Avengers West CoastJENNIFER WISE

The theme/focus of this presentation is on the character Exodus. Exodus is the main villain within this comic book and has history with the characters which makes him a valuable character.

Theme and Focus

The name of the comic is Avengers West Coast.Exodus, formally known as Bennet du Paris, was born in the 12th century (Exodus (comics), Wikipedia). When introduced to villain, Apocalypse, du Paris’ powers became recognized, he became Exodus. He is known as one of the most powerful mutants on Earth and he held his own against the Avengers even though, he is said to be mentally unstable (Exodus, comicvine). Exodus’s powers include telekinesis, force field, healing, and more. These powers are said to be caused by the tampering done by Apocalypse (Bennet du Paris (Earth-616), marvel.wika).This comic deals with the Avengers who are angry about the fact that there have been people dying in the city known as Genosha and are fighting to try and get the board to allow them to go there and help them. They finally get the okay to go to Genosha and they come face to face with Exodus who has been killing people instead of just making them helpless which is a big problem with the Avengers. During their battle with Exodus, a mob of mutant people begin to attack the Avengers and their focus is away from Exodus while he has his own battle going on. Captain America and Beast go to save the people from being mutants whereas the Scarlet Witch goes to try and find Exodus. It ends on a cliff hanger where Scarlet Witch is about to battle Exodus.The beginning of the comic felt as though it was rushed. There was too much going on that the reader would most likely not be able to catch up on. When Exodus came in, it was unexpected. Due to the fact that he mainly deals with the X-Men, it was a smart idea to include him and throw in a surprise close to the beginning. However, the storyline between Scarlet Witch and Exodus should have been explained more due to the fact that this comic is not the first one Exodus and Scarlet With was in. When the Avengers split up, it made the comic move forward more and opened up a lot more of the plot. The mutant group that took the Avengers focus off of Exodus allowed Exodus to have more of a backstory within this comic and allowed the readers who did not know of him to get acquainted with Exodus. The ending was a smart move as it left everything open to interpretation as to what was going to happen between Scarlet Witch and Exodus.

Abstract

This scene works perfectly with McClouds establishing shot due to the fact it is a

wide shot at the beginning of a scene. It supports the them as this is when Exodus

first appears in this issue.

This McCloud principle works as well as the

shot from the comic is from a sort of eagle

eye perspective as the right panel shows.

The McCloud principle is that at the

beginning scene of some comics, the

artists create a long shot panel sometimes covering two pages to

set the scene.

The McCloud concept used works with this panel because, the way Exodus is

drawn with his frown lines and clenched jaw shows the exaggeration of emotion. This fits with the theme as it shows he thinks of himself as the good mutant.

This McCloud theory is about the way expressions are shown in characters.

This particular one is about how artists amplify key facial features to make

the emotion stronger.

This is an example of the McCloud method called, choice of flow. It works as you can see the artist

decided to overlap panels and go against original flow. This scene fits the theme as it shows Exodus

leaving and Scarlet Witch telling him no which could show their relationship.

This McCloud theory talks about how comic book artists

choose to frame their material and how they want

their comic to flow.

This goes with McCloud as it shows the mixture of indignation and anger that

McCloud touches on. This goes with the theme as it goes back to the relationship

between him and Scarlet Witch.

McCloud is showing how you can use indignation to further show an

emotion such as anger.

These two work as he is showing rage which is an example of how when you mix three emotions you come up with a new one. It is also choice of frame

due to the fact the artist chose to move closely into his face. This goes along with the theme as he

explains his views on certain subjects that humans do not understand.

McCloud is showing how if these emotions are combined,

the feeling of rage is the outcome.

McCloud in this panel is talking about how some artists use close ups to

frame their panels.

This McCloud theory is shown through the “AARR” this is at the top of the panel. This supports my theme as it

shows how powerful Exodus is.

McCloud is discussing the array of sounds used in comics and these

sounds specifically convey a sense of loudness.

This scene in the comic is an example of breaking the fourth wall. The fight

between the two characters is not within the border. This supports my theme as it

shows a fight between a human and Exodus.

McCloud is explaining how some artist put parts of their characters

outside of the frame or do not include a frame at all which results in

breaking the fourth wall.

This scene is an example of interdependent due to the fact that if the words were taken away,

the reader wouldn’t know how Exodus felt. This supports my theme as Exodus is talking about

the parallels of humans and mutants.

McCloud is explaining a concept known as interdependent which means that

without the words or without the picture, the panel would have a completely different meaning.

This picture shows what is going ot happen next and the words just help

to move it along. This fits with the theme as it is Exodus with another

enemy.

McCloud is talking about how sometimes the pictures in the panel is all that is needed but,

the words help accentuate the meaning of the picture.

Using both the top and bottom frames, this is an example of scene to scene. The two panels switch from Exodus’s fight to the Avengers. This fits with the theme as

it is showing once again how strong Exodus is.

Scene to scene describes how there can be one part of the

story happening in a panel and then in the next panel a separate

part of the story is happening that is not necessarily connected.

This McCloud theory works here because the words tell a story that the picture alone cannot convey.

This fits with the theme as he explains that he is a mutant and will always be stronger than a typical

human. Word specific talks about how the words are the most important part of the panel

and the picture goes along with the words.

The words “rather redly” go along with the fight as it is heating up. Therefore, the

words and picture work together. This goes with the theme as Exodus is declaring victory as he is stronger.

Duo-Specific means that both the words and the picture mean the same thing and

they both need to be there.

The action to action concept works here because it is a three panel fight scene. This fits with the theme as it shows his confidence in himself as a

fighter.

Action to action is when there are multiple panels that show a

type of action continuing.

This is an example of the surprised emotion which is part of the 6 major emotions McCloud talks

about. This fits with the theme as it shows that although he is strong against humans, can Exodus

win a fight against another mutant? These are examples of the most common 6 features for

comic book characters.

The McCloud theory works as you can tell she is more dominant due to the

way Exodus is shrinking back from her. This fits the theme as it is about to

reveal another part of his past.

Elevation and status means the person who is higher up is shown as more powerful than the one that is

below them.

In conclusion, this comic includes many examples within the McCloud book that features Exodus. In addition, Exodus is a great character to have as the main abstract due to being the main villain as well as having a background with the heroes that this comic surrounds.

Conclusion