nova forced

drive-by readings

Secret Avengers #4 (Marvel) "Secret Histories, Part 4 of 4" Ed Brubaker Mike Deodato Jr. Rain Beredo Dave Lanphear Marko Djurdjevic (cover)

what we learned: Ant-Man saves the day and a Nova-ed Steve Rogers does the rest, breaking the Serpent's Crown hold on Richard Rider, who basically didn't do anything of note except get taken over (dumbass). ditto Natasha and Moon Knight (cosmic adventures are not his speed).
oh shit moment: is there anything Rogers can't do? ah, i know. next time he meets Thanos, he should punch him out cold, not die like he did before.
what's next: we learn more things about Li'l Nicky.


yep, Sharon also has evidence that you did all this shit too.

the real illuminati

drive-by readings

Secret Avengers #3 (Marvel) "Secret Histories, Part 3 of 4" Ed Brubaker Mike Deodato Jr. Rain Beredo Dave Lanphear Marko Djurdjevic (cover)

what we learned: you know that Shadow Council that has "a" badass(er) Nick Fury? well, it just might be that this thing stretches back to the wild West days of frontier America. and you know that Texans always like 'em big. not to mention something called "The Abyss" that the wearers of the Serpent Crown are influenced by. apparently, the Watchers (who never just watch) created a bunch of robots called the Archons to guard against the resurrection of The Abyss by his "dark children". Steve Rogers (kinda weird calling him that) and his black ops Avengers are in a bigger pile of doodoo than he thought.
oh shit moment: the Serpent Crown-ed Nova, taking out everyone pretty easily. hmmmm, he never went up against Rogers yet. or Ant-Man!
what's next: this should be the oh-shit moment: the cover to next issue has Steve wearing the crown ... i mean, the Helmet Known as Worldmind!


seems like Nova is pro-equal rights for women - if superhero males can be pummeled, so can the ladies.

house of secrets

drive-by readings

Secret Avengers #1 (Marvel) "Secret Histories, Part One" Ed Brubaker Mike Deodato Rain Beredo Dave Lanphear Marko Djurdjevic (cover)

for a title or a team with the word 'Secret' attached to it, i don't see them being a secret for far too long. i know its Steve Rogers' version of a black ops team (and NOT having Wolverine in it, because, well, he's already part of one, and he's out in the open in the main Avengers team as their designated dirty-works guy), and the characters more or less operate in the fringes of the Marvel U as its their natural habitat, but i wager their missions would eventually come out in the open with explosive consequences. i mean, what if they found out things that puts them in conflict with other hero teams in the 616? will Steve go against Luke? against Thor? against Reed? he's walking a thin line here, top cop and all that.

but that's for the future. for now, let's enjoy what the fine gentlemen storytellers Brubaker and Deodato give us, and for sure the ride's gonna be a thrilling one. first off, who's on the team? i'm not surprised by the additions of Moon Knight ("Crescent Wrench" - hah!) or Nova (you need a space cadet - and i also want to see if Steve's comment - "what kind of operation do you think am running here?" in reference to covering for every scenario - blows up in his face eventually). i'm not put off by having Valkyrie in - if anything, it gives them some demi-god power sets (remember who took Ares down in that X-Men/Dark Avengers scrap?) and of course, eye candy. no, i'm surprised at the addition of Eric O'Grady - apparently no one bothered to take away the Ant-Man costume from him, not even Hank "I'm Scientist Supreme And You're Not" Pym - who's not been made to answer for his crimes. all you need to be absolved is join the T-Bolts, and accept any offer of Avengership from the first Captain America. so we can say he's no longer irredeemable. does Cassie know about this? oh, wait, it's a ... secret.


