How do you guys feel about Dark Reign so far?

[Anubis]

I feel nothing.....so far.

 

[Mr. Green]

I like it. Dark Avengers has been awesome, Osborn is a badass, War Machine has been cool, Deadpool has been really good, Elektra is a badass...

Two thumbs up so far.

 

[Dread]

I think I can say that I like the results so far, but not the premise that led to them.

Dark Reign basically allows Marvel to do the same exact plot they did with CIVIL WAR & THE INITIATIVE. That is, the U.S. is run by evil, corrupt men, and some armored jackass is leading his squad of storm-troopers against our heroes to pummel/arrest them for the flimsiest of reasons. When that was Iron Man and his Mighty Avengers, it worked sometimes but felt awkward in others; it usually worked best when it was the Thunderbolts, who all were either ex or current villains who craved combat more than arresting "outlaw heroes". DARK REIGN basically allows Marvel to do the same thing, only instead of it being genuine heroes who happen to be on one side of a debate, it's outright psycho's who the media are treating as heroes, but are really ravenous nutjobs. Treating Iron Man as an antagonist ran it's course, but Osborn's Iron Patriot works a lot better. It unites the legit heroes against outright villains in positions of power, and it works.

What doesn't work is how Norman Osborn rose to power, especially after all of the hand-ringing over legit heroes in CIVIL WAR. It makes absolutely no sense. Not even a planetary mind-wipe by Mephisto would explain the baloney of a convicted mass murderer/terrorist/psychopath becoming more beloved/trusted than Barack Obama in the MU. I know it is a story requirement, but it honestly is more unrealistic than radioactive spider-bites. It's beyond ridiculous, it's ridic-f***-ulous.

Still, if you can get over that, which I sometimes have trouble doing, and the aftermath hasn't been bad. Granted, I've been avoiding the Bendis books like the plague.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Secret Warriors would be so much better if it didn't force you to swallow the absurd notion that SHIELD has always been a part of HYDRA.

i'm sorry....what?

WHAT?


Are you kidding me?

 

[random_havoc]

i'm sorry....what?

WHAT?


Are you kidding me?

Exactly.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Haha, yeah, that was pretty much everyone's reaction when they read it. I knew it was coming even before I read the issue, since I picked up the second printing of #1, and I was still taken aback.

And the thing that really sucks is that the comic is pretty good if you just subtract that part of it. If the big threat looming in the background were anything other than "SHIELD was always a part of HYDRA and now they know we know," it'd be a 100% awesome book (well, 95% for me, since I'm still annoyed that Alex is blonde for no reason). Dum Dum Dugan just showed up in the last issue and is gonna reunite with Nick Fury in the next one, even! But it's because they're gonna hit a SHIELD/HYDRA facility to try and uncover more about this massive, stupid conspiracy retcon.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Haha, yeah, that was pretty much everyone's reaction when they read it. I knew it was coming even before I read the issue, since I picked up the second printing of #1, and I was still taken aback.

And the thing that really sucks is that the comic is pretty good if you just subtract that part of it. If the big threat looming in the background were anything other than "SHIELD was always a part of HYDRA and now they know we know," it'd be a 100% awesome book (well, 95% for me, since I'm still annoyed that Alex is blonde for no reason). Dum Dum Dugan just showed up in the last issue and is gonna reunite with Nick Fury in the next one, even! But it's because they're gonna hit a SHIELD/HYDRA facility to try and uncover more about this massive, stupid conspiracy retcon.

Man, i hope Jim Steranko hears about this and kicks Bendis in the nuts!

 

[TheCorpulent1]

He's gotta do a double-kick to catch Hickman, too. Co-writers, man.

 

[Dread]

Then I guess SECRET WARRIORS is like DARK REIGN as a whole; the general gist of the story is fine, you just have to swallow a giant turd of a premise at the start.

It would be great of a mainstream Marvel event not based in space could master a decent beginning, middle, and end, but whatever.

 

[fifthfiend]

Then I guess SECRET WARRIORS is like DARK REIGN as a whole; the general gist of the story is fine, you just have to swallow a giant turd of a premise at the start.

In fairness to Dark Reign overall, at least DR's ******ed premise doesn't wreck the entire appeal of the story. I can't really get hyped up for rockin' Nick Fury ass-kickin' action in the comic where you've just revealed that Nick Fury is the dumbest, most incompetent mother****er ever to walk the Earth.

