SECRET AVENGERS versus
THE HOOD/DORMAMMU
(Marvel)
Where: New Avengers #54 When: August 2009
Why: Brian Bendis How: Billy Tan

The Story So Far...
For decades, Dr. Stephen Strange shouldered the weight of burden that comes with receiving the mystic charge of the Sorcerer Supreme. As the destined master of magicks, he wielded his power to protect the delicate balance between good and evil as best he could, but when the Hulk returned from exile in space to wage war on Earth, Dr. Strange felt forced to tap into dark magic to combat the threat. It was decisions such as these that deemed him no longer worthy to protect the mortal plane as Sorcerer Supreme.

Dedicated as ever to the pursuit of good, Dr. Strange seeks out would-be successors in the hope of curtailing sinister forces who would seize the opportunity of his forced retirement, and prepare his replacement for the trials ahead. The Hood -- self-proclaimed "Kingpin of Super villains" -- emerges as his most active competitor on the side of evil, but battle does not influence the course of the sacred chain of succession.

Scanning the globe of it's mystic powers, the Eye of Agomotto finds a fitting successor in New Orleans. Thus, Dr. Strange -- joined by his former teammates in the underground Secret Avengers -- enters into a race against The Hood to ensure the power is inherited by the one intended, and not Dormammu, who is the powerful daemon with a claim to The Hood's soul.

Reaching out from his prison in the Dark Dimension from whence he came, Dormammu uses The Hood as a vessel for his own influence. It is a partnership that has allowed him to breach our plane and engage Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, in combat in the streets of New Orleans. Though a significant occult power in his own right, it is not Hellstrom that the Eye of Agomotto has chosen.

Jericho Drumm, known to the occult world as the Haitian houngan, Brother Voodoo, is the new Sorcerer Supreme. When fully realised, his powers will be sufficient enough to protect the Earth from the darkest evils of all the realms, but first he must survive the battle he is about to enter!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Dormammu 7 (Omnipotent)
Intelligence: Dormammu 6 (Genius)
Speed: Ms. Marvel 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Dormammu 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Dormammu 7 (Cosmic)


- The Secret Avengers are: Captain America, Spider-man, Ms. Marvel, Ronin, Mockingbird, Spider-Woman, Wolverine, & Luke Cage, with; Dr. Strange, Son of Satan, and Brother Voodoo.

Confronted with a government intent on pitting him against the reluctant and unwilling of his fellow heroes, Captain America instead threw his training and leadership against SHIELD and the US Government, to instead lead a resistance against their mandatory Superhero Registration Act. These Secret Avengers emerge to continue to fight the good fight, whilst protecting those who have pledged their lives to protecting the innocent. Among the most prominent and first to join the Captain's cause were; Hercules, Goliath, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Falcon, Cloak, Dagger, and Cable.

Captain America's surrender to Tony Stark ended the superhero Civil War, and his subsequent assassination galvanized the efforts of the underground team allowed leniency by the guilty powers-that-be. Thus, these Secret Avengers continue to honor their leader, dedicated to the same justice he always sought.

- A career thief; Parker Robbins' lifetime ambition was to become a super-villain capable of battling the likes of Daredevil and Electro, who he witnessed fighting as a child. Whilst robbing a warehouse said to contain unspecified treasures, Parker gained his opportunity upon uncovering a mystically charged set of boots and cloak said to house the demon, Nistanti. Donning the red cloak granted him powers of transmutation, levitation, invisibility, and lethal bolts of energy.

As The Hood, Robbins continues to carry his weapons of choice, two hand pistols, whilst backing himself with the powers of a demon later revealed to be the dark lord of magic, Dormammu. With his master's help and inspiration of Wilson Fisk -- the Kingpin of crime his father had worked with -- Robbins begins a path to form a unified network of super powered criminals. As Kingpin of Super-Villains, he begins an association with a secret Cabal that creates a partnership with Director of HAMMER to whom he would supply hired muscle, Norman Osborn, and also brings him league with the likes of Dr. Doom and Loki.

The dread Dormammu is an ancient mystic warlord that travelled to the Dark Dimension and conquered it. His interests in other domains brought him into conflict with Earth's first Sorcerer Supreme, Agamotto, and began a destined feud with the denizens of Earth that would stretch to his most bitter arch-rivalry with Agamotto's modern counterpart, The Ancient One, and his disciple, Dr. Strange.

Bound mystically to remain confined to the Dark Dimension, Dormammu is forced to manipulate his foes through minions such as Stephen Strange's rival, Baron Mordo. His becomes an obsession of loopholes, constantly bringing him into distant battles with other heroes from Earth, such as Dr. Strange's fellow Defenders; Thor, Norse God of thunder; and even Spider-man.

Math: Avengers (Ttl) Hood/Dormammu (Avg) Ranking: Spider-man (#2)

What Went Down...
Stirred by the battle already waging outside his window, Brother Voodoo has only moments to come to terms with the download of information offered by the Eye of Agamotto. He has been chosen -- and now bares both the gift and curse of being Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. Now, a baptism of fire against The Hood who has become a vessel for Dormammu to walk the Earth.

With Dr. Strange bringing up the rear, and his houngan brother's spirit advising him, Brother Voodoo charges into battle with the demon! It is an offensive-defense that sends Dormammu reeling with a strike from the Staff of Legba.

A friendly neighbourhood shower of weblines precede the dramatic re-entry of the Avengers into the fray! Brother Voodoo gazes upon the assembly while Captain America throws his mighty shield to earn an exacerbated grunt from the human-demon hybrid.

Ronin keeps The Hood's co-conspirator, Madame Masque, out of the battle, while Ms. Marvel follows up on Cap's hit with a headlock that gives her leverage to drive Dormammu's giant flaming influence face-first into the street! The blow sets up a string of teamwork which includes Dr. Strange and Son of Satan hatching a magic collaboration to produce an end-game.

Meanwhile, Wolverine gets a shot at a little revenge for a previous encounter with The Hood, slashing his unbreakable adamantium claws through a mystically-protected gut in a burst of flames. It's a two-prong attack, complimented by a stinger blast to the mandible by Spider-Woman!

Dormammu reacts fast, slamming his fists down, but the heroes are fast and agile enough to evade the strike. Captain America again uses the shield to inflict a blow, while Spider-man and Mockingbird do their best to contribute with webs and a dropkick, respectively. Despite their teamwork, Dormammu is able to make a charge for the Eye of Agamotto hung around Brother Voodoo's neck.