Black Widow? Valkyrie? sold!!!

so where does the team's first mission take them? i'm pumped because it involves ... the Serpent Crown! old-schoolers like me remember this piece in Avengers lore as the cause of that whole mind-control-Squadron-Supreme punchup back in Avengers vol. 1 #141-148. now it may not be exactly the Serpent Crown, or rather it may be another version of the Serpent Crown. and it also involves Mars (why else is Nova in this book?), and it also involves this guy:



HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT.

ok, we know Nick Fury's been having Hydra trouble, and he claims S.H.I.E.L.D. was being subverted by Hydra all along. also, he's been revealed to be a critical piece of Hydra or Zodiac as well. this probably confirms it, but it causes much more confusion. its all in Bendis' and Hickman's heads, i guess. wait, can we assume that's Jake Fury/Scorpio?

we have another stellar issue from Mike Deodato, and really, the only thing that annoys me is his love for behind-the-back-downward-angle camera POVs with the characters all posing as action figures (puffed chest, wide stance, arms tense). i mean, come on!


having an idea of what Ed Brubaker is capable of (what? there really is a third Summers brother??), i won't be surprised if he shakes Avengers history to the core by the end of his run.

denouement

drive-by readings

Dark Avengers #16 (Marvel) Brian Michael Bendis Mike Deodato Rain Beredo Cory Petit

with this, the long-awaited conclusion of the most well-received villain-as-heroes piece since the original Thunderbolts debuted in 1997, i am a little sad to say goodbye to these jerks and not have the monthly dose of their deliciously sleazy and nasty skulduggery. it does make sense with the end of Siege, there's no need for this dirty Avengers team anymore. Bendis and Deodato have created a masterpiece of their time, a reflection of the world in general and America in particular, set in superhero mythos. similar to Busiek and Bagley's Thunderbolts who stepped in with the disappearance of the major heroes, Dark Avengers came in with the ascension of Norman Osborn, the discrediting of the same beloved heroes, filling a void and had terrifying real-life prospects if it were, well ... real life. imagine if the US government was completely taken over by a bunch of ruthless trigger-happy conservatives, hawking their brand of patriotism and bent on remaking the world in their image. oh wait ...

and yet somehow, the end of the Dark Avengers doesn't seem to satisfy the bloodlust that built during their reign. by bloodlust, i mean the rage at these guys to bring them to justice. Frank Castle missed his chance to assassinate Osborn, and eventually got dismembered by Daken. the X-Men battled them to a standstill, but for pragmatic reasons, retreated to their own island. Clint Barton was just useless. i wanted blood.

apart from the one-two punch dealt by Tony and Luke to an escaping Moonstone and Bullseye, i guess we can expect nothing else but jail for these felons. we all know prisons never hold them (what else brought together the New Avengers?), so i'm almost expecting nobody will really get punished, despite Nick Fury's promise to Phobos, despite seeing Norman Osborn trapped in prison in his cell with his mocking Goblin persona.

nitpicking a bit, it would have been great to have consistent panels with all the related titles (see bad guy positions below). overall, the coordination of the sequences were good.


also, we saw the introduction of an increasingly-intriguing and possibly another long-term character in the Marvel Universe. somehow they managed to shove Val Cooper aside and position first Maria Hill, and now Victoria Hand, to be (action-oriented) liaisons to the superhuman community. and they're obviously much more than cookie-cutter characters. take Victoria for instance. most of the time she's hot, especially with her backstory in #11. although, well, look at Victoria here, she looks a little weird and a little bit exaggerated on the chesty side.



my hats off to Brian Bendis and Mike Deodato for a sterling run. see you in Secret Avengers.

snaps: Dark Avengers #13

... where there's somebody more effed in the head than Norman Osborn. yes, its your favorite blonde god with the power of a thousand exploding suns. or a milion. whatever. could we hazard a guess and say he's the last level boss in the next Marvel crossover game?

