With Arcade's sudden game change, it has only been more exciting to find out what these characters are going to be up to. It is still a mystery to me though: where did Arcade get the power to create a real-life Battle Royale for himself? It should be revealed in the few following issues, so I'm staying put. Read Full Review

With a diverse cast featuring characters of different races, body types, and genders, Walker makes Avengers Arena reflect our real world more than a great deal of other books not set exclusively in a death arena. With this series alongside Young Avengers, Marvel's teen-oriented comics have rarely been stronger. Read Full Review

Avengers Arena is gearing back up and it will be interesting to see how some of the new alliances and revelations will pay off. Read Full Review

One thing I can't argue or complain about is Kev Walker's art. It's been the very best thing about the series from the start. While the past couple issues haven't necessarily been heavy on action, this issue's flashback scenes to the Braddock Academy shows Walker's strengths on this series. You can literally feel Captain Britain's disdain for Kid Briton. You don't have to look too far to see that Briton is a prick. Then later, you get a more sexual scene that shows you just how dependent he is on Apex and Nara lusting after him. He goes from almost being human with Apex to almost being out of his depth with Nara. It's well done and almost entirely done through body language and facial expressions. Read Full Review

Avengers Arena is definitely a unique title. While the premise is not original, the storytelling and artwork are very well done and a lot of care went into creating this book. The problem lies solely with the reader and their investment in the characters. It will affect your enjoyment one-way or the other, both either positively or negatively. This issue was good but lacking in the tension the previous ones had. Kev Walker's art is extremely well done and makes up for any weaknesses the story has. Dennis Hopeless is taking his time building characters and, while appreciated, I don't see how this title can go on for very long. For now though, I'm having fun. Read Full Review

If you're not a fan of this one, nothing here's going to win you over and you should just save your money. That said, I know you'll be following along to know if one of your favorites dies, so I'll go ahead and tell you: no one dies in this issue. But if you're enjoying the series or at least interested in it, then odds are you'll find this to be an okay chapter. It's heavy on amazing visuals and takes a few small steps to move the overall narrative forward while providing some fairly amusing banter. I'm sure the "they're in virtual reality!" believers will be happy to know that theory is briefly brought up in the issue, too. Read Full Review

"Avengers Arena" #5 still hasn't quite come together, but Hopeless and Walker are certainly trying to make it work. For now it's not bad, though, and as the numbers presumably dwindle we'll hopefully start to get some more characters to care about as they rise up through the chaff. With so many strong "Avengers" titles in general, though, I think "Avengers Arena" might end up suffering in comparison, so it needs to up its game and soon. Read Full Review

I wouldn't think a discussion between Captain Britain and Kid Briton could be this fascinating, well done. I'm sure Kev Walker played a part to insure the British colloquialism was authentic.