Luke Cage runs interference, tackling the rampaging demon mere meters from Voodoo. Cage is swiftly manhandled as the flesh of The Hood melts away, signifying the extent of the crossing of Dormammu into our dimensional plane.

The Avengers are batted aside by the increasingly powerful Dormammu as he attempts again to obtain the mystic artifact tied to the Sorcerer Supreme. The former barer, Dr. Strange, calls upon his still impressive mystic arsenal to defend Brother Voodoo, however, unleashing a spell to expose Dormammu!

The powerful spell forces Dormammu into Daimon Hellstrom's completed trap!
As the demonlord lunges once again toward the Eye, he is held in bondage by Hellstrom's hellacious incantation. Dormammu's only consolation is to gaze upon his mortal foe, Dr. Stephen Strange, and revel in his demotion from the coveted role of Sorcerer Supreme.

Strange's replacement proves his worth by rendering both the Doctor and Son of Satan redundant in exorcising Dormammu from the body of Parker Robbins [aka; The Hood]. The esoteric incantation surprises even Hellstrom as it rips Dormammu's presence from this plane of existance, leaving a powerless Hood smouldering and naked in the street. He joins his lover, Madame Masque, in Spidey web-couture and the custody of the Avengers.

The Hammer...
You only need to go back fifteen or twenty years ago to remember a time when Dormammu was an A-list villain. He probably didn't have the presence to be a Dr. Doom, but he was a Galactus grade magic villain. Alas, it's an unauspicious debut as his internship of The Hood comes to an end via the efforts of Brother Voodoo, Dr. Strange, Son of Satan, and the Secret Avengers!

For you Infinite Wars stathounds, I'm playing it tough this time around and counting the Avengers' efforts as an assist stat. For those of you reading the site for the first time -- welcome! Here on The Comic Book Fight Club we like to look at superhero fights, discuss the comics and fiction, and just generally wallow in the pop culture fun time of comic books! Part of that includes a statistical tally of the fights reviewed.

At first glance, this looks like an unexpected truncation of The Hood's reign as Kingpin of Supervillains! In the Dark Reign landscape of the Marvel Universe, the demonically powered villain was second only to Norman Osborn in importance to the overarching clandestine machinations of evil. However, here, in the issue that finally reveals the new choice for Sorcerer Supreme, we seemingly see The Hood stripped of his powers and consequently taken out of the game!

I want to reflect on that last sentence for a second, just because it so succinctly summarizes the fact that Brian Bendis, seasoned writer of New Avengers since it's inception, has actually been cramming each issue full of content!

In the past it's been very easy to be critical of the writing, particularly on New Avengers, which barely began to find grounding before it was thrown into a free fall as a result of the Civil War rift. Here in the fifties, it feels like Bendis has finally delivered the book it was always meant to be, and it is quite glorious!

It's also been a rewarding piece of Marvel's attempts to circumvent the now traditional annual 'event' series, to instead spread the consequences of a high concept tale across multiple books. In a way, this sense of involving continuity has been a staple of the DC books for the past few years, but by doing away with any anchoring mini-series, Marvel have opened them up to a unique approach.

After the embrassments of House of M and Secret Invasion, I would've argued Marvel should never let Bendis get anywhere near a directorial position ever again. Yet -- with the personalized structure of multiple titles, the writer has found a vehicle more suited to his slow style. Dark Reign has found it's way into books as unlikely as Marvel Zombies, but the meat of the branding has been shared between books like Dark Avengers, New Avengers, and Secret Warriors, allowing for a more relaxed approach to a story that would traditionally have brought a lot of these events into a single compressed space. The Civil War mini-series comes to mind as a series that was, while satisfying as an event book, a prime example of the delineation of the story. Likewise, the Dark Reign banner hasn't strangled the life out of on-going series in the way Civil War completely derailed New Avengers!

Having spent several months thinking Dark Reign was going to be a brief storyarc about Strange's changing of the guard, it's a thrill to finally get a clear picture of the concept. And while a big part of me regrets the fact that Dr. Strange hasn't played much more than bit-roles in recent years, it's fun seeing Brother Voodoo get some of the credit he never quite got after Fred Hembeck had some fun.

Like Captain America's death; it's difficult to think of Dr. Strange's demotion in any kind of lasting terms. As fine and dandy as it would be to have Voodoo hold the mantle for the forseeable future, he probably isn't the character first-in-line for that kind of unmotivated upgrade.
With all the foreboding going on at the end of this issue of New Avengers (via Daimon Hellstrom), it seems pretty likely Bro' Voodoo's being set up for a fall of spectacular proportions. The kind of fall that kicks off a massive Marvel magic event in 2010/2011, and forces him to sacrifice himself in a blaze of glory, whilst tossing Doc Strange the keys to the kingdom on the way out.

What ever the goal, it's kinda nice to see these characters getting warmed up again! Even more pleasing is the fact that Bendis -- who doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to paying attention to stories not on his desk -- made a pretty good meal of them, too! You get a sense that the Marvel staff of thirty-to-forty-somethings are making use of the rest of the reading the did during the seventies, beyond obvious revivals of characters like Spider-Woman, and Power Man. It seems like you can barely turn a corner without bumping in to a Werewolf by Night or Shang-Chi solicitation, these days!

Thanks to Dark Reign, New Avengers has really gotten a new lease on life, and for perhaps the first time in it's run, is doing what it can do best. The Avengers are plugged in to the centre of the Marvel Universe and their actions have suddenly taken on the kind of gravitas that was teased at the end of 2007.

Billy Tan's pencils do a pretty good job delivering on the action in an issue that lives up to all your expectations of team-based superheroics. The hero of this issue might be Justin Ponsor, however, who works well the primary colours of some of the Avengers' costumes, balanced with the night time backdrop and glowing embers of Dormammu. Ponsor delivers the classic excellence you would expect of a Marvel colourist, with just the right flourish of CG to compliment some of the glowing far-out action and spellcasting.

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 6

New Avengers appears monthly from Marvel Comics featuring an all-star line-up of characters that includes; Spider-man, Wolverine, and Captain America! You can find more of those characters' exploits and links to collections of the tales via the Infinite Wars Secret Archive and Online Gift Shoppe! By using purchase links provided on the site, (like those to the right), you help sponsor future entries in The Comic Book Fight Club. You can also benefit from the range of titles and prices made available by shopping with Amazon.com and still contribute even when buying other items, provided you go through us!

