Comics / Comic Reviews / Marvel Comics

Dark Avengers #13

By Hervé St-Louis
January 23, 2010 - 15:08

This issue focuses on the real origin of the Sentry explaining how his Silver Age idealized story of a young boy stumbling into a serum that gave him his powers is wrong and that the Sentry really is a junkie who needs power, adulation and constant shots of the serum in order to quell his fix. This issue reveals that the Sentry may be the real villain of Siege, the Marvel Comics crossover of the year.

I never liked the Sentry. He’s a character created to match Superman and give Marvel Comics bragging rights. He was also implanted within Marvel Comics’ history after the fact. I am not a fan of continuity implant like the many missing kids that always pop up in series like Dynasty.  Thus, any story that sees him fall is a good one in my perspective. I like the revelation that the Silver Age origin was a little embellished. I like that his wife is the one telling the world the truth about the Sentry. I like how the Sentry is a real threat to the world. However, I don’t like how a simple serum would give the Sentry so many powers as much as I don’t like how the Cosmic Cube was built in a laboratory by regular humans. There is too much suspension of disbelief here. There are comparisons and hints made about God and Galactus and because everything about the Sentry is muddled, it’s hard to figure out what’s true and what’s false. I also have questions about the other junkie that was in the lab with the Sentry. Are the two characters merged into one which would explain how the Sentry has two personalities fighting for control inside one body? From what I understand, the Sentry is like the Spectre. He’s an avenging soul sent to rectify a wrong. That’s as much as I understand. It’s hard to know where this issue fits in the Siege storyline at this point. Bendis has this habit of writing side stories that complement the main crossover series, shedding light on unknowns. That’s what he’s doing here. It’s not the most original of techniques, but I do like what he has done with the Sentry thus far.

It’s hard to imagine that a year ago, I really did not like Deodato’s work on this series. I felt his characters’ gestures were odd and non natural. I didn’t like his storytelling either. Whereas I wished this series would end quickly, I now really like what is offered and the visual. Deodato has grown a lot in this series in subtle ways. His posing is no longer back pain inducing. His characters look like normal humans instead over muscled creatures suffering from roid rage. He also makes every one of them look different. Finally, his Norman Osborn is the best rendition of any current one with his Richard Nixon nose. This series really has grown and is a great one.

Rating: 9.5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12