Scan barcode
meg614's review against another edition
3.0
It's my fault. I should have read Avengers and New Avengers before reading this..
civreader's review against another edition
2.0
Don't really know what's going on. Is this the "real" world, or one of the endless alternate universes? Who am I supposed to be rooting for? Decent artwork, though. Just don't know what's going on...
skolastic's review
4.0
The last collections of Avengers/New Avengers - with Cap remembering everything the Illuminati have been doing, and Namor resurrecting the Cabal - were truly spectacular, so my hopes for this were high. Hickman mostly delivers. I'm still not a huge fan of ramming home how evil villains are by throwing gore all over the place, but Hickman still manages to handle the Cabal well (and Doom's dinner with Namor is possibly my favorite part of this entire thing). If there's one big complaint I have, it's that there's not nearly enough here to catch up other people on what's been going on (if I hadn't already read the Marvel Now Captain America, I'd have some serious questions about what happened to Steve). If this is the "beginning of the end", it's a good start.
rtimmorris's review
4.0
Love all the set up, and to kick off the climax to Hickman's run 8 months after the last volume is brilliant. Still a little annoyed/confused by the Nihili/Abyss/Seeker stuff (and not a fan of Old Cap), but I've enough confidence in Hickman that Time Runs Out will only get better.
francomega's review
3.0
I'm not sure why I began spelunking down this rabbit hole, but here I am. Marvel's latest Biggest Event Ever. Anyway, here's where things stand: The different Earths of the multiverses are literally coming together. When they do, an incursion occurs and each planet's entire universe is destroyed. Solution? Sacrifice one of the planets to save, not only the other one, but both universes. Classic dramatic moral conundrum.
The players are: The Illuminati (Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Bruce Banner, Namor, Black Bolt, Capt. Britain, and Beast), who, as the self-appointed leaders of the world are taking it upon themselves to find a solution; the Cabal (Namor, Thanos, some other freaks), who are destroying these other Earths by hand, though Namor regrets his rash decision to recruit a bunch of psycho monsters); S.H.I.E.L.D. (Steve Rogers, Capt. Marvel, Hawkeye, the new Capt. America--Falcon, and Maria Hill), who are trying to stop the Illuminati because they don't want to destroy other planets; and the Avengers (Thor and a bunch of new to me characters, Sunspot, Smasher, Cannonball, Hyperion, Abyss, Starbrand, Nighmask, Manifold, and Ex Nihlio), who are trying to stop everything in their own way.
That's a lot of set-up for this story and it hasn't even really started yet. This book is a pretty solid intro to the action (better than Secret Wars: Prelude), though it's all buildup right now.
The players are: The Illuminati (Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Bruce Banner, Namor, Black Bolt, Capt. Britain, and Beast), who, as the self-appointed leaders of the world are taking it upon themselves to find a solution; the Cabal (Namor, Thanos, some other freaks), who are destroying these other Earths by hand, though Namor regrets his rash decision to recruit a bunch of psycho monsters); S.H.I.E.L.D. (Steve Rogers, Capt. Marvel, Hawkeye, the new Capt. America--Falcon, and Maria Hill), who are trying to stop the Illuminati because they don't want to destroy other planets; and the Avengers (Thor and a bunch of new to me characters, Sunspot, Smasher, Cannonball, Hyperion, Abyss, Starbrand, Nighmask, Manifold, and Ex Nihlio), who are trying to stop everything in their own way.
That's a lot of set-up for this story and it hasn't even really started yet. This book is a pretty solid intro to the action (better than Secret Wars: Prelude), though it's all buildup right now.
squidbag's review
3.0
First and foremost, this is only called Avengers: Time Runs Out because it took place in the pages of the two functional Avengers titles and has now been mooshed together. So that's an editorial titling, because this book has none of the feel of a typical Avengers story, instead having a black, bleak, "so it's come to this" sort of pre-apocalyptic set-up for the "new" Marvel Universe that's coming out of this Summer's Secret Wars.
