Red Skull #2 Comic Recap/Review

Red Skull #2 Recap/Review – Annihilation

Red Skull #2 Comic Recap

Magneto has little time to react to the appearance of the Red Skull, as the two men are quickly swarmed once again by the undead. Fortunately, the Red Skull finds the Winter Soldier’s shield, and happily takes up any opportunity to sully the memory of his old foe. When Eric refuses to work with the Red Skull, who he views as a monster, the legendary fugitive uses the shield to knock Magneto out cold.

Unconscious, Magneto dreams of him and the X-Men facing an incursion. Rogue begs for help as the world around them is destroyed…

Eric wakes up some time later, and finds himself being dragged through the jungles of the Deadlands. Magneto threatens his captor, but the Red Skull knows the mutant is no danger to him so long as Eric wears the inhibitor collar. The villain takes Magneto to his secret hideout, held within the mouth of a defunct Sentinel. Though Eric refuses to go in, the Red Skull points out that he has no other choice, and the mutant reluctantly enters.

Inside, Magneto mentions that he is surprised that the Red Skull wants to help anyone, and the man replies that the Deadlands have a way of changing people, making them do things they’d never thought they’d do. When the Red Skull begins drinking Sentinel coolant, Magneto realizes his captor/saviour is quite mad. Eric is tempted to just kill the Red Skull right now, and earn his freedom from Doom. However, he is surprised when the Red Skull openly offers Magneto a blade made entirely from Adamantium, and goads the mutant into attacking. Magneto obliges, only for the Red Skull to easily overpower the weakened mutant in spite of being impaled in the hand.

Still, the Red Skull is impressed, even letting Magneto keep the dagger as a sort of participation award just for having tried. The villain finally manages to persuade the mutant to join forces with him after offering to remove Magnetos collar, and together, the two men set out for New Xandar. Crossing the sea, the Red Skull asks Eric about what people say of him in Doom’s world. When Magneto says that everybody thinks he is dead, the Red Skull comments that both men are only really guilty of not believing Doom is a real god.

Suddenly, the men are surrounded by the forces of Annihilus. They surrender their weapons, and are brought to the lord of New Xandar. The Red Skull offers to Annihilus a way past the Wall and into the rest of Battleworld – presenting Magneto as their way out. Annihilus is impressed at this ambitious plan as it will mean taking on Doom himself, but the tyrant knows that he isn’t the one who needs to be convinced. Magneto is furious, as all he wants is not war but to be free. But the Red Skull points out freedom is impossible if Doom rules over Battleworld as a false god. But Magneto doesn’t trust the Red Skull, so the villain replies that he has faith in Magneto, and frees his companion of the inhibitor collar. Testing out his new powers, he kills one of Annihilus’ lackeys.

The tyrant is furious at this but the Red Skull holds him off, asking what Magneto will do now that he is free, and the Red Skull’s life now is in the mutant’s hands. Frustrated, Magneto flies into a rage, unleashing his full power and tearing the surrounding room into pieces. Annihilus is enraged at this, but the Red Skull knows what is happening and that everything will be okay. Taking the debris from his outburst, Magneto surrounds himself in armour, and asks to be taken to where the wall is at it’s weakest. The SHIELD will fall, and Doom’s rule will end. And then, Battleworld will belong to the Red Skull.

Red Skull #2 Comic Recap

Hello and welcome to Comic Island, my name is Arden, and this is my recap, and review, of Red Skull #2.

So last issue we got some pretty crazy surprises. The whole experience was unexpected but a lot of fun. But I didn’t go into this comic expecting the same level of a plot twist in issue two. You just can’t top that sort of thing. Still, issue number two offers something very different. The whole plot and aesthetic still remind me of of the movie Apocalypse Now, which is good because that’s a pretty great movie.

This comic is also mostly just an extended conversation between Magneto and the Red Skull, followed by a rather awesome negotiation with Annihilus. But the dialogue is well written and the dynamic between these two characters is interesting enough that the comic carries on this quite nicely. I really like the Red Skull in this comic, who knows that he has to put himself out there and take some pretty big risks to escape the Forbidden Zones, and proves to be perfectly willing to do things like put his life in Magneto’s hands if it means taking over Battleworld. The only thing I don’t like completely is the art. It works well to convey the vivid, merciless nature of the Deadlands, but once we start crossing into New Xandar the art doesn’t function as well to convey the new domain or the return of Magneto and his powers, and it takes away from the tension of moments like when Magneto is finally freed.

It’s not a problem that breaks the comic, but it is a bit of a flaw. Consider it a weakness in the art that holds down an otherwise fun comic. But it still deserves a recommendation for being one of the more interesting and fun of the Secret Wars tie-ins, easily ranking with some of the best we’ve seen out of Battleworld. I recommend you check this series out for yourself. It’s going to be short, as I’m pretty sure we only have one more issue of the Red Skull left, but it’s been a fun, unpredictable ride, and I honestly have no idea what is going to happen next.

Let me know what you think in the comments section below. And, as always, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and keep reading comics.