Ah,
Fear Itself. Any average comic fan should know that this is the current status quo of the Marvel universe. The big changer, they even dare say it to be "Almost as big as Civil War, maybe even bigger." While it does not live up to that event, it has been a fun ride. However, I'm not here to give a review on it.
I'm here to say what I think is the most powerful moment in all of comics.
For the people that have no clue what this series is about: The Red Skull's daughter Sin unleashes the God of Fear: the Serpent, who Odin banished many years ago. Now the Serpent wants to take over the world and create a new Asgard. Can the heroes combat this threat, or will they succumb to their greatest fears?
It goes deeper than that, but you get the point.
Battling gods is nothing new for the Avengers, or really any of the Marvel heroes. But.....this is different. Bucky Barnes was eliminated, (no, that is not the moment I'm talking about) but really, we all saw that coming. How else was Steve going to become Cap again? The point is, though it doesn't do the best job of showing it, the Serpent and his army of heroes/villains turned evil Asgardians "the Worthy" are the strongest threat the Marvel universe has faced. Why? Well, I can finally get on to my point.
That scene was from the last issue. After that, Spidey told Cap that he was leaving the battlefield. That was something else, but the scene right after that is the one I'm talking about.
The dialogue as follows,
Hawkeye: "Cap? Where's Spider-Man going?"
Cap: "I told him he could stand down."
Hawkeye: "Stand down?! Cap, how could--why?"
Cap: "Look around you, Hawkeye...we're going to lose."
Wow, I literally froze at that moment. Here was the great Captain America, the one ALL heroes look up to, the one who would face Thanos head-to-head, but for the first time ever, he says "We're going to lose." That's the biggest morale dropper right there. If Captain America says we're going to lose, then really, no other threat has come to earth such as the Serpent.
Though a lot of you may not agree with me on this, I think that exact moment, that panel, packs such a punch no other comic I've read has. The most brave hero that ever lived who has faced cosmic-level threats saying that "We're going to lose" is truly something else.
And that is what I consider to be the most powerful moment in all of comics. Not a fight, not a death, just a single sentence.