QUICK FIX: CRIMSON DYNAMO vs IRON MAN
World's Most Wanted Part 7:
The Shape of the World These Days (Marvel)
Where: Invincible Iron Man #14 When: August 2009
Why: Matt Fraction How: Salvador Larroca

THE TAPE...
Strength: Draw 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Iron Man 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 6 (Generator)
Agility: Iron Man 2 (Average)
Fighting: Crimson Dynamo 4 (Trained)
Energy: Draw 5 (Lasers)

Math: Iron Man
Ranking: Iron Man (#3)

THE FIX...
At the beginning of this year's season, I predicted a quiet year for Iron Man, and I suppose in a manner of speaking, that's what it's been. 2006 put the shellhead at the forefront of comics when he led, and technically won, the Marvel Civil War. The event - which pitted Iron Man and Captain America against each other as ideological figureheads of their opinions on superhero consignment - thrust Iron Man into the role of Director of SHIELD, and consequently, positioned him to be at the centre of the Marvel Universe.

Opinions of the character rendered Iron Man as one of reader's most reviled and successful "villains" in comics. Yet, as you might imagine, sympathies were turned in time for a major motion picture that established the Iron Man brand as a force to be reckoned with in the mainstream. The comics house of cards came tumbling down, however, with Secret Invasion, which allowed then-Director of the Commission on Superhuman Activities, Norman Osborn, to steal the throne.

World's Most Wanted positions Tony Stark on the run, as a fugitive from the new regime that has branded him a coward and traitor to America. Contrary to those accusations, Stark's as dedicated to heroism as ever, and he's determined to destroy all the data and technology he accumulated during his time as Director of SHIELD to prevent Norman Osborn getting his evil hands on it. For a man merged with machine, this means even destroying chunks of his own mind -- uh oh!

Yes! The situation does look grim for Tony Stark, but with a sequel to the massively successful 2008 film slated for release next year, you can't shake the feeling that current plotlines all point toward a restoration of Iron Man as beloved member of the good guys in time for the sequel.

Okay. Maybe they didn't hit the reset button for the last film, when it would arguably have been more important to do so, but Civil War had bubbled into the background by 2008, and anyone who looked in on the shellhead could've easily mistaken him for the beloved hero he always was (as opposed to a jezebel). So maybe it's at least plausible that the shifting tectonic plates of influence on the Marvel Universe might be conspiring for a reset in time for the sequel.

Let's be honest -- it isn't just cross-promotion that's pointing in the direction of a new normality in the Marvel Universe. As much fun as Dark Reign has been as a high concept exercise, it almost seems designed specifically to deconstruct the validity of well argued policy initiated by Civil War. Essentially; Dark Reign is an extention of the tale, using the circumstances that allowed Tony Stark to assume the level of control he did in response to disaster, as a stepping stone toward a more explicit tale of evil exploitation. Without Stark, we wouldn't have Osborn.

Trends in superhero comics seem to be retreating from the hard-choice post-9/11 pseudo-politics of police states and government paranoia. For the first time in years, you can almost imagine a reunion of Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, as the save-the-day butt kickers in a go-for-it-boys moment of fist pumping justice as the classic Avengers unite to take down Osborn and his lackeys!

It's a fun thought, even if it seems like such a shame to interrupt the urban rythmn the Secret Avengers have finally gotten into, in New Avengers. Hey! I guess it's wouldn't be the first time there've been two official Avengers teams in the books! I think I'm getting a little bit distracted by what ifs now, though.

Here in the present; Tony Stark continues his journey across the world in retro armor. I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a kick out of seeing the classic look, but it's starting to look like it'll come at a price...

I realise it's a little ironic, given that I've just spent a lot of time speaking pretty positively about undoing the last few years worth of storylines, but I'm really not fond of the prospect of Iron Man being stripped of his Extremis upgrades from the Warren Ellis story of the same name, from 2006. It's got the same bad taste and lack of creative vision that the undoing of Grant Morrison's New X-Men had, and it feels like it's the kind of ham-fisted direction we've seen Marvel undertake too many times under the current regime.

Iron Man is a technological hero for a technological age.

I got quite excited by the prospect of previews that showed Iron Man travelling to Russia where he would lock horns with the Crimson Dynamo. Yet, as much as I have an affection for those antiquated iconographies, Iron Man has progressed beyond them. The technology available to the hero needs to respond in kind.

Extremis errs on the side of science-fiction, but dances creatively enough to balance the necessity for real-world technological touchstones, with a superhero possessing that which is beyond normal (human) means. I really do hope I'm wrong about the possibility of Iron Man losing that part of the canon as a result of World's Most Wanted's story. It would be a very negative legacy to a tale that otherwise feels a bit like a play right now, reenacting the moments before Dark Reign falls, rather than being the story of the build-up.

To the matter of this week's quick fix fight -- Iron Man finds himself under rocket fire as he flies through the snow-filled skies over Arkhangelsk, Russia.

The retro armor cobbled together over days of hopping through tech-stations does an admirable job of out-flying the missiles, but is simply unable to compete with several-to-one. After out maneuvering a few exploding shells, the golden (and red) Avenger is caught in the blastwave of one explosion, only to catch the near full brunt of another.

The Crimson Dynamo (Dmitri Bukharin) is quick to arrive on the scene, swatting the grounded Iron Man at staggering speeds, before looming over him like a metallic red hulk. Believing this enfeebled Iron Man to be a rogue impostor, the Dynamo clutches his armored opponent and wrenches the helmet free. Beneath he finds an almost unrecognisable man, whose quest has been one of self-destruction, as much about deleting the data he accumulated as Director of SHIELD, as it is about deleting himself.

Convinced, Bukharin embraces the man he had come to count as an ally.
This isn't the first Crimson Dynamo to wear the red, or the first to be befriended by Tony Stark in the modern post-Cold War age [ie; Valentin Shatalov]. Bukharin offers to help the embattled Stark, later even denying Norman Osborn requests to enter Russian quarters in an effort to retrieve his fugitive foe.

As a piece of the Dark Reign puzzle, so far Invincible Iron Man feels reasonably disposable. This is connective tissue to the past, and presumably at some point, the future. For me, the attraction has been the guest characters more than the plot going on around them. I actually quite like that everything about Iron Man feels very insular, right after he spent several years appearing in almost every Marvel title. It's a fun reversal of roles and a great way to capture the Iron Man story with gravitas. At the same time, it's disconnection and indulgence in internal plotlines just doesn't thrill me the way other Dark Reign series have.

Like I said earlier, if there's a return to glory for Iron Man and his resurrected fellows, then this just feels all the more like killing time. I skipped the issue between this and #12. If there was anything of vital importance to miss, I certainly didn't notice it. These days that's the mark of a "friendly" good writer, but in this case, it feels like testimony against a by-the-numbers book.

