The world’s about to end as the invasion of the Scattered is coming to claim the Earth. Issue 3 opens up with our heroes preparing to go to war with an enemy ready to consume them all. I’d like to say that I really liked it but do feel it was a bit rushed. The story is tense with the events going at a pretty good pace. It takes no time for the Scatter to come Earth but boy does it feel underwhelming.

I appreciate the direction that writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning took the story. It felt more large scale with higher stakes. That being said, the final confrontation for the fate of the world does feel a little underwhelming. I wanted to see more of the cruelty of Scattered as they attack civilians or more of the battle between the Force Works and the Scattered as they struggle to make it to the machine. You know, have this Avengers moment where they work as a team.

The whole idea of the Scattered as structures for insectoid parasites was used at all. It wasn’t like there was a scene where the parasites attack Iron Man and he had to use his suit defenses to stop them nor do we see them eating people. Honestly, U.S. Agent surviving as long as he did against the Elite Scattered was a bit of a stretch. Yes, he’s strong and he has a cool energy shield but there’s no way he could’ve held out against them without having some serious, serious injuries.

The Scattered weren’t really interesting. They don’t really do much of anything except get beat by our heroes. The idea behind their methods is awesome but sadly we don’t really see how dangerous they can be. I hope Marvel allows these creatures to flourish and not be a one hit wonder.

Tom Tenney’s artwork is decent but it’s just not grabbing me. First, a lot of the shots of Wanda just look funny. She either looks like she has no chin or she has an extremely flat face. One picture even looks like she has an afro. Another issue that’s more prominent is that all the men have the same facial designs. I didn’t notice it before but Tony looks extactly like Agent. Even some of the male civilians look like him.

The Verdict: In the end, Force Works #3: Deathblow is a good issue though it doesn’t live up to it’s potential. I like the direction of it but just wish there was…well more. Still, I did enjoy seeing great characters being pushed to their limits. Force Works #3: Deathblow gets 3 out of 5.