Mah Pusha. c'mon, that's a face you can trust.


well, don't ever say Robert Reynolds doesn't bring the CRAY-ZAAAYYYY!!


another Sentry power: he turns into the Ghost Rider!!


right after the consummation, i suppose.


oy! that's New York in reverse!!! check out this pic from @jimlee00.


that makes you his bitch, bitch.

snaps: Dark Avengers #12

... where it turns out that not only Owen Reece IS NOT the most powerful being in the Marvel Universe, he doesn't get any respect at all because of his schizo-ness - and they misspell his name too. ah drat, there goes my hoped-for wildcard. turns out all this time its been always Robert Reynolds (and why not? he's been there since Bendis "reassembled" the New Avengers).

1) the face of a geek who's seeing the nude female body for the very, very first time.


2) Victoria, reverting against type, and not being, uh ... Hands on.


3) hey, do you know this game that Greek gods play? stay in a posh living room, grab a couple of weapons, brandish them around, and yell ...


4) yo, Norman, Dr. Troy is accepting new patients.


5) and Victoria, you know better when boys don't wanna be disturbed.


6) would Norman say the same thing if Bob said "i'm gay"?


7) are you seriously telling me that after Molecule Man does this, it really doesn't matter because the Sentry is much more powerful and does the same thing and makes it more permanent?

i hate the fact that the Molecule Man apparently just gets swept under the rug (and dismissed like a petulant child), despite being a more established character with godlike powers. that's scary for the Marvel establishment, so they made the Sentry have the bigger gun. in both cases, absolute power resides in beings with less than stable minds, which gives an opening where they can be taken down when absolutely necessary.

that being said, of course am still anticipating Siege. how could i not?

welcome back, Mr. Reece.

drive-by readings

Dark Avengers #10 (Marvel) Brian Michael Bendis Mike Deodato Jr Rain Beredo Cory Petit

i asked a question, and Brian Michael Bendis answered. splendidoo. splendidooo!

first things first. lemme axe you summink: if you chop the Man Thing in two, will he eventually reintegrate himself? or will he do a Wolverine, grow his limbs back, and there'll be two Man Things at the end of the day? well, True Believer, you better find out, 'cause Mike Deodato just drew an awesome splash page of Ares doing just that. the Man Thing doesn't have any facial features that would show any emotion, but i swear to God even he was surprised at that development.

in as much as i loved the Thunderbolts in its early Busiek intended incarnation - bad guys pretending to be the good guys - i like the slant of the Dark Avengers much better in the sense that they're barely trying to project a clean image, they argue with and fight each other all the time, they're nasty, foul-mouthed and wouldn't hesitate abandoning their teammates - only Norman Osborn keeps them altogether. and barely apparently, as something is bothering him lately. yes, we anticipate the Goblin coming out (not that 'coming out') and melting down soon on national TV. oh heck, just search the Interwebz for the Siege and be done with it.

so back to Owen Reece, Molecule Man. he's been gone so long that the new generation of comic book readers don't even know who he is (that's what Wikipedia is for). and i can understand why Marvel put him in the freezer for a long time because he's practically God - the man went toe-to-toe against the freakin' Beyonder. even he was afraid of his own powers. it remains to be seen whether he's still that 'supervillain' with a tinge of ethical behavior, or he's finally lost it, and is now bent on taking over as well. do not let him be a joke, Bendis.

Magneto wants the copyright

drive-by readings

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus #1 (Marvel) Matt Fraction Mike Deodato Terry Dodson Rachel Dodson Justin Ponsor Christina Strain Joe Caramagna Simone Bianchi (alternate cover)

ripping Magneto off kind of makes Scott Summers a sneaky tactical bastard in the vein of his mentor Charles Xavier (whom he has reduced respect for, these days) - raising Asteroid M and rechristening it as Utopia would make Mags snort and sneer about Scott's unoriginality. but who cares right? it's all part of a bigger plan, which apparently includes getting beaten up by Norman Osborn (you know Emma finds those bruises sexy). and was it really that easy to beat the Sentry and Ares? if so, why didn't they all do this a long time ago? sigh. anyhoo, i'm intrigued as to what Magneto thinks of all of these, as he was last seen chilling out with the High Evolutionary, getting his powers back. also, wouldn't it be easy to just nuke the island now (hello, Cassandra Nova) and wipe out everyone with in one swoop? hey, don't give Norman any more ideas! plus we have that Selene boobage Necrosha thing to deal with too!