So - it's dark and layered and does not reward new readers; this is no one's "jumping on point." This is enjoyable homework - you are reading this event in preparation for the next event, and as such, my least favorite kind of Marvel story. I understand the whys and wherefores, but when the status quo fluctuates like it does here and every character exists as a shade of grey, then they come off as somewhat soulless cogs in the machine of purpose-driven story.
Because it's Hickman, the writing is extremely well-done, and the art in this favors the small nuance the titanic, and not much in between. If a thing is simultaneously fun and frustrating (funstrating?) it gets three stars. On to chapter two.
So - it's dark and layered and does not reward new readers; this is no one's "jumping on point." This is enjoyable homework - you are reading this event in preparation for the next event, and as such, my least favorite kind of Marvel story. I understand the whys and wherefores, but when the status quo fluctuates like it does here and every character exists as a shade of grey, then they come off as somewhat soulless cogs in the machine of purpose-driven story.
Because it's Hickman, the writing is extremely well-done, and the art in this favors the small nuance the titanic, and not much in between. If a thing is simultaneously fun and frustrating (funstrating?) it gets three stars. On to chapter two.
miguel's review
4.0
Time Runs Out, the lead in to Secret Wars, begins 8 months after the events of Original Sin (where we last left both Avengers and New Avengers). In the intervening 8 months, relevant plot developments have occurred in the Captain America, Superior Iron Man, and Thor solo titles. Additionally, across those 8 months the Uncanny Avengers plot has unfolded and Axis has occurred, although these developments are fairly irrelevant to Hickman's Avengers/New Avengers.
As for the volume itself, it is a fantastic setup for the upcoming event and an engaging story in its own right. Although Steve's old age, Sam Wilson as Cap, Thor's transition to simply being Odinson, and the breakup of the Illuminati are all fairly confusing shifts that have occurred outside of Avengers/New Avengers, Hickman still delivers a strong continuity through Sunspot, Smasher, Cannonball, and the other "second string" Avengers. It is these characters that have served to facilitate the stronger emotional arcs throughout Hickman's run, and they haven't been left in the lurch here.
Hickman creates a strong sense of urgency, avoids tripping on the broader shifts in Marvel continuity, and manages to craft engaging plot questions that are intermittently resolved even within this particular volume. By shifting the focus from ideological conflict (I mean, really, what exactly is the ideological distinction between SHIELD's Avengers, The Cabal, and The Illuminati? It's getting messy) to emotionally intended plot beats, Hickman even manages to shake off the pretension of his New Avengers run up until this point. Time Runs Out begins as a resounding success.
As for the volume itself, it is a fantastic setup for the upcoming event and an engaging story in its own right. Although Steve's old age, Sam Wilson as Cap, Thor's transition to simply being Odinson, and the breakup of the Illuminati are all fairly confusing shifts that have occurred outside of Avengers/New Avengers, Hickman still delivers a strong continuity through Sunspot, Smasher, Cannonball, and the other "second string" Avengers. It is these characters that have served to facilitate the stronger emotional arcs throughout Hickman's run, and they haven't been left in the lurch here.
Hickman creates a strong sense of urgency, avoids tripping on the broader shifts in Marvel continuity, and manages to craft engaging plot questions that are intermittently resolved even within this particular volume. By shifting the focus from ideological conflict (I mean, really, what exactly is the ideological distinction between SHIELD's Avengers, The Cabal, and The Illuminati? It's getting messy) to emotionally intended plot beats, Hickman even manages to shake off the pretension of his New Avengers run up until this point. Time Runs Out begins as a resounding success.
ayejay's review
2.0
The cover promised me avengers. There were no avengers. Just old white men (and Black Panther) knowing what was best for everyone else.
nigellicus's review
5.0
I seem to have skipped what could be anything between one and ten books between this one and the last one I read. The Illuminati are on the run, the Cabal are wreaking havoc, heroes are running around, making preparations, studying stuff and pronouncing the inevitability of doom and the intolerable vastness of the... problem, whatever it is. I mean, I know what it is, I'm just not going to try to explain it to you. I should probably have found this more confusing than I did, but it was fine.
More...