The Dark Avengers are no more….all hail The Dark Avengers!! And so this great chapter in comics has come to a close with Dark Avengers Issue 16 and thus Dark Reign and Siege ends as well. This last 16 months has been a crazy ride! If you would have told me back in early 2009 that this book would be on the shelves and be consistently one of the highest selling books for 16 months strong I don’t know that I would have believed you. For those of you who have no idea who the Dark Avengers are and therefore must obviously had been frozen in an iceberg or shot out into space and are just now returning here is a quick update!

The government assigned the team’s redevelopment to Norman Osborn (the reputedly reformed super villain the Green Goblin) whom the government had previously assigned to head the superhero team the Thunderbolts and who had become a public hero for his role in repelling the Skrull threat. Osborn, also given leadership of the agency S.H.I.E.L.D, reforms that agency into H.A.M.M.E.R. and creates a new Avengers team under its aegis.The members of The Dark Avengers are Iron Patriot(Norman Osborn),Ms.Marvel (Moonstone),Spiderman (Venom),Hawkeye (Bullseye),Wolverine (Daken),Ares,Sentry/Void,Noh-Varr(Captain Marvel).

The series was written by Bendis with art from Mike Deodato and was P.O.W. many many times here on Comic Impact! I loved how the story progressed following a team of bad guy who you aren’t suppose to like  and who, god help them, are trying to do good. It really plays against the stereo types that are usually given to a super villain and whats more it fleshed out all of the characters, especially Norman Osborn! It also made you question if at some point Norman was really trying to change and make a positive impact to basically right all his former wrongs.

I remember talking to Simon about the whole DARK REIGN idea when Marvel announced it and I remember him saying “I don’t think they can keep this up for a full year and I think it will get stale”. I guess ultimately that is why they are called “The House Of Ideas” as Norman and his Avengers pushed every button on all the super hero community and kept the real Avengers on the run non-stop!I think that MARVEL as well as other comic companies should learn from this and mix things up like more often thus changing the status quo.When you think about it this was the larger back ground picture controlling what the Marvel Universe was. It effected every single story told  then and is even now is effecting future story arch’s.

I have to admit I am gonna miss crazy Norman being at the helm of H.A.M.M.E.R.I can only hope that they bring back this team in some way,shape or form as it has been a roller coaster ride. You better believe I will be one of the first ones to buy the fully collected hard cover of Dark Avengers when it comes out till then I may just have to re read 1-16!

Sheldon Lee

Sheldon@comicimpact.com