The Fight: 3 The Issue: 4
Winner: Crimson Dynamo

Invincible Iron Man is currently available monthly from Marvel Comics! You can pre-order the World's Most Wanted trade collection, and many others, from Amazon! By using purchase links provided on the site, you help sponsor future techno-entries on the Infinite Wars! You'll find more stories like this in the Infinite Wars Gift Shoppe, including plenty of Iron Man, and other collections containing issues reviewed in the Secret Archives!

THE SHADOW INITIATIVE versus ROUGHHOUSE & BLOODSCREAM
Avengers: The Initiative Disassembled Part 4 (Marvel)
Where: Avengers: The Initiative #24 When: July 2009
Why: Christos N. Gage How: Humberto Ramos

The Story So Far...
When tragedy claimed the lives of hundreds of children in Stamford, Connecticut, the reckless superheroics of the New Warriors were blamed for instigating the violence perpetrated by the villain, Nitro. Thus, the call to register and police the use of superpowers became the championed cause of Tony Stark, aka; Iron Man.

Whilst battling his heroic opponents in the streets, Stark pushed forward the Superhero Registration Act which helped usher in the Fifty States Initiative -- a program to train young heroes under experienced veterans and guarantee the presence of a superhero team in every American state.

Within the Initiative organization itself is a secretive special operatives branch dubbed the Shadow Initiative. Their activities remain top secret and denied by all levels of the Initiative, allowing them to operate in secret for specific missions. Such an objective leads the group, under the leadership of Taskmaster, to Madripoor, where they track the traitorous Initiative alumnist, Hardball. With the Initiative closing down under assumed control by Norman Osborn, the Shadow group are on their own against the mercenaries of a town without law.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Roughhouse 5 (Superhuman)
Intelligence: Taskmaster 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Bengal 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Bloodscream 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Bengal 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Taskmaster 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Typhoid Mary 4 (Arsenal)


- The Shadow Initiative are: Taskmaster, Constrictor, Bengal, & Typhoid Mary.

With the appointment of Tony Stark as Director of SHIELD on the back of plans to register and train all known super-powered heroes, the Fifty States Initiative is passed to ensure a superhero team for every American state. The Initiative pays special attention to the next generation of heroes, erecting a training facility in Stamford, where the tragedy that sparked concerns about hero registration first occurred. Camp Hammond was named after the late Human Torch and is decicated to training the next wave of American heroes.

Within the Initiative organization itself is a secret special operative unit dubbed the Shadow Initiative. The original line-up included Bengal, Trauma, Constrictor, Mutant Zero, and the Scarlet Spiders. Their activities are strictly denied by the Initiative, which, upon the dissolving of SHIELD after Tony Stark was ousted by Norman Osborn under allegations of corruption, leaves the group stranded in the field under the leadership of late recruit, Taskmaster.

- Born in sixteenth century London; Zachariah Ravenscraft served as a physician on board a ship captained by Sir Francis Drake. During a battle with the Spanish galleon, Ravenscraft was mortally wounded and forced to seek the medical aid of a shaman named Dagoo. Using the mystic arts of necromancy, Dagoo saved the surgeon's life with a potion that transformed him into an undying creature similar to that of a living vampire. As Bloodscream, Ravenscraft lives an immortal life, using his powers to nefarious ends, whilst ever searching for the blood of an immortal to complete the potion to restore his humanity at the price of mortality.

Roughhouse is descended from a race of Asgardian trolls, but the details of his origins remain unknown. He possesses the superhuman strength and endurance associated with his lineage, but is said to carry the scars of an abusive childhood beneath his shaggy exterior.

Bloodscream and Roughhouse formed a working partnership on the island of Madripoor, where they were employed as muscle for the crime boss, General Coy. Despite being defeated in Madripoor by Wolverine, the pair have renewed their partnership throughout the years, working as mercenaries and arch-rivals of the clawed mutant.

Math: Shadow Initiative (Ttl) Bloodscream (Avg) Ranking: Constrictor (#566)

What Went Down...
A deluge of rain floods the streets of Madripoor where the members of the secret Shadow Initiative come face-to-face with the mercenary characters that populate this lawless town. Bloodscream & Roughhouse - a pseudo-vampire and troll - old names in the ranks of Madripoor's rogues and hoods.

Barrelling down on the squad leader, Roughhouse sends Taskmaster hurtling into the surrounding urban facade, shrugging off the coiled grappling of former villain-for-hire, the Constrictor. His rampage continues in the direction of the source of the metallic tendrils -- leading Constrictor to wrap his coils around the troll's throat.

Meanwhile, Bengal and Typhoid Mary contend with the vampire-like menace of Bloodscream, whose immortal condition allows him to withstand multiple lethal blows from the sword-wielding femme fatale.

Bloodscream, duelling blade-to-blade with Mary, succeeds in disarming her of the deadly katana, but with a killing blow in sight, his ignorance of Mary's unique abilities prove his folly. Utilizing her pyro-telekinesis, she summons her sword, cutting off Bloodscream's head along with his finishing stike.

With their adversaries seemingly subdued; the Shadow Initiative are forced to come to terms with their predicament as an abandoned cell amidst SHIELD's disassembly. With an entire island of mercenaries, and Hydra on their tail, the group face overwhelming odds, but as Bloodscream soon informs them, they are yet to completely overcome their present opposition.

The pseudo-vampire reattaches his head and attacks an unsuspecting Typhoid Mary. By snatching her arm, he invites a psychological break from the unstable assassin. She ignites the villain and herself with her pyrokinetic flames.

The assault levels yet another potentially lethal attack on Bloodscream, whilst forcing Taskmaster to turn his attentions on a teammate. Effectively victorious, the master fighter calms Mary and orders Constrictor to relinquish his dominance over Roughhouse, redirecting concerns to a conclusion. No longer bound to SHIELD, the group suggest a truce, defecting to HYDRA -- or so it seems...

The Hammer...
Admittedly, the aftermath of the fight presents something of a stalemate scenario, but based on the battle, we declare the Shadow Initiative victorious! Special note: Taskmaster and Bengal didn't get real involved in the scrap, so we'll put them down as assists.

It's nice to finally get competition for June underway after a string of delays pushed this writing back to the start of August. Content is content, in my opinion, but it would be nice if we could gradually work toward being contemporary in our references. I like to think slightly obscure issues such as this will be a valued resource to future readers, but right now, you're probably more interested in more current developments. Assuming, of course, you're actually reading Avengers: The Initiative.