drive-by readings: Dark Avengers #6

Dark Avengers #6 (Marvel) Brian Michael Bendis Mike Deodato Jr Will Conrad Rain Beredo Cory Petit Rafa Sandoval/Roger Martinez/John Rauch (variant cover)

the more i read Dark Reign, the better it gets, but that's just me. Norman Osborn looks more and more like Tommy Lee Jones, if they make a movie out of this, you'd better get him to play the role. i probably could watch a whole two hours of the Cabal and the Dark Avengers arguing and rattling sabers and exchanging punches with Osborn. that's a compliment, Mr. Bendis. well, it works because readers have a sense of history of these characters, and you know the underlying tension and where they're coming from.

Osborn is on the verge of a breakdown, putting out fires and trying to keep his array of strong-willed associates in line. despite his advantage of being a psychopath who can deal with other crazies, i expect his Green Goblin persona to pop out anytime (i bet it will be on national TV). good thing he has the increasingly-looking-like-the-Baroness Victoria Hand (Osborn's Maria Hill) to keep things under control. he gets into a tiff with Namor over some Atlantean terrorists, and the latter's refusal to do anything with it drives Osborn to send the Sentry to "kill 'em all but one". this will have ramifications down the line because Bob realizes Osborn has been stringing him along for his own ends, and not sincere about helping him deal with the Void, as Osborn promised.

although the cover seems to have nothing to do with the meat of the issue (Noh-Varr is technically missing after knocking boots with Moonstone/Karla Sofen/"Ms. Marvel"), Dark Avengers is the best among the Dark Reign titles (as it should), and should really bring back the fans who left at the end of Secret Invasion.

drive-by readings 022109

Dark Avengers #2 (Marvel) "Long Live H.A.M.M.E.R." Brian Michael Bendis Mike Deodato Jr Rain Beredo Cory Petit

wow. i mean, WOW. two issues in, and i already have a perverse admiration for this loony "team". damn you, Bendis. as hyped weeks ago, the Dark Avengers first mission is to rescue Dr. Doom, who's in a lover's quarrel with Morgana Le Fay, who in turn gets "(un)headed" (heh.). Bendis' knack for people talking at the same time is in full display as always, though sometimes its like teenagers yakking (and posturing) all the time. i can't wait 'till the backstabbing begins. maybe it was a good thing they brought Osborn back (gaaaaaahhhh! schism!). who else can manage all these strong-willed assholes in the first place?

Invincible #59 (Image) "Powerplex" Robert Kirkman Ryan Ottley Cliff Rathburn FCO Plascencia Rus Wooton

and i thought i hated Superboy Prime. this Powerplex character made me want to beat him down a la Chris Brown (k-ching!). what a whiny jerk. he's a caricature of an '80s villain who has no other train of thought except "i will have my revenge, you will pay for your crimes!" serves you right for killing your own family, asshole. i think Kirkman got into a mood hating this kind of jerk and wrote a story out of it, gnashing his teeth all the way. if anything, he sets up a future - if annoying - villain to pester Invincible.

X-Factor #40 (Marvel) "Slings and Arrows" Peter David Valentine De Landro Pat Davidson Jeromy Cox Cory Petit

Peter David told me not to tell.

well, it involves guns, and priests, and nuns, and lies, and despair writ large.

not to mention the art has picked up a bit, and it should, considering David's writing.

but seriously, he told me not to tell.

