Emily Somerhalder-Avengers

1. Avengers: The
Many Faces of
Doom
Emily Somerhalder

2. Abstract
This issue of the Avengers opens at a gala celebrating the opening of the new
Avengers Headquarters in New York City. Upstairs, everyone is having fun and
enjoying the company of others. Meanwhile in the Command Center, there is a
security breach. Captain America is called away, along with Vision and Sandman. As
the party continues upstairs, “Doctor Doom” is found in the sub-sub-basement. After
many fights, escapes, and difficulties, the Avengers are able to find the real Doctor
Doom disguised as Iron Man. This issue ends on a cliffhanger with Doctor Doom
taking over the Avengers Headquarters.

3. Theme/Focus
This issue of the Avengers focuses on
power. Not only are most of the people in
attendance very powerful, but also Doctor
Doom is trying to take the power away from
everyone else.

4. This series of panels shows Doctor Doom removing his Iron
Man disguise. Spreading this out into eight panels increases
the suspense of Doctor Doom coming to the story. It also
shows the power and intensity he as in this moment.
Moment to moment transitions show one action spread
out through multiple panels. This causes a movie-like
motion. The technique is used to slow down the action,
increase suspense, and help the reader catch small
changes.

5. This establishing shot shows that there is a gala celebration at
the new Avengers Headquarters. The invitation shows the time
and address. This panel also has a sense of depth which shows
the Fantastic Four looking larger with a sense of power.
An establishing shot is used to give the readers a sense of place. By using
an increased sense of depth, you can increase the perceived size of a
setting or object in the panel.

6. Choice of frame is where the author decides how close to
be to the action. Many readers are likely to believe that
characters in the middle of the panel or more or most
important.
In this panel, Captain America is placed in the middle of two other
characters and in the middle of the panel. This shows that he is
important to not only this scene, but also the entire comic.

7. From this panel we can see how important facial expressions are. One
can see that there is some fear and surprise in the security team’s
faces.This shows that the intruder was unexpected and not a good
thing.
Based off of the six basic emotions, we can combine many to
create more complex emotions. Facial expressions are
important in that they help the reader understand how a
character feels, without the words.

8. Due to visual distinction, all of these superheroes are very
distinctive. Captain America has his shield and typical
costume, Sandman has his typical costume, and Vision has
his yellow cape.
Visual distinction helps the reader keep track of all
of the characters. By using costumes and props, the
reader can easily identify each character.

9. Word emphasis allows readers to give the
characters a voice. It also gives readers a
chance to listen with their eyes. Loudness is
one of the variable of a word. This is shown
by the size, boldness, tilt, and exclamation
points.
In this panel we can see the power of the word
“Fathooooom.” It has a large font, very bold, and
tilted slightly. With the action happening in the
background, we get another sense of the power
being portrayed here.

10. This panel is showing the power that Captain America has, through his body language. The reader
can see from his chest out and shield up that he is prepared to fight Doctor Doom.
Body language helps the reader determine what a
character is like without words. This is usually based off
of a situation and very gravity-bound.

11. Subject to subject transitions are used to show a scene
between two or more different characters. The view
switches between each person as they are speaking or
doing something important.
In this fight scene, the angles
switch between Vision and
Doctor Doom. This is helpful
to show who has the power at
that given moment. It also
helps the reader understand
who is talking and when.

12. Breaking the fourth wall is a visual technique that
adds dynamism, intensity, excitement, and
urgency to a panel.
There are no real borders on this bottom panel. By breaking the
walls, we can see that Vision is coming out and trying to stop
Sandman from making a mistake. This shows his power and
position in the fight scene.

13. Depth cues give a sense of distances. It shows
the closeness between characters and the
contrast between them.
This panel shows Vision coming down into the fight scene between
Sandman and Doctor Doom. This angle makes Doctor Doom look
smaller and Vision look bigger. Thus creating a sense of power for
Vision.

14. Exaggerated poses and expressions are another
example of visual techniques. This also shows
intensity, contract, dynamism, graphic excitement,
and urgency.
Doctor Doom has an
exaggerated position in this
picture. That, along with the
art and word emphasis, the
reader can see that he has a
lot of power and rage in this
panel.

15. Interdependent combinations are a mixture of
words and pictures because one of those alone
will not get the point across accurately.
Without the words and pictures,
the reader would not know that
an “opportunity” is not a good
thing, but that it is code for a
“discreet emergency.” This also
shows that Captain America holds
power over the other
superheroes.

16. Expressive traits are characteristics such as
speech and behavior that are associated with
a particular character.
This panel shows the “typical” Captain America stance. Showing his power by
standing with his chest out and shield up, he is also showing his
characteristics.

17. A worm’s eye view gives a sense of power to
whomever is above it all. It can make objects or
characters look of more importance.
In this panel, while
Sandman and Doctor
Doom are fighting,
Vision is above it all
while coming down to
join. Therefore showing
his power, importance,
and dominance over the
situation.

18. Aspect to aspect transitions are helpful
when an author wants time to stand still.
This lets the reader get a look at what is
happening at that same moment in other
places.
In this scene, the reader can see
what happens when there is a
security breach. Time is standing
still and the security team is
checking all areas for an intruder.
This shows the power that the
security team has behind the scenes.

19. The flow of panels is meant to help guide the
reader. This shows the readers which order to
look at the panels. Without a good chocie of
flow, a reader can get lost in the page.
This choice of flow goes
from left to right then
downward. The only
confusing area could be the
top right. I numbered each
panel to better exhibit the
choice of flow.
3
2
1
4
5

20. An author’s choice in frame
determines how a moment is
perceived. The right distance and
angle is important when
deciding how much importance
a character has.
In this panel, Doctor Doom is set off center and is at an angle that
shows his power and dominance in the moment. The closeness of
Doctor Doom makes him look like he is in control.