A couple of years into publication, it seems obvious that The Initiative is one of those sleeper titles people will talk about in the future. Born out of the squabble event of Civil War, the series has managed to touch upon each significant Marvel event since, making it one of the most relevant titles to the pulse of the Marvel Universe. Secret Invasion set-up Norman Osborn's rise to power in Dark Reign, a political scenario that connects very specifically to this series, and appears to be right at the top of the agenda of Year Three of the series.

If there was a strength to this title from day-one, it was it's inherent connection to high-concept reflections of Marvel's editorially driven events. Over the past few years, it's been DC that have taken control of their universe-wide "continuity," connecting sequential consequence in ways once considered the domain of Marvel, but no longer. The Initiative is the custodian of this notion, creating many of it's own unique curiosities, (such as the Iron Spiders), whilst remaining a constant reflection of the shifting sands of the shared universe around it.

I have to admit, this has been one of those series that's krept into my frame of interest with regularity, but constantly fell relegated to more "significant" titles through financial elimination. Finally, a quiet week persuaded me to lay down the comparatively reasonable $2.99US, in the interest of getting an overdue taste.

Like the old ham I am, I was attracted to the combination of the six characters involved in today's feature battle. Taskmaster in particular is one of those characters that's long called for a regular role, but for whatever reason, has regularly been overlooked by the powers-that-be. It might've taken a complete overhaul of the political landscape of the Marvel U -- one that's inevitably to be short-lived, probably not far into 2010 -- but at least it finally happened. Makes good sense, too, given Taskmaster's history as a trainer (of folks like USAgent).

I don't know how well it syncs up with their previous developments, but it's also a lot of fun to drift back into the grimey world of Madripoor and bump into forgotten B-listers like Bloodscream and Roughhouse. Particularly in a year that featured Wolverine under the film-inspired spotlight, it's kinda cool to know these slightly cheesy nineties icons are still running around to be used in the future. It's the kind of attention you like to see from the corporates, actually taking full advantage of their lengthy history and universe of characters. Bloodscream might not be a trademark cashcow any time soon, but we seem to have gotten past our phase of eighties-inspired urban stoicism to indulge again in the magic of comics.

Much like Dark Avengers; Avengers: The Initiative will now effectively extend the Thunderbolts concept as Norman Osborn holds his Dark Reign over the Marvel Universe. Whether or not the wolf-in-sheeps-clothing era will be the end of this series remains in the hands of Marvel's dedication to utilizing the unique nature of the series, and promoting it sufficiently. Christos Gage and Humberto Ramos, as creative names in a sychophantic market, are a pretty decent vote of confidence for the title, following Dan Slott and his collaborators.

Ramos' kinetic cartoon style probably won't endear to traditionalists, but this is the kind of title that's arguably laying the foundations for future generations of readers. Osmosis on the internet has probably led a lot of youngsters to adopt the cross-eyed confusion of those who genuinely struggle with the concept of the shared superhero universe, but those more open-minded cartoon networkers are exactly the kind of demographic that Ramos' style could speak to -- inducting them into the Marvel Universe with some of the most interesting tangential characters. Which is how many of us got into this gig twenty-or-more years ago.

For the modern-traditionalists, if you're knee-deep in Dark Reign and considering the Initiative, it might just be worth your while to check this out. 'Cause with a special ops team all to his own, y'just know Osborn's going to get up to no good!

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 4.5

To get the whole transition of The Initiative from SHIELD control, to HAMMER, check out the Disassembled collection available in hardcover, and soft TPB at the end of the year. By taking the initiative to use Amazon purchase links provided on the site, you help sponsor future entries of the Infinite Wars. You'll find plenty more collections in the Gift Shop, which features editions containin most issues reviewed in the Secret Archives. Thank you for your patience.

PUNISHER versus THE HOOD'S SYNDICATE
Living in Darkness: Part 5 (Marvel)
Where: Punisher #5 When: July 2009
Why: Rick Remender How: Jerome Opena

The Story So Far...
When opportunity presented itself, Norman Osborn branded former Director of SHIELD and man in whom the people put their trust, Tony Stark, a traitor and coward. A conspiracy of events, including the secret invasion of disguised Skrull aliens, created the circumstances through which the former Green Goblin was able to elevate himself from directorial position within the Thunderbolts, to the head of a newly formed intelligence agency replacing the corrupted SHIELD.

Recognising Osborn for the man he truly is -- (rather than the man records show was once wrongly accused of being a super-villain) -- the Punisher sets out to do the thing he knows best: wage a bloody war on the bad guys!

Standing in Frank Castle's way is a network of allies Osborn has formed both on the right and wrong sides of the law. After clashing with membership of Osborn's Avengers, he now faces the ire of card carrying powers from Osborn's secret Cabal, forcing him into a much less public fight with the self-proclaimed "Kingpin of super-villains," Parker Robinson, aka; The Hood. Joined by whiz hacker "Henry," Punisher attempts to turn the tables on his pursuer, but the Hood's demonic powers will provide a twist Frank Castle could not possibly have a contingency for, bringing him face-to-face with an old friend and new enemy...

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Mr. Hyde 5 (Superhuman)
Intelligence: Punisher 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Mr. Hyde 3 (Street Wise)
Stamina: Mr. Hyde 5 (Marathon)
Agility: Razor Fist 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Razor Fist 5 (Martial Arts)
Energy: Punisher 4 (Arsenal)


- When his family was murdered by the mob for witnessing a gangland execution, Frank Castle dedicated himself to a zealous one-man war against all organized crime as The Punisher.

Drawing upon his extensive training as a soldier during the Vietnam War; Castle adopts the death's head skull as his symbol, dealing death to gangsters, drug dealers, kidnappers, and any other criminal who crosses his path.During his career as the Punisher he continues to hone his abilities while also amassing a wealth of standard and unusual munitions, including supernatural and super-science weapons stolen from super-villains he has defeated. Combined with a rare tactical mind for warfare, and his skills in hand-to-hand combat, Frank Castle's arsenal makes him a formidable opponent even for superhuman targets.

Prominent enemies include; Jigsaw, Kingpin, Bullseye, Barracuda, Ma Gnucci. Violent activity in New York has made Punisher a regular sparring partner (and sometimes ally) for heroes such as Spider-man and Daredevil, as well.

Most recently, Castle has set his sights on Norman Osborn; the former Green Goblin who usurped Tony Stark's position as the head of the foremost intelligence agency connected to super-powers. Punisher's attempts at assassination have earned him the attentions of Osborn's allies, including members of the Avengers and the legion of villains operating under the leadership of The Hood.

