Agents of Atlas #5 Review

Writer: Greg Pak / Artist: Nico Leon and Rachelle Rosenberg (Colors) / Marvel Stories don’t exist within a vacuum. The context of the narrative inherently changes some interpretations and reactions because the additional information changes the implication or explains certain decisions. This is particularly relevant when we discuss how Pak’s Agents of Atlas has evolved. When the New Agents of Atlas spun out of the War of the Realms, it was popular enough to spawn Agents of Atlas proper, which in turn has been popular enough to be followed by Atlantis Attacks. https://twitter.com/gregpak/status/1206663999389089793?s=20 As such, Agents of Atlas #5 exists as a conclusion to the developments of the Portal City of the Pan while also setting the stage for new things to come, and on both counts Pak, Leon, and Rosenberg have managed to produce a vibrant comic that feels satisfying on a variety of levels. The issue starts with Mike Nguyen having the literal and figurative high ground on the Agents of Atlas who are trying to figure out how to deal with his “creepy paramilitary to protect his extra-legal cross-dimensional domain that keeps getting attacked by dragons” and wow does that quote make me love comics so much. Brawn/Amadeus Cho’s crisis of conscience brings the arc in a fitting full circle and watching the help him get him back into the groove right before all of the action begins to escalate is a very nice touch.

  Pak juggles the ensemble cast brilliantly and all of th…