Morgan le Fay loses her head!

apparently, Bob the Cuckoo-in-the-Head Sentry likes ... heads!



hey, don't blame me, i just saw this on an episode of My Cup O'Joe featuring the lovable Dan Slott.

who wants to be an Avengenaire?

a whole lot, apparently.

so we got them Assembled, then Disassembled, then we got them New, and we got them Mighty. now we got them reassembled again. sorta.

led by reluctant cross-dressing leader the Wasp (cough, cough! that's frakking Henry Pym, regardless of what side his toast is buttered on!), we have a cornucopia of former and not-yet members: the ill-tempered fake Captain America USAgent, Hercules, Amadeus Cho (who engages Pym in a smarts peeing contest), Jocasta, Cassie Lang, the Jonas Brother (sorry, the Vision currently known as Jonas), and - surprise, surprise - the dumb green Hulk! all gathered (and another mindfuck) by the Scarlet Witch. who may or may not be a Skrull. oh, that storyline's over?

anyway, they've been brought together to fight ... a Chton-possessed Quicksilver, who's bent on ... remaking reality. oh, this storyline's not over??

if that wasn't enough to reduce your brain to jello, let's have the flipside of the bright, cheery colors ... (drumroll, high hat) the DARK Avengers!!!

hey!!! it's like the '90s all over again (was the Mike Deodato art not enough of a hint?). let's see, we have Noh-Varr, enhanced Kree warrior who's probably the second-most powerful of this group; Moonstone masquerading as Ms. Marvel; Daken donning his dad's brown duds; Bullseye as Hawkeye (2nd most dangerous); Venom shrunk to black-costume Spidey-size; and the two turncoats - Ares and the Sentry (the most powerful guy here). i don't believe these two, but it makes for good drama.

and then of course, we have

Norman Effin Osborn

as the fucking

Iron.

Patriot.



Iron Patriot?


pretty soon, the name "Avengers" will be as reputable as someone who calls himself an "X-Man". if it isn't already.

(Iron Patriot?! WTF-!! Obama knows about this???)


btw, the Vision who is a Jonas brother is a fucking copout. trying to impress a guuuuurlllll. did you delete your Milli Vanilli collection? oh, that's right; he isn't that Vision.




(again, Iron Patriot?! WTF!!! just for picking that name alone, Osborn deserves to be put down)

-----
Dark Avengers #1, Mighty Avengers #21

X-aminations

a couple of upcoming X-Men storylines coming up are Original Sin and Worlds Apart.

in Original Sin, we finally learn the secret between Wolverine, his son Daken, and Professor X!


verdict: Professor X is Logan's daddy!!!!

well, that's what the tabloids would say ...


over in Worlds Apart, Storm has to make a life-changing decision when she has to choose between rescuing her husband the Black Panther or rescuing her longtime X-friends.


verdict: a trial separation looms on the horizon as Ororo can't resist going back to her teammates which creates a rift between her and her husband (and Wakandan subjects).

hell, her husband's as rich as heck. plus doesn't he have a contingency for all situations?

we want a pre-nup. we want a pre-nup, yeah.

scourge

Punisher War Journal #4
Matt Fraction/Mike Deodato
Marvel


after the much-ballyhooed death of the Stilt-Man in Civil War (i bet a lot of kids never knew the guy until they read the issue), a viewing is held in what is again considered a "Bar with No Name" (sounds familiar?). the event is attended by not just a few of Marvel's super villains (just not much of the heavyweights).

we get the usual sob stories ...

"i'm letting it all out; i already wet my pants!"

... the not-so-grieving widow ...

this is how Kong and Ann Darrow first met.

... the usual drunks ...

that's code for "do you want to hang out with me tonight?"

... which leads to the usual bar fight.



somebody figures out this is why nothing ever gets done and they're all losers! its about time, jerks. it's 2007!

me! me! i want to be Evil Knievel! why are you laughing?

but sorry, time just ran out on you.


we never see the Punisher until the last page as the bar explodes. nice touch as well with Spiderman dropping by, getting Puma and the Prowler (being sometime-allies with Spidey) out of there before all hell explodes. this Matt Fraction guy bears watching; i'm already onboard with his Iron Fist revival.

but then again ... this reeks of Scourge. Frank really would have made the best one.


wait ... they killed Chameleon-Comma-The? why???