Deamentia
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Roman Colombo
by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Mike Deodato & Greg Horn (art), Rain Beredo (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)
The Story: Victoria Hand tries to negotiate with Molecule Man.
What’s Good: Much of what made last month’s issue good is furthered this month. Molecule Man in particular continues to be written well by Bendis. He’s a bizarre concoction of social ineptitude that ends up sounding oddly child-like. At times, he sounds innocent in his inability to converse, and at other times, he’s violently petulant.
Once again though, the real star is Victoria Hand. Bendis has made the most of what may appear to be a “filler arc” by using it to make a fully developed character out of her. Bendis thrusts her into the middle of the action this month and we see her slowly settling into a leadership role and using her natural intelligence to get by. Nonetheless, Bendis makes it clear that this is new territory for the character; she stutters during her negotiations with Reese, despite her tactics being sound. The real moment this month for Hand, though, comes with her finally standing up to Osborn and asserting herself. She makes demands of Osborn and becomes the first character to actually force Osborn to face up to his limitations and his history. The fact that Bendis has given the up till now characterless Hand the personality to make this believable in just a couple of issues is testament to his success with the character this month.
Meanwhile, it’s great to see the Sentry cut loose and cease being the Marvel Universe’s whipping boy. It’s scary stuff. Better still, the Osborn/Sentry dynamic remains one of the strongest elements of Dark Avengers and that trend continues this month, with an added grain of menace, as this looks to be shaping up to be another thing Osborn may be in over his head with.
What’s Not So Good: For all Bendis does this month with Victoria Hand, he and Deodato just can’t help but have her stripped to her underwear. I’ve complained several times before about Deodato’s need for scantily clad women, and this is probably his and Bendis’ worst offence. There’s no real rationale mentioned for Molecule Man’s stripping of Hand. No one mentions Hand’s undressed state, nor explains the reason for it. That leads me to believe that this only occurred for reasons of fan titillation, and that’s just shameful, particularly given the character’s new direction.
Also, while it was great to see the Sentry get a power upgrade, the nature of that power upgrade is both uninspired and a heads-scratcher. It’s just not original, nor is it cool. The Sentry basically learns that he essentially has the same powers as another mega-powerful villain, and that’s that. There’s nothing more to it. It’s clear that Bendis needed to find a way for Sentry to fight Molecule Man, and he went the absolute easiest way possible.
And speaking of that Sentry/Molecule Man fight, it’s a bit of a mess. As Molecule Man’s powers rage uncontrollably, there’s a two or three panels where I just don’t understand who’s doing what.
Lastly, the cliffhanger isn’t much of a cliffhanger thanks to its being fairly incomprehensible. I honestly have no idea what the hell happened, let alone why. All I know is that Bendis basically yelled “SIEGE” on the last page. I’m probably missing something, but I’ll wager that I’m far from the only one.
Conclusion: It’s Dark Avengers, it’s fun, and barring a wardrobe malfunction, Victoria Hand is a great character, but this issue has its weaknesses.
Grade: C+
-Alex Evans
Filed under: Marvel Comics | Tagged: Marvel Comics, Avengers, Ares, Loki, Brian Michael Bendis, Hawkeye, Norman Osborn, Mike Deodato, The Sentry, Comic Book Reviews, Moonstone, Weekly Comic Book Review, comic reviews, Dark Reign, H.A.M.M.E.R., Iron Patriot, dark avengers, Karla Sofen, Enchantress, Victoria Hand, Molecule Man, Siege of Asgard, Siege, the Void, Dark Avengers #12, Owen Reese, Beyonder, Mephisto, Zarathos, Dark Avengers #12 review
Didn’t they try to claim he was checking her weapons? Not that was any excuse for an excuse.
I recently read the initial arch for this and noticed Deodato’s penchant for drawing women on all fours with their backs arched. Almost a tad creepy.
Yeah the new explanation for Sentry’s powers is wack. How does it explain his Superman level strength and durability? Bendis took what was actually a unique reason (though not fully explained) for Sentry’s powers and flushed it down the toilet just so he could turn around and make him a copycat. Power of a thousand suns? Apparently not. Man I really hope they retcon this. If it wasen’t for that and the all around confusion of the Molecule Man vs. Sentry fight this would be a good issue.
Thanks for reading guys, as always
@Prickle: I did recall that while writing that review, but as you say, it’s still a pitiful excuse. Moreover, it wasn’t put forward solidly enough to even BE an excuse. Hand simply says “I don’t have any weapons” while MM strips her. MM never says anything, never addresses his stripping her, nothing. A random, errant line from Hand doesn’t do squat for me.
@ Michael: Well……I figure the logic is that if you can rework molecular structures from the base level in any way you want, you COULD give yourself Superman-level powers. I mean, if you could make absolutely anything out of anything….
Still a little lame though, I agree…given that Bendis’ solution to pump up the Sentry is simply to have him basically gain another character’s powers. A bit random as well.
-Alex
Hey Alex: good review.
Hey Prickle and Michael: Good comments.
I enjoyed the issue, but my growing complaint with any issue with Sentry in it is Sentry himself. If he can do anything, then where is the tension? What is really at stake? Nor does a character of this power scale really allow for classic plotting (laying down details, gun on the mantlepiece in act one, firing of the gun in act three, etc) because anything can happen. They’ve given him a handicap (his mental instability), but at what level does it really represent an impediment to him? Whenever a writer needs him to pull an unruly plot out of a nose-dive, he either gets it together or someone helps him get it together. Sentry is a walking Deux Ex Machina, and when he pulled this one out of the fire again, it cheapened Hand’s efforts.
It’s getting to the point that I’m putting back comics that have Sentry in them.
DSA
Actually, Bendis’s Sentry, Molecule Man, and Scarlet Witch all have the same power: reality alteration. All three have had severe psychological problems, although the Scarlet Witch and Molecule Man were psychotic, while the Sentry is, um, merely schizophrenic. Bendis had the Man and Wanda use their powers for the same purposes — getting rid of intruders — and in the same way, transforming or killing people.
So. . . Why write the three characters as variations on one character, who alters reality and is insane? Perhaps, since Bendis emphasizes plot over everything else in his “Avengers” issue, he finds “altering reality” very easy to use, since characters can do entertaining, odd things without explanations, especially if they’re insane.
Question: Which came first, deciding to change Wanda’s history to make her insane in “Avengers Disassembled,” or wanting to write someone as being able to alter reality?
SRS