Re: Marvel Main Events (Spoilers) [Currently Dark Reign]
Dark Avengers #5
- Norman does a staged interview in response to Hawkeye's 'outing' him as the Green Goblin
- Sentry seems to be losing his mental edge and the "Bob" personality is missing
- Ares smacks Bullseye
- Moonstone and Noh-Varr get their groove on
- An alien attack hits New York in the middle of the interview when the questions are getting tough
I see Bullseye knocking down Norman's whole house of cards by going on a killing spree. He has now told Mac Gargan that he is a deadman and, after getting ^^^^^ slapped by Ares, he is probably planning on killing Ares as well. There were a few very telling shots in this issue.
The guards tell Norman's "Avengers" to take their medicine and Bullseye looks at his...allies...before popping his pill VERY stoically. I thought it was interesting that Bendis spent four panels to show that. Also, after Moonstone and Noh-Varr sneak off, Bullseye is standing in the shadows watching them; again, VERY stoically.
Didn't seem all that stoic to me that Bullseye was standing there in the hallway brushing his teeth and watching Moonstone. As we saw in the latest Deadpool issue, the man prides himself on doing what he does with a smile, feeding his own sense of humor. He already went on that killing spree in his own Dark Reign series and was caught on camera by a news crew. Norman sent in HAMMER agents to confiscate all equipment and footage at the studio, and black-bagged all of the staff in an effort to keep things quiet.
Bullseye is definitely a loose cannon right now, but since Marvel is planning DR events straight through next year and they're spending a lot of time showing Bullseye's unrest this early on, I don't think it's going to come down to him as the loose cog in the machine. Particularly since Bullseye really drank the Kool Aid here; he heartily gets off by dressing like a super hero not only to drive the heroes out of their minds but to commit heinous acts in costume. Bullseye is one of my favorite characters going right now. It's a lot of fun to see him sent out as Gargan's babysitter, keeping watch for him while Gargan patrols the NYC alleyways to kill and eat prostitutes
; all of this Norman not only knows about but sanctions. It's his Avengers' definition of r&r. Another thing we know is that Norman sends Bullseye on black ops missions from time to time, allowing him to slake his love of carnage with blood. A question I have is how this medication works for the Avengers, being that they all seem very much themselves and not doped up all the time. I for one wouldn't want to read a book where all of my favorite characters were out of character due to pill-popping so as to stay on an even keel. If that were the case, then it becomes a divergence from personality to solely plot devices. Oh, and those beings at the end of the issue looked to be Atlantean to me. That'll definitely be a cool direction in which to take the book.
The team is bound together extremely tenuously. Moonstone just revealed to Noh-Varr that practically everyone on the team is a criminal brought on board for their loyalty to Norman, his faith in their combat abilities, or because some of them are already simply used to taking orders from him. That being said, they aren't easily cowed. Ares views combat as honorable and being a warrior as the greatest thing an individual could aspire to. Noh-Varr seems to have legitimately believed they were there to do a good thing, and may very well go astray by the next issue. Bullseye can only be kept in line for so long; the man has a peerless appetite and aptitude for dealing death and destruction. Speaking of appetites, Venom's will likely be his downfall, though Mac is definitely in line with Norman's long-term plans. Moonstone and Daken are probably the least threatening to the stability of the team. Moonstone is getting what she wants - team leader second to Norman and one hell of a hefty paycheck; she was very rebellious with Norman for some time, but now seems to be one of the members who is benefiting the most and, while she may not always trust him, stands by Norman's side (better to be the right hand of the devil than in his path). She's a thorough opportunist and does whatever she can to benefit from a situation. As long as Norman keeps throwing profit her way, she'll stay where is. Daken, likewise, will get what he wants soon enough - to kill mutants and piss off his dad. Then there's the Sentry... his relationship with Norman is by far the most compelling aspect for me in the Dark Avengers series.
The team is kept together by threads, most of which could snap at any moment and echo across the Marvel U. The Avengers is just the Thunderbolts on a larger scale. That being said, I much preferred it when Warren Ellis was writing.
Nothing against BMB, I think he's a fine writer. Warren Ellis is just my preference with comic writing. He made most of these characters who they currently are, and I just think it would be nice to have him still at the helm.
I have yet to see the direction Thunderbolts will go in, but with the team going up against Songbird in this issue, hopefully we'll see a recall to what Andy Diggle was doing with the book before the Deadpool crossover, *shudder*. He has a flair for storytelling and depicting action, but the Deadpool cross... it just shouldn't have happened. Just my opinion. These T-Bolts are supposed to be a team of tough nuts and hard cases who get into the situation, take out the target(s), and get out without leaving a trail. The "Burning Down the House" and "Hammer Down" arcs were spectacular. The T-Bolts just don't lend themselves well to the light-hearted tone of the Deadpool books, which was definitely the problem in throwing all of those characters together. Diggle looks to be going back to the plan with the next arc, thank God.
Secret Warriors is just on fire right now. The next issue wherein the Howling Commandos go up against Hydra
and HAMMER... now that's something I want to see. Fury vs. Strucker vs. Osborn. The book has such a dark tone, and the gritty, muted color scheme for the art is a fantastic choice plays upon the bleak atmosphere. It's one of those books where you really notice the color choices and the role that it plays in the storytelling. Hydra is once again evolving into a gargantuan presence and a threat that without equal. What happens when you have an organization like that go head to head with not only the new despotic global policing regime headed by one of the Marvel U's most infamous villains, but also Nick Fury... who needs no elaboration at this point; saying his name alone should speak for itself. A book of huge potential and it certainly deserves all of the praise it's garnering.