- The Hood's Super-Villains are: Brothers Grimm (Grimes), Mr. Hyde, Grizzly, Razor Fist, and Microchip.

A series of attacks on rival criminals and low rankings superheroes earned Parker Robinson the role he sought as Kingpin of Super-Villains in New York City. Tigra and the The Owl were among the first key victims in a showing of strength that gained The Hood the trust and loyalty afforded by cult status within the ranks of the underworld.

The Hood's immediate associations include the demonic sorceror who sponsors his powers, Dormammu, as well as members of the secret organization called The Cabal. Their ranks include Norman Osborn, Dr. Doom, Loki, Sub-Mariner, and Emma Frost.
Among the prominent figures holding membership within Hood's syndicate of villains are; Jigsaw, The Wrecking Crew, Madam Masque, The Wizard, Crimson Cowl, The Controller, Electro, Grey Gargoyle, Night Shift, Living Laser, Scarecrow, Nitro, Mr. Hyde, Purple Man, Razor Fist, and Tombstone.

Math: Punisher (Avg) The Hood's Gang (Ttl) Ranking: Punisher (#101)

What Went Down...
Having infiltrated The Hood's base via the use of Ant-Man shrinking technology and a strategic pizza delivery, Punisher successfully storms the villain's street level security, enabling him to go straight for the prize -- The Hood himself!

Following instructions from his tech-advisor, Henry; Punisher navigates toward the basement level of the Hood's establishment. There, Frank Castle comes face-to-face not with the red garbed Kingpin of Supervillains, but rather, his former ally and tech-support, Microchip. His once dead ally attempts to persuade Castle to abandon his violent quest, dangling the prospect of resurrecting his family like a carrot infront of a mule.

Before Castle can send his former partner back to the grave, he's ambushed by one of the tricks of the Brothers Grimm! They, along with Grizzly, Razor Fist, and Mr. Hyde, emerge from the shadows to defend Microchip and Hood's interests.

With Henry piping instructions in his ear, it becomes apparent the Punisher had not entered the fray without anticipating such an arrival. Armed with a stolen alien ice gun, he swiftly incapacitates Mr. Hyde and the other villains within constructs described as having a molecular desnity greater than a small sun. Despite this trivia shared by Henry, Mr. Hyde is able to break free of the ice!

He flings Punisher like a ragdoll, effortlessly sending the vigilante hurtling across the basement space. With blows that have rattled the Hulk and Thor, Hyde swings wildly at the scrambling Punisher, destroying computers and other incidental scenery in his wake. The Punisher evades each strike narrowly, scrambling while Henry formulates a back-up plan.

Cool under pressure, Castle dives for the tiny gun he'd used with dramatic effect in his entrance into the building. Though small, the advanced weapon packs a mighty punch, bathing Hyde in the explosive discharge of his fire.

Though impressive in scope, the weapon fails to phase the immensly powerful Mr. Hyde. Smouldering with his clothes in tatters, Hyde promises a grim fate for the intruding vigilante. Clutching his prey by the ankle, Hyde again tosses him across the basement, this time triggering an explosion from the impact delivered to Punisher's backpack of munitions.

With his weaponry options drastically reduced and his own body suffering the impact of the assault, defeat and even death appear to loom over the Punisher as Mr. Hyde steps over him. With seconds to spare, Henry orders Castle to activate his stolen Ant-Man helmet's external speakers, allowing the tech-whiz to pipe "dungeon metal" at a high frequency uniquely effective against Hyde!

Uneffected by the high pitched Three Inches of Blood concert, a battered Punisher rises to his feet to return to the foyer of the building. The Hood watches from behind the safety of bullet proof glass, while Punisher goes about planting C4 around the criminal headquarters, unable to reach the villain himself.

The Hammer...
With a well earned strategic victory, Punisher is your winner!

If you've been following sporadic activity on the site throughout 2009, you'll know that for the first time in the blog history, we've been focusing on releases from each week. That fact is slightly ironic, given the fact that preoccupation and lack of energy have seen the site slip well over a month behind schedule. Hopefully that'll change sooner than later, but I would hope the spirit of the content makes up for the lack of punctuality. On that subject, you might be surprised to have seen this week's entry overlook the more prominent and inevitable battle in Battle of the Cowl (#3). I'm sure developments in the Bat-books will become a regular talking point in the coming weeks, but one of the most interesting things about blogging the Infinite Wars based upon fights from each week is the opportunity to deliver a very naturally diverse selection of titles. I've made little effort to avoid repeat posts, happily following the most fitting and interesting battles that I've read in whichever title they've happened to be in.

Punisher was a title I tried with it's first issue in January, but was unimpressed with. The series debuted with a somewhat arbitrary #1 to signify the title's relaunch, sans War Journal, a mere two years after that successful relaunch.
As with the War Journal relaunch, the series promises to deliver Punisher stories intrinsically linked with the Marvel Universe itself, in this case, following on from the developments established as "Dark Reign" -- described by Marvel as a "status quo" rather than an event. To that end, they've done very well to live up to their claim, firmly establishing the 'wolf in sheep's clothing' motiff of repositioning Norman Osborn as the ruling denominator of the Marvel Universe.

To Marvel's further credit, a title like this really has been necessary. Over the course of the past decade, the character gradually became increasingly detached from his shared universe origins as he became part of mature reading imprint brands that somewhat divided editorial control over the character. It began with Marvel Knights, but became completely sequestered when the freedom offered by the MAX imprint saw the character's exploits become chiefly adult in nature.

Most of you will know straight away that I'm the kind of guy that loves the concept of the shared narrative of a corporate superhero universe. I must say, I do have a fondness for the more adventurous nature of stories that isolated Punisher. This blog doesn't always adequately convey the multiple dimensions of my interests, or the potential of these characters, but a Punisher free to push the boundaries from concepts derived from he and his world is a good thing. Garth Ennis commands immediate association with the character for his unmistakable style that arguably led to the character's surgical removal from the Marvel U.

All of that said -- I'm glad Punisher's back in the thick of things again (again).

Perhaps because of the subconscious influence of the MK/MAX work - or the fact that Punisher is essentially a murderer fighting in a world of immortal intellectual property licenses - War Journal took the character into seperatist deviations once more. If anything has seperated this version of the title from that one, it's that the topical nature has been returned, all the while the story manages to be tailor made to fit. The first arc has thrown Frank Castle against opponents we knew he would never succeed against, but with this second story arc, the odds changed dramatically as Punisher fixes for a rumble with an army of resurrected D-list villains previously murdered by fellow gun-toter, Scourge of the Underworld.

