Dark Avengers #4 (Marvel – Bendis / Deodato / Beredo)
The Dark Avengers’ first mission shows Norman Osborn all the plusses and minuses of the choices he has made for his team. So changes must be made. Some come, some go, and not everyone is happy about it. Also, the Cabal reunites for the first time since the Dark Reign began, and they are REALLY not happy.
So far as a series, Dark Avengers has been way better than I would have expected a series based around a “big event” to be. This issue mostly involves Dr. Doom and Osborne putting Morgana Le Fay down… well, they can’t quite put her down (aka killing a past self of her – or it might alter the timeline) but they leave her stranded in a bad situation. The only casualty Osborne’s Avengers take is a mysterious one, the Sentry is lost in the final combat. The Sentry (or Bob) is the most powerful character in the Marvel Universe and Osborne has been able to beguile him to do his bidding. He was a major player for the team and his supposed lost will have an impact.
While the “Avengers” are flying back to Manhattan, Osborne gets word that Clint Barton (Hawkeye / Ronin) has goes public with who these new Avengers are… really just villains in disguise (Thunderbolts taken to the next level). Norman has a plan to deal with it and a smile on his face as their Jet enters the city limits.
Enter a great light in the sky and the Sentry has returned and he doesn’t seem too pleased with any of them. Whether it is that he has seen through Osborne’s charade or just that he’s pissed becasue they didn’t look hard enough for his body after the battle, who knows?
Dark Avengers is a solid fun trip, it won’t be a year from now we are sure (Dark Reign will end before that :)), but I am going to enjoy Bendis’ magic while it lasts!
Grade: B+ (lowered only because the issue went very quickly – I mean check it out I summarized it in a paragraph)