I mean given Fury's newfound penchant for catastrophic, decades-long stupidity, why should I expect this book, now, to be anything other than Fury and company running around with their ***** in their hands while the supercompetent geniuses at Hydra are laughing behind his back and carrying out their 100% successful plot to murder every newborn infant in the world?

It's bad enough that this **** doesn't make any sense but for ****'s sake this isn't even cool.

 

[fifthfiend]

Like, to summarize: the one line, throw your brain out the window ******-rodeo version:

"Captain America and Iron Man beat the **** out of each other." Basically cool.

"Marvel's heroes team up to take on Norman Osborn, the newly crowned Emperor of America." Again, stupid if you stop to think about it, but if you aren't doing that, cool.

"Nick Fury finds out he's a pathetic ****up and has been for his entire career." Wait, what?

 

[Dread]

In fairness to Dark Reign overall, at least DR's ******ed premise doesn't wreck the entire appeal of the story. I can't really get hyped up for rockin' Nick Fury ass-kickin' action in the comic where you've just revealed that Nick Fury is the dumbest, most incompetent mother****er ever to walk the Earth.

I mean given Fury's newfound penchant for catastrophic, decades-long stupidity, why should I expect this book, now, to be anything other than Fury and company running around with their ***** in their hands while the supercompetent geniuses at Hydra are laughing behind his back and carrying out their 100% successful plot to murder every newborn infant in the world?

It's not even that the premise doesn't make sense, it's that it doesn't even have the decency to be cool.

You have me there. A major part of Nick Fury's appeal is that he is efficient, sometimes to a fault; exposing him as a dullard/stooge/patsy since he began really ruins that. But it reeks of something Bendis co-wrote or plotted or sniffed; he is all about stripping away characters that are larger than life to make them seem "pedestrian", isn't he? I mean he's the guy who decided Dr. Doom should be insulting people on the level of a disgruntled Tyra Banks and then arresting him would make him cooler. He's the guy who decided the best way to prove that Spider-Man deserved to be an Avenger was by making him their most useless member. He's the fellow who decided the best way to challenge the Avengers would be to have them fight ninjas in a hotel room, or that the same Electro who once battled the Hulk would faint at Luke Cage. But even if Hickman came up with that 100% alone, it's a giant turd on Nick Fury, and I agree, it doesn't work. Luckily, I smelled a rat coming, so I gave SECRET WARRIORS a pass.

It may have taken me years to ditch Bendis' ongoings (whether the ones he writes or co-writes) due to "wanting to stay current", but man, I don't miss 'em one bit. I don't miss the stress of having to read feces in paper form every month from him, or stuff he inspired or co-grips about.

 

[THANOSRULES]

I think I can say that I like the results so far, but not the premise that led to them.

Dark Reign basically allows Marvel to do the same exact plot they did with CIVIL WAR & THE INITIATIVE. That is, the U.S. is run by evil, corrupt men, and some armored jackass is leading his squad of storm-troopers against our heroes to pummel/arrest them for the flimsiest of reasons. When that was Iron Man and his Mighty Avengers, it worked sometimes but felt awkward in others; it usually worked best when it was the Thunderbolts, who all were either ex or current villains who craved combat more than arresting "outlaw heroes". DARK REIGN basically allows Marvel to do the same thing, only instead of it being genuine heroes who happen to be on one side of a debate, it's outright psycho's who the media are treating as heroes, but are really ravenous nutjobs. Treating Iron Man as an antagonist ran it's course, but Osborn's Iron Patriot works a lot better. It unites the legit heroes against outright villains in positions of power, and it works.

What doesn't work is how Norman Osborn rose to power, especially after all of the hand-ringing over legit heroes in CIVIL WAR. It makes absolutely no sense. Not even a planetary mind-wipe by Mephisto would explain the baloney of a convicted mass murderer/terrorist/psychopath becoming more beloved/trusted than Barack Obama in the MU. I know it is a story requirement, but it honestly is more unrealistic than radioactive spider-bites. It's beyond ridiculous, it's ridic-f***-ulous.

Still, if you can get over that, which I sometimes have trouble doing, and the aftermath hasn't been bad. Granted, I've been avoiding the Bendis books like the plague.

