Marvel’s Fear Itself certainly didn’t run behind schedule, but it feels as though the event and series have been going on for far longer than seven months. An extraordinary number of tie-ins and mini-series likely added to this feeling along with the fact that DC Comics’ competing “Summer Blockbuster,” Flashpoint, ended in August ushering a completely new DC Universe that’s running strong into its second month. It was never suggested that Fear Itself would have that kind of impact on the Marvel Universe, and the landscape has shifted to some degree. Unfortunately, it’s difficult not to see the changes as retreads of earlier stories.

Spoilers for Fear Itself will follow.

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With the Summer coming to an end, DC Comics’ Flashpoint concluding and all the new number one issues DC is shipping every week, Marvel is just reaching the penultimate issue of their major event, Fear Itself. This series has had some big moments, but we’ve felt throughout that they weren’t sold with the impact they could have had. Chapter Six continues that trend along with a lot more set up for the final battle with the Serpent. This puts an impossible amount of pressure on Chapter Seven to bring the series to a satisfying conclusion.

Spoilers for Fear Itself in general, Fear Itself #6 specifically and the many possible fates of Bucky Barnes will follow.

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Big guys whomping on each another is obviously a major element of superhero comics, but it’s not the primary draw for KevinMLD and I. That being said, the battle between Thor and the transformed Hulk and Thing in Fear Itself #5 was spectacular. We’ve cited this series for lacking big emotion to go along with its big moments and we’re split as to whether that starts happening here. Regardless of what the characters are feeling, we’re seeing them move closer to the end of the series and things are looking grim.

Spoilers for Fear Itself and its associated titles to follow.

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We’re at the midway point of both Marvel’s Fear Itself and DC Comics’s Flashpoint. Each series has its share of strengths and weaknesses, but after four issues of Fear Itself it’s becoming difficult to envision a satisfying conclusion. We’ve seen a lot of worldwide carnage and destruction. Heroes like the Hulk and the Thing were corrupted by the Serpent, and Bucky Barnes, the current Captain America, was killed. Much of the impact of these events is just missing however. The series has an incredible number of tie-ins and mini-series telling different aspects of the story, but without having read them, the main series has at times seemed like a set of recap pages. Fear Itself #4 is an improvement, but where things have gone and how they have developed leaves something to be desired.

Spoilers for the issue and series will follow.

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Marvel’s Summer blockbuster, Fear Itself from writer Matt Fraction and artist Stuart Immonen, continued last week with issue #3. It’s an improvement for the series over issue #2, but there still seems to be something missing compared to the debut. It’s continues to be an interesting attempt to combine elements of the worlds of two of Marvel’s marquee heroes, but as we move through the Summer movie release schedule from May’s Thor to July’s Captain America the focus is shifting accordingly.

Spoilers for the issue and series will follow.

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