Dark Avengers Issue #1

Hi Readers,

Just like everyone, I was ecstatic to see that the "Secret Invasion" story arc was over... until I saw that it meant the beginning of "Dark Reign". I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOO over these story arcs that incorporate most of the Marvel Universe, but I did read "Dark Avengers" because Bendis and Deodato were the creative forces behind it.

The Good: Bendis does a great job of transferring the eeriness of the Thunderbolts to Dark Avengers. Both teams are comprised of anti-heroes and villains, but both books are bursting with comedy, shocking moments and bucketfuls of deception. This is combined with Deodato's art, which layers each page with shadows and smirks on each character's face.

Bendis also does a great job of showcasing each characters' personality traits such as Venom's savage cannibalism, Moonstone's ego, Daken's Oedipus complex, Sentry's phobia, etc. Another attractive quality of this issue was Osborn's explanation for his recruitment: he simply wanted to piss off certain heroes by hiring anti-heroes to impersonate them.

The Bad: I don't understand what Noh-Varr's doing with the others, he is a completely random choice as an Avenger. I read his profile on Marvel.com and read his scene a second time, but still could not find an understandable reason for him being apart of this roster.

I also hate the fact that Ares is a hired lackey in the Avengers. He's the God of Fucking War! How can someone who considers himself to be a god, be easily "purchased" by Stark, Osborn or whoever? As long as Ares has been an Avenger, I have yet to see him display any extraordinary talent or ability outside of being a sword-wielding curse-slinging brute. When Thor was an Avenger, it was because he respected his teammates and wanted to continue being a hero; same as Hercules (who is way cooler than Ares). Ares is an Avenger because he is paid to be and "there are battles to be fought" (quote from this issue). One word... LAME!

Overall, this was a great beginning issue for this new series and I can't wait to see the Dark Avengers "slip up" and expose their true identities.

@~~~~~~~~~}~~~~~~~ Devin Peacock