Advance Review: Fusion #1

Top Cow has been working on a mega-crossover for a while now, and it is finally here (well, technically here). Fusion #1 hits stores tomorrow, but Omnicomic has given it a read through to let you know if it's worth your time. So is it worth it? Read on (spoilers ahead). The story opens in Westchester, NY, at the ruins of Cyblade's ancestral mansion. A man named Ellis sits huddled over a fire, bracing for the cold that is upstate NY. His solitude is interrupted by a mysterious being however, cuing the Mighty Avengers. These Avengers are the creation in the aftermath of Civil War, featuring Iron Man as the leader and Ms. Marvel as a prominent member. Iron Man wants the group doing public relations damage control, emphasizing the importance of image (which is ironic considering that Image is one of the publishers of the book). Their philosophical debate about the merits of public relations is interrupted by a "superhuman" occurrence that causes them to reroute their flight to investigate. What do they find when they arrive? Well besides the semi and trailer loaded with logs that is flung at them, they encounter a Lobo-looking behemoth wrecking shop. His name happens to be Ripclaw. The fight is what you'd expect: Ms. Marvel holds her own until she's thrown to and fro, when Widow steps in and drops some pressure points on Ripclaw. He takes the fight to a local factory where he brings the roof down, creating enough of a diversion for him to make an escape as the Avengers save the workers. The Thunderbolts observe from afar and allow them to clean up the mess, especially considering the fight was in their territory and they weren't invited. Cyberforce is back at the ruined mansion where Robert detects that something was there before them. This revelation prompts him to morph into a beast, followed by an escape through the forest. Pan to a debilitated Ripclaw with Venom perched upon his chest, claiming his victory over the beast. Clearly the Thunderbolts have an agenda with Ripclaw, otherwise they wouldn't have knocked him out. The Avengers are well on their way to discovering who it was they fought earlier. A quick perusal of the S.H.I.E.L.D. database shows that the creature had a run-in with Wolverine at some point (to which Ms. Marvel quips that they could even be related). The analysis takes them to an area where a series of CCTV shots captures Ripclaw in the area, eventually drawing them to a lighthouse with a strange energy signal. Where they find Ripclaw. This issue is the first of three, so as far as pure brawling goes this book was relatively light. We're "introduced" to the three major teams involved (Mighty Avengers, Thunderbolts and Cyberforce), as well as Ripclaw in his murderous rampage. Definitely a setup issue, which makes sense considering it's only the first one. But I'm pretty stoked to see what the next issue has in store for the story, and you should be too. Pick it up when you get your weekly haul of new comics.

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