Brian Bendis’ new Avengers team consists of four of the most loathsome ex-Thunderbolts (Norman Osborn, Moonstone, Bullseye, Venom) and four figures with not-so-spotless pasts (Ares, Sentry, Noh-Varr and Daken). Osborn and some of his handpicked members steal existing superhero identities and pretend to be heroes, while those with established hero identities join the group for their own reasons.
The concept isn’t exactly new. We’ve seen this before during Kurt Busiek’s Thunderbolts run. The pretension and the shots at redemption are hard-to-miss elements. And it feels like an extension of Warren Ellis’ stint, when the Thunderbolts became government-sanctioned hero-hunters.
The first four issues of Dark Avengers are pretty decent, however. While the battle with Morgan is unnecessarily spread across three issues (and reminds us of the never-ending ninja fights in New Avengers), the characters, including guest star Dr. Doom, are capably handled. The villains stand out, and the Sentry’s sanity issues are finally being addressed. The writer shows a better grasp of the nasty, snarky ones, as well as Ares, so it’s a much smoother read than his other Avengers book.
Mike Deadato’s art is okay; he’s improved as a storyteller, but he needs to clean up the clutter a little, and tone down the shading.
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