Popular Fun Activities

Greetings, fellow Zombies! Before I commence with the reviews, I’d like to take a look at the state of the Marvel Universe as it presently stands. Currently, Marvel Universe Earth 616 is in the midst of Dark Reign. Former Green Goblin Norman Osborn is the Big Man on Campus, having become a national hero by killing the Skrull Queen during the Secret Invasion Event. As a result, he was placed in charge of American security, and immediately disbanded S.H.I.E.L.D., the former preeminent peace-keeping force. Tony Stark, former leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been accused of having had knowledge that the Skrull Invasion was imminent, and has gone on the run as a result. In the wake of these events, Osborn instituted his own organization, H.A.M.M.E.R. Osborn also belongs to the secret group of shadowy manipulators, the Cabal, a group like the former Illuminati. Osborn’s even had the gall to put together his own team of Dark Avengers, having criminals assume the personas of established heroes. In short, it’s a dangerous time to be on the right side of the law in the current Marvel climate.

Check it: Lots of new hologram, promo cards and other marvel comics cards are available.

Heroes like Captain America and the Fantastic Four have to operate under the watchful eye of Osborn, if not secretly. Some must go underground and avoid being captured for being unregistered, all while villains arrogantly break the law with no fear of repercussions. Critics have carped that the Dark Reign storylines are simply a continuation of what Warren Ellis was doing during his run on Thunderbolts. While that may be true, I’m still enjoying the storylines generated by this arc.

Osborn’s transformation from a psychopathic Spiderman villain to being in Nick Fury’s shoes may be more than a bit far-fetched, but his abuse of said power and the resulting reactions of others have been hilarious. Dark Avengers is a great title, although it should be said that I haven’t liked Thunderbolts anywhere near as much since Dark reign began. But those are digressions better left to the reviews.

The introduction of the Illuminati-like Cabal has also led to a wealth of storyline possibilities. Cosmically, the Inhumans-led Kree and the Vulcan commanded Shi’ar clash in a War of Kings. Most of Marvel’s cosmic characters, like Nova and the Starjammers are involved. Whatever the outcome, this is a status changing event of an epic scale.

I wasn’t sure about this series when it began, and in fact planned not to buy it. I’m glad I changed my mind, however. Again, I’ll be reviewing the series as a whole, so that’s all I’ll say about its quality for now. I’m hoping that this simplistic little summing up will allow those that may have taken a break from Marvel books to be able to follow along with what I’m blathering about. I also hope it wasn’t dumbed down to the point of insult for those in the know.

See you in the funny pages…

More: marvel reviews

Filed under: Fun Stuff on July 21st, 2009