This isn't the sex and drugs of the MAX comics, but casual fans of the character can rest assured that the compromises are kept to a minimum. The white boots and gloves might be there, but this isn't quite the pacified Punisher you might get carried away with imagining. The location of the Marvel Universe affects the character in ways that really feel like coming home for fans of the character's popular solo exploits in the eighties and nineties. It's a threat of violence with a twist of Marvel iconography that just wouldn't work in the MAX world.
Spending the issue in an Ant-Man helmet pretty much sums it up. It's referencial, a little bit tongue-in-cheek, but with all the zealous direction that makes the Punisher an uncompromising character. (Albeit, with mostly non-lethal results).

A lot of the credit has to go to the art team.
Jerome Opena gives his lines, which are presumably inked by him as well, a suitable roughness that differentiates it from what could be considered a Marvel superhero style. Granted, these days, a lot of the major books will carry rougher art styles and dark colour palettes, but Opena's work walks a line of the emotive competence of the MAX artists, with an accepting flair for Dan Brown's injections of the primary colours that come with fighting super-villains in Marvel comics.

Rick Remender succeeds far beyond his first issue, but I'd be expecting an improvement from the second arc. There's a sense of a common style persistent amongst comics written by certain Marvel writers that can sometimes feel a little lazy. It's competent, but has an air of expected praise for a consistency of tone, rather than the strength or depth of the content. There's a sense at times that Frank Castle has become a passenger in his own title because of this, but between writer and artist, this issue succeeds in dancing somewhere between a classic Marvel style, contemporary tone, and the musky indifference of writers like Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, some Brian Bendis, and a few others. Fans of those names have percentage odds of enjoying the book, but ten years from now, might find themselves looking back with a desire for more protein.

I don't want to be negative about the book, because it definitely turned out to be a pleasant bet on uncertainty. I really hope Remender can continue to grow even more comfortable in the book and capitalize on the rather delicious premise of the resurrected "mort" villains. It was certainly a delight to see the likes of the Brothers Grimm, Razor Fist, and the other villains, even if only in a conceptual cameo role. Fanboy delight aside, I think when these characters aren't so awful that they're redesigned in every appearance, they become the true custodians of the Marvel Universe, telling it's tale through their occasional visits in more involved chunks than anything Spider-man or Wolverine could ever hope for.
I really enjoy the obscure history these characters accumulate, which can be found in example by following some of the character tags on the site. Many, (like Mr. Hyde), haven't got a massive catalogue of examples on offer, but I think you'll note quite quickly how intriguing it is to observe these characters through their various contexts and appearances. In that respect, maybe it's not so bad Frank's killings are restricted to nameless goons and pizza enthusiasts.

NOTE: For more Punisher pizza antics, check out Deadpool: Suicide Kings #2!

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 4.5

Punisher is released monthly by Marvel comics and begins a brand new storyline, "Dead End," with issue #6! For more information about releases check out the weekly shipping lists, or enquire at Marvel.com, your local comic store, or one of the many other comics sites online. If you've got a hankering for some more readings, check out the Gift Shoppe, where you'll find collected editions from most issues reviewed in the Secret Archives on sale via Amazon. By using purchase links on the site, you help punish overpriced retailers and sponsor future justice on the Infinite Wars!

NIGHT SHIFT versus MIDNIGHT SONS
Midnight Sons Part 2: Night Shift (Marvel)
Where: Marvel Zombies 4 #2 When: July 2009
Why: Fred Van Lente How: Kev Walker

The Story So Far...
When zombie infected heroes from parallel Earth-2149 find their way through the Nexus of Realities hidden in the Florida Everglades, an unprepared group of C-list heroes assigned by the Fifty States Initiative find themselves under attack! Wundarr, the Conquistador, Siege, and Jennifer Kale, (known collectively as The Command), are easily devoured by the nightmarish zombies. Only Kale survives, but before his self-destruction, Siege was able to inform secretive alternate-universe unit, ARMOR.

Having played a pivotal role in containing the threat and defeating the zombie invaders; Dr. Michael Morbius emerges as a new leading operative with ARMOR. He recruits the traumatized Jennifer Kale, along with familiar occult allies, Son of Satan and Werewolf by Night, into a new taskforce assigned the job of seeking and containing infection spread by an escaped zombie head (Deadpool).

Unbeknownst to Morbius and his team, the Deadpool head was retrieved by a very different type of zombie (Simon Garth) - occult in nature - who carries the plague infected head into the hands of Black Talon. When Talon attempts to sell the head as a bioweapon to The Hood, he is advised by Dormammu to accept, leading the Kingpin of Super-villains to lead Night Shift to the island of Taino, where they will intercepted the Midnight Sons and the zombie plague.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Werewolf by Night 4 (Enhanced)
Intelligence: Morbius 5 (Professor)
Speed: Werewolf by Night 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Son of Satan 5 (Marathon)
Agility: Dansen Macabre 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: The Hood 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Son of Satan 6 (UWMD)


- Night Shift are: The Hood overseeing; Dansen Macabre, Tatterdemalion, The Needle, Digger.

Originally founded by the Shroud, Night Shift was a collective of dark entities manipulated into aiding him in his pursuit of justice, with an interest in personal gain. Eventually, Shroud was overthrown as leader of the group by Dansen Macabre, who continued the group's operations in a more villainous direction.

Some time later Night Shift joined The Hood's unionized collective of super-villains. They were later hand-selected for their unique talents in the field of dark magic to accompany The Hood on an acquisition of the zombie plague that ravaged Earth-2149, from Black Talon.

- The Midnight Sons are: Morbius, Son of Satan, Jennifer Kale, and Werewolf.

It was the return of the Mother of Demons, Lilith, that first prompted the creation of a destined occult group to combat those darker than themselves. Daniel Ketch and Johnny Blaze, once known as the spirits of vengeance, were joined in their mission against evil by a host of likeminded oddities, including; Blade, Morbius, Frank Drake, Hannibal King, members of the Darkhold Redeemers, and later, allies such as Vengeance, Dr. Strange, and Werewolf by Night. The group succeeded in repelling many threats to the light before their tenuous allegiance faded, including Lilith and the exceptional demon, Zarathos.

After becoming involved with the incursion of zombies from a parallel Earth when he was kidnapped by his zombie counterpart; Morbius was installed as a scientific operative with top-secret SHIELD subsidiary, ARMOR: Altered-Reality Monitoring and Operational Response. Under ARMOR, he hand-picked Jennifer Kale, Son of Satan, and Werewolf by Night, to form a new taskforce called Midnight Sons.

