of Star-Lord |
As I complained elsewhere (see Related Reviews), the Black Vortex crossover event is not one of the better cross-title tales you'll read. It is chaotic and confusing, with odd choices of participants, a questionable name (Vortex has a meaning, but the magic mirror at the centre of these tales has little to do with it) and an over-kinetic, overloaded and hyperactive plot that is difficult to follow.
All of which applies to the three and a half Black Vortex tales in this book. They do include a little more explanation about the foundations of the story than the Guardians of the Galaxy tie-in, filling in some of the gaps. But the story remains somewhat incoherent with too many characters, too many starts that fail to finish and, ultimately, it fails to hold the reader's interest.
Related Reviews
Guardians of the Galaxy vol 5 Through the Looking Glass - Black Vortex tie-in book
Guardians of the Galaxy / All-New X-Men - the Trial of Jean Gray
Quick Reference Details
Writers: Sam Humphries
Artists: Paco Medina (#6, 9-12), Freddie Williams II (#7, 8)
Published By: Marvel Comics
Published When: July 22, 2015
Parental Rating: Teen
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| Back cover of Marvel TPB Legendary Star-Lord volume 2 |
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