Yeah. Daredevil Has Good Reason Not to Like Babies.
The new Dark Avengers saga continues and only gets better as Brian Michael Bendis returns the spotlight to the actual New Avengers this issue while also further developing his new incarnation of Norman Osborn's team.
Osborn rallies his new troops and launches a war of public perception against the Avengers, seemingly with Victoria Hand on his side. I expect a swerve coming with Hand's supposed loyalty to Osborn, but either way, it is an interesting path to take with the character. Bendis also just writes a great Norman Osborn. The charisma of the character comes off as genuine. You can believe that some people would really fall for his crap. He can not only frame things in a way that people want to hear but it really seems like he believes it too. I've always been impressed how Norman Osborn has become such an interesting character without really need to put on a goblin mask. It may have taken many years, but we have finally gotten some payoff to his idiotic resurrection at the end of the Clone Saga.
In my review for the previous issue, I had problems with how readily some members of the new Dark Avengers went along with Osborn. Some characters, like specifically Gorgon, would not believably play along with Osborn's game of having them play dress-up as Avengers. Thankfully, Bendis also recognized the ridiculousness of that and addresses it here. It turns out that the Dark Avengers don't play along quite so readily and question the wisdom of it all. What we get are two scenes that flesh out where some of these characters are coming from when they take part in Osborn's scheme. Some fall for Osborn's charms. Others have their own agendas. I really appreciate that Bendis took the time to explore this a little.
Something I've usually liked about Bendis' New Avengers is how he portrays them so informally. When this team meets, it's usually over Chinese take-out or, like in this issue, breakfast. This is in contrast to the tabled meetings Tony Stark will usually run or mission briefings Steve Rogers would give. It's a nice touch that stands as one of the few things that gives New Avengers a unique feel.
The issue begins with an entertaining scene of Daredevil coming to the mansion. Fun as it is, I personally just don't like Daredevil as an Avenger. It doesn't really feel like he adds anything to the group. We have great fighters in Iron Fist, Wolverine and Mockingbird. We have street-level perspectives in Luke Cage, Spider-Man and Jessica Jones. Daredevil's presence on the team comes off as redundant.
I do have to admit that there is something that comes off as a little forced about the anti-Avengers sentiment going on with some of the public. It seems to go against the whole point of the Heroic Age and even that of Fear Itself. I'm a little unclear as to what is bringing this on. Yeah, bad things have happened. They generally do happen in the Marvel Universe.
This issue of New Avengers features some good character work and story progression as Bendis fleshes out his latest Dark Avengers. The new lineup and underground coalition it all stems from leaves this feeling different enough from the last time Osborn showed up with his own team of Avengers, and this possibly being Bendis' last big Avengers stories leaves me very interested in how it all turns out.