You know dread, Dark Reign isnt really a lame topic (although not original). ..I was thinking the other day how cool this whole deal would be if, per chance, it was a better and more worthy villian in charge of the whole deal....aka say DR. DOOM..who although a foriegn national, would be no less harder to fudge than Osborn.


Point of fact is, I never really liked Norman Osborn as a character. I like Spider man..but more so becuase he has had a myriad of classic rogues..the only Marvel villian with the true "DC-ish" rogues' gallery (P.S. I hate DC)..I never thought of Osborn as some sort of cool, underrated figure who needed his due.

Any way, after all is said and done...I do like what's going on now....sort of. Marvel is good right now..it's not as much a cluster as DC, and the stories and art are solid. I would probably do things different...but I'm not quitting yet...like i did for almost a year during civil war.

And I don't mind Bendis on Spider books..he writes a good spidey....but he does truly suck on classic team books.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm holding out hope that Doom and Loki are gonna usurp Osborn's control of everything. Doom's already got Namor and his surviving Atlanteans living in Latveria, he's probably about to get the Asgardians under his roof as well, and he's on the short list to become the new Sorcerer Supreme. If we ignore the fact that he spent every appearance a few months ago getting his ass kicked by the Fantastic Four and the Mighty Avengers, Doom's never looked better.

 

[fifthfiend]

I'm holding out hope that Doom and Loki are gonna usurp Osborn's control of everything.

Totally kidding yourself.

Doom's big plan is going to be like, Doom walks into Norman's office, goes "Doom tires of your plan and demands to be in charge!" and then gets owned like a mother****er by Norman's 80 year old secretary.

 

[moraldeficiency]

I'm hoping when it all comes out that dormammu is revealed and then you've got a crazy cluster**** of loyalties. Doom's served dormammu, loki's been punked out by him but fought with the avengers against him, then you've got strange and spider-man that have ties to dormammu and defeated him. It could get good if all of a sudden loyalties get recast when all the cards are shown. But that's probably too cool a concept for them to use and we'll get the standard hero/villian fight with extra splash pages.

 

[Dread]

I'm holding out hope that Doom and Loki are gonna usurp Osborn's control of everything. Doom's already got Namor and his surviving Atlanteans living in Latveria, he's probably about to get the Asgardians under his roof as well, and he's on the short list to become the new Sorcerer Supreme. If we ignore the fact that he spent every appearance a few months ago getting his ass kicked by the Fantastic Four and the Mighty Avengers, Doom's never looked better.

Unfortunately, I can't forget that Doom was pummeled by the Mighty Avengers with the stupidest invasion plan possible. "Let's all charge into Latveria with no plan, punch anything in sight, and have zero strategy!" And it WORKED!

He lost...to Sentry. NO ONE but Carnage loses to the Sentry. That's like losing to Typeface painted yellow.

Dr. Doom is not appealing as a jailed felon, and in FF he is begging for help from his demonic algebra teachers; it is a bit beneath him. Plus, he considers Osborn a threat. Please, this is a guy who tricked Mephisto. Osborn is a guy who can barely keep himself from laughing and punching windows until his knuckles are bloody when frustrated. Outwitting him for Doom shouldn't even be a challenge.

The problem is that Doom is larger than life, which Bendis and many in modern Marvel don't like, so he's now more pedestrian, which doesn't work.

The only hope is that if there is going to be an event mini where it is the heroes vs. Osborn, Doom, and Loki, then it is easy to see how it will go if Bendis writes it. The heroes will be inept and lose, and only circumstance will save the world. Just like in HOUSE OF M, or SECRET INVASION.

 

[BLACKVULCAN]

Man i am not really feeling any of this Dark Reign stuff, but i did pick up Hawkeye. I've always dug bullseye as a character so i was like let me check this out.
HOLY CRAP!!! THAT BOOK WAS AWESOME!!!
[BLACKOUT] My Boy goes on a Killing spree.I was like this book is for kids?? Freaking Bullseye pulled a joker and stabbed baby girl in the eye with the pen she wanted him to sign an autograph with. That was Freakin wrong, but priceless! I always loved that dude has absolute no remorse[/BLACKOUT]I am Totally digging this one i cant wait for Clint to show up. this book is out of line but too cool! I am stoked about this one.

 

[Kitsune]

I think Bernie Madoff will become treasury secretary in 2010.