The final image from Siege #2 (Bendis & Coipel.2010) depicts The Iron Patriot (Norman Osborn) looking up as Captain America’s Shield (Steve Rogers) falls down to him. This is depicted across four panels, and yet does not contain any indexical lines to convey to the reader that the shield is falling towards Norman.
The distinct impression of movement comes from Norman’s stillness. Implying that Norman lacks the time to act or is simply taken by surprise by the action. Given the mask of the Iron Patriot suit hides all expression from Norman, we do not have a definitive answer for this. However, we do know that Norman is looking up, evident from the floor appearing behind him, and the distinctive shadow cast behind him, one that can only be cast if the ground is directly below him, given its size.
The information from the shield is given to the reader by reflection cast in Norman’s helmet. From these four panels, the reflected image becomes bigger as its falling. The first of the images has the shield falling from the top of Norman’s helmet, right where the sun light is hitting the brightest. This implies that the shield was thrown at such an angle that it would briefly block out some of the sun light from Norman’s vision. This is possibly what caused Norman to look up in the first place. We see the progression of this by the reflection growing, with the final image also including the edge of the shield coming in from the lower left. This final image is the closest to including indexical lines, as there are some partial scopic lines indicating a zooming sensation from the shield.
What we can extrapolate from this page, is that the four panels are split seconds apart. That these are possibly the four split seconds that Norman realised something was coming towards him, and the realisation that it was Captain America’s shield just before impact. The idea of keeping Norman completely still indicates just how short a span of time this was. No movement to indicate a reaction. Given that the shield is falling, it would have to fall at a minimum speed equal to gravity. If the shield has also been thrown by Steven, then the speed would be even greater. Therefore, the intent of these four panels is to indicate both how quickly the shield is falling, but also how little time Norman has to react. This page is masterfully handled by Oliver Coipel (Pencilist), Mark Morales (Inker) and Laura Martin (Colourist) to deliver this information to the reader, quickly and memorably.
- Bendis, B. M. & Coipel, O (2010) Siege #2: Chapter Two. Marvel Comics: Burbank.
Mikayla J. Laird 