Math: Draw (Avg) Midnight Sons (Ttl) Ranking: Morbius (#65)

What Went Down...
Receiving instruction from the powerful demon lord, Dormammu; Parker Robbins, better known as The Hood, rallies Night Shift to launch a surprise attack on the heroes intent upon securing and destroying the zombie head of Deadpool.

Occult protection spells surrounding the area of Black Talon's cocain plantation inform the quartet from ARMOR of their impending predicament. Despite Jennifer Kale's aptitude for recognising magics, Morbius is still caught unawares by a shovel to the face wielded by the ghoulish serial killer, Digger, of Night Shift.

The ambush finds Tatterdemalion leaping through the air to attack the Werewolf with his enhanced acidic touch. The Hood emerges from a cloud of smoke to accept responsibility for the sophisticated magic needed to evade the enhanced senses of both Werewolf by Night, and Morbius. He blasts Daimon Hellstrom with a bolt of mystic energy, freezing him on the spot to allow Needle the opportunity to strike with his oversized impalement device fashioned in the guise of namesake. As the blade pierces Hellstrom's flesh, flames bursts forth from the Son of Satan's chest!

Jennifer Kale confronts the gracefully twisting naked form of Dansen Macabre, whose hands spiral and twirl leaving black energy in their wake. Possessing powers of Kali, the dancing Dansen snuffs out Kale's attempts at a mystical counterattak, launching into a spectacular kick that proves the effectiveness of conventional assault.

Regaining consciousness in the pit of a grave, Morbius bleeds profusely from his beaten face with the silhouette of Digger hovering gleefully above. The living vampire wipes the stain from his face with a momentary realisation that preceeds the animalistic instincts that characterize him akin to the undead creatures of the night. He responds to Digger's quipping queries with a rapid rise from the grave!

Gripped by bloodlust, Morbius snaps Digger's shovel with ease and plunges the spade into the top of his head. Still the morbid Digger shares his humorisms.

Upon reciting a dark incantation, hellfire spews from the mouth and eyes of the Son of Satan, bathing the protruding Needle in his torso in flame. With a roar he reduces the weapon to slag, before channeling his hellfire through his trident in the general direction of the ranting madman, Tatterdemalion.

The overdressed vagrant burns just as his fellow, Needle, succumbs to the spell casting of Jennifer Kale. The turning tides of triumph extend to the Werewolf, who continues the battle against Digger, wielding his lycanthropic talons like sharepened blades that slash effortlessly through Digger's grim body.

The Hood expresses verbal disappointment in his team's failing performance, just as a toppled Dansen Macabre falls victim to Morbius' untamed thirst!

Jennifer Kale compells Morbius to find a clearer head, calling him away from the neck of Dansen Macabre to observe the oncoming march of plague infected undead. In a better state of mind, Morbius fires upon the marching horde, dispensing a liquid-based vaccine designed to cure those infected. Instead, the formula results in a very different outcome, prompting a bizarre green cloud to burst forth from the bodies of the infected -- creating an airborne plague!

Night Shift remain oblivious to the onset of the green cloud that quickly engulfs them and begins shredding through their bodies. The Hood and Midnight Sons can only watch with the horrific realisation that the plague that destroyed an entire universe of heroes has been unleashed upon their world, in a mutated state.

Morbius orders a strategic retreat, but for Jennifer Kale who confronted the first wave of invading zombies, the sight is too much to bare. Her silent prayers do not go unheard, however, prompting Dormammu to appear before her...

The Hammer...
Despite a somewhat ambiguous predicament to bring their battle to a close, I think it's safe to declare the entire quarter of the Midnight Sons sharers in victory! [Pictured; Jennifer Kale]

It's been four years since Mark Millar first introduced the Marvel Zombies way back in 2005's Crossover. In the past, I think we've been fairly positive about that first high concept appearance. It really was one of those head slapping moments where you really had to wonder how Marvel comics hadn't done something on that scale beforehand. I mean, sure, you've got comparable examples, like the famous What if...? [#24] that unleashed vampirism upon a version of the Marvel universe, but those examples were typically fleeting.

If somehow you missed it, you might like to know that the expansion of the Marvel Zombies phenomenon began with Robert Kirkman [and Sean Phillips]'s aptly titled 2006 mini-series, Marvel Zombies. There can be no doubt that at the time the spin-off felt like a very fun and unique oddity, but as Marvel saw a cash cow to be milked without mercy, the slew of sequels, spin-offs, and tenuously related variant covers really exposed the holes of contempt in an otherwise nice deviation from usual superheroics. Of particular disappointment, the apparent lack of conceptual development at the foundation level of the concept that forced subsequent entries to seek inventiveness apparently beyond them. Or so it seemed...

Spooks & Horrors Playlist
[Site Ranking & Year One]
#1 Hulk (1962)
#2 Venom (1984)
#3 Noob Saibot (1992)
#4 Morbius (1971)
#5 The Demon (1972)
#6 Ghost Rider (1972)
#7 Spectre (1940)
#8 Blade (1973)
#9 Blazing Skull (1941)
#10 Dr. Strange (1963)
#11 Dr. Occult (1935)
#12 Mephisto (1968)
#13 Deadman (1967)
#14 Doppelganger (1992)
#15 Monolith (2004)
#16 Hellboy (1993)
#17 Quan Chi (1996)
#18 Mr. Hyde (1963)
#19 Scarlet Witch (1964)
#20 Solomon Grundy (1944)
#21 Scorpion (1992)
#22 Lilith Dracula (1974)
#23 The Werewolf (1972)
#24 Pluto (1966)
#25 Dracula (1972)The announcement of Marvel Zombies 3 -- actually more like the fifth mini to branch out from the original Ultimate Fantastic Four storyarc -- was met on the Infinite Wars with lukewarm interest [October 08, 2008]. Introducing previously unseen characters into a suggestively defined timeline was an intriguing prospect, but as much fun as it was to think about Jocasta and Machine Man battling their way into the zombie Earth was, it felt like one step too far for a seemingly endless parade of cutesy meme style archetype based stories (zombies, robots, apes...).

As you can clearly see, that initial assessment was very unfair. 2009 on the Infinite Wars has seen a deviation into contemporary releases; reviews of the weeks comics. Despite the implication, that shift of perspective hasn't been taken for granted, making the selection process from week-to-week a carefully considered one.

Today we're discussing Marvel Zombies 4 for a very good reason -- it demands attention!

Writer Fred Van Lente has been quietly improving his stock over the past couple of years. Rising from the critical independent success of Action