Machine Teen reads in a lot of ways like a Marvel first issue from the '60s. That old school vibe is cool in some regards, but it seems like Sumerak is writing down to an audience that's more sophisticated, and in so doing, wasting a fair amount of space in his first issue that could be used to make the book more instantly engaging. The "mysteries" of the book are obvious from the cover and title, and yet Sumerak plays them out across the entire issue up until a non-shocker ending that every reader will have guessed, and the high school drama is cliched and kind of dull as well. Credit Sumerak and Hawthorne for writing a very accessible first issue that won't confuse anyone, but it lacks the punch and mystery that have made other Marvel Next books like Livewires, Amazing Fantasy and Runaways so interesting from the get-go.
If I were going to compare Machine Teen to anything, it would be to the Marvel Age books, which is to say that it reads like something written for much younger readers. Everything is over-explained and hammered home, just like the early days of superhero comics, but there's a decompression of story that is more akin to modern stories, and this is like blending the worst elements of both styles instead of the both. No kid is really going to be interested in page after page of high school talking heads, and no adult is going to be interested in a big cliffhanger ending that reveals what most will have guessed within the first couple pages of the flashback sequence that opens the book.
When you're writing a book that centers around a seemingly normal character and his seemingly normal high school existence, you have got to make that existence entertaining, and Sumerak's dialogue and moment-to-moment writing just fails for me on that level. His interaction between the teenagers, from the jealous second-string quarterback to the cheerleader girlfriend to the tagalong friend, reads like High School Cliche 101, and the characters never rise above these cliches with clever dialogue or believable interaction. There's none of the spark that Bendis brought to the teens of Ultimate Spider-Man, for example.
In all honesty, Machine Teen is almost a complete misfire for me in terms of writing, but I do enjoy the book on a visual level. James Jean's cover has all the mystery and imaginative tease that the script lacks, and Hawthorne's interior artwork works very well. There seems to be an incosistent ink line as far as the amount of detail, but there's some very clean storytelling, reminiscent of Pat Oliffe's work on Spider-Girl but with a touch of stylization that puts me more in mind of the work of Mike Avon Oeming. I was especially impressed by the "slow motion" type sequence of the big touchdown during the football game.
Sumerak does give the reader all the information they need at the outset, which at least makes the book a success in terms of accessibility. Adam's performance with academics and his meltdowns when he exerts himself come across as a little obvious knowing what we do about the character, but Sumerak is playing fair with the readers in terms of explaining who Adam is and what his machine elements give him in terms of ability. It's easy to guess that the security guard is an inside man for the mysterious government project, but at least the information is in there. Basically, for my tastes, Sumerak tips his hand way too much, draining any of the mystery out of the story, even if he does provide all the key information. Unfortunately, while he gives the readers enough to know about the characters and situation, he doesn't flesh out the motivations or plans of the villains well enough to make me want to come back for more. 3/10
