by Elisabeth@TFAW
Hello, everyone! I’m handling our Dark Reign updates for the time being, so bear with me. This week there were 13 comics to recap, so this will probably come at you in installments, or the format might change a little. As usual, there WILL be SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
Ms. Marvel #40 was quite good, and hinted at a plot development I’m pretty psyched about, although I was a little disappointed it’s come up so quickly. Some spoilers (in the form of some artwork for an upcoming event) have already been released, but I’ll just let y’all read this issue in peace.
So some odd lady who looks to be made of pure light is attacking the new Ms. Marvel, who has been strangely compelled to protect a bunch of test-tube babies, and seems to want them for herself. However, light lady has also been appearing to members of the New Avengers–in different colors–speaking a strange language. She seems to be trying to tell them something . . . what could it be? I expect it to be made plain in Ms. Marvel #41, because this story is moving at lightning speed.
Josh has been covering Dark Avengers, so I’ve been a little out of the loop. However, Dark Avengers #6 definitely intrigued me. Norman Osborn has been keeping it together a lot longer than anyone ever expected, but is he beginning to come apart at the seams?
With little-to-no sleep, Marvel Boy missing, Ares refusing to follow orders, a terrorist attack on his hands, and a mutiny brewing in his Cabal, old Normie boy is looking a little frazzled. As he encourages the Sentry to let his inner demons out–successfully, as Bob slaughters a community of Atlanteans–it’s time to start wondering: when will the Green Goblin rear his ugly mug? Stay tuned for Dark Avengers #7.
New Avengers #54 backs up a bit and shows the Eye of Agamotto choosing Jericho Drumm (a.k.a. Brother Voodoo, who is in the middle of an argument with his brother’s ghost, who is everpresent) as the newest Sorcerer Supreme. Jericho’s brother seems to have more of a thirst for power than Jericho himself does–will this end up being an issue later?
Before we have a chance to ponder that, the newest Sorcerer Supreme is thrown into the heat of battle, capturing The Hood (who’s gone bitchass crazy) and exorcising him of Dormammu, a demon who has possessed him. It was cool to see the New Avengers in action, but again–it’s freakin’ weird to see Carol Danvers still alive, when she died in her own book months ago! By the time New Avengers catches up with the timeline, Carol will probably–oh, never mind. Just read New Avengers #55.
Okay, what the hell happened here? Avengers Initiative #25 was compelling! Heartrending, in places. Heck, it was coherent! Did it just take me, what, five months to get into this, or did it finally turn around? Did it take the destruction of the Avengers Initiative to build up Avengers Initiative?
Because the Initiative is being taken down–dismantled, moved around, etc. The Hood is now in charge (with the guy who looks like Skeletor from He-Man), and team leaders are being transferred to different states right and left. Meanwhile, Tigra and Gauntlet are on the run–Norman wants her unborn Skrull-human baby, and Gauntlet’s, well, gauntlet, which would require the removal of his arm. Yuck. They run into the New Warriors and form yet another Avengers splinter group: Avengers resistance. Fine, I’m looking forward to Avengers Initiative #25. You beat me!
Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men Utopia #1 was an okay buildup to the new Utopia subset of Dark Reign. It was pencilled (with assists) by Marc Silvestri, who I’ll always remember fondly from the late ’80s during his early run on Uncanny X-Men (the latter part of his tenure . . . was not so good).
Simon Trask and his anti-mutant gang, Humanity Now! (hilarious name) are marching on San Francisco, when they run into a little bit of resistance known as . . . the X-Men. Unfortunately, tensions between the mutants and bigots lead to an all-out riot, as the X-Men lose control of the situation and Scott is fingered as the responsible party. Norman Osborn sends in his Dark Avengers and calls for Scott to turn himself in, with . . . Professor X (?) at his side.
The first thing I thought when I saw that was, “Professor X is alive?” Wasn’t he dead? I haven’t been a regular reader of Uncanny since 1997, but I’ve picked up a few issues here and there and . . . no matter. At the end of the day, Scott is a fugitive (NICE HAIRCUT), and Emma Frost seemingly switches sides (and costumes–slutty white for slutty black!) in what is sure to be a buildup to Dark X-Men. Hmm. We’ll see where Utopia leads.
And that’s all the time I have today, folks! Tune in Monday for the rest. In the meantime, post some comments below, willya?
