Dark Reign- A Quick Evaluation

An article by Brad    1 Comment

I was inspired earlier today by a Twitter post to explore Marvel’s latest “crossover”, Dark Reign.

Now, this is not your ordinary crossover because it is not focused on a single event, as World War Hulk or Civil War or Secret Invasion.  While these events did have ramifications on the Marvel Universe, they were singel events set within the framework of the Marvel Universe.

Dark Reign IS the Marvel Universe.  It is the status quo for the Marvel Universe for right now, and you can not avoid it.   There is no main book to read, as with the previous crossover examples I gave.  Every book in the Marvel universe is touched and affected by the Dark Reign.

For those of you who are not aware of what Dark Reign is, here is a really quick synopsis: After secret Invasion, Norman Osbourne was hailed as a hero and given the task of protecting the United states from both internal and external threats.  He disbanded SHIELD and set up HAMMER.  Much like with his first team the Thunderbolts, he has set up his own Avengers team, but behind the masks are murders and psychopaths.  And he is doing whatever he can to increase his control over the United States under his iron fist.

Just thing of Norman Osbourne as Barak Obama.  He doesn’t really care about the welfare of the common citizen, he just cares about controlling them to further increase his power.

Cheap shot aside… that’s DR in a nut shell. Now, while discussing DR, you have to separate it into two distinct aspects: the story itself, and the limited series crossover books, such as Sinister Spiderman and Hawkeye and The Hood and Zodiac, etc.

First off, the story:  Its fun.  The main story is mostly experienced through the Avengers books, Thunderbolts, and Iron Man, and now the X-books, with the beginning of the Dark X-men and Utopia storyline, but the threads can be felt through even the smaller books that tend to sit at the periphery, such as Punisher and Daredevil and the Hulk and the Fantastic Four

So, if you are a reader of most Marvel Comics, you will feel and see the effects of Dark reign.  And for right now, it’s okay.  Its something different.  It’s bleak.  It keeps you on your toes.  And it ties all of the main marvel books together in a single cohesive world.

I can’t understand how any president could appoint the ex-Green Goblin, a man with a known psychopathic and sociopathic history, as director of Security for the whole country, with no oversight, but you just have to accept it and suspend your disbelief

And now for teh limited-series tie ins.  I will admit it.  I haven’t bought any.  Why?  several reasons:

1. There are just too many, possibly up to a dozen.  Too many choices makes me not want to ready any
2. I’ve been burned before.  Marvel does this with every large crossover or event, and most of the time, the bulk of the tie-ins suck.  I’m willing to miss the rare gem if it means not wasting my time on a large handful of books that suck
3. Cost.  Guess what, true believers.  marvel has slowly been increasing the price of their books to $3.99.  Now there are only  a handful of books still $2.99.  And most, if not all of these limited-series tie ins, are $3.99.  That means… 12 series, an average of 4 books a series, at $4 apiece… that’s almost $200 for a lot of crap and a couple of good reads.  not worth it, in my estimation

So that’s my two cents.  Fun story, but the price of the limited series are not worth it.

I imagine DR will continue on for another 6 months to a year before Osborne is exposed, and then things settle down to somewhat normal again.

give me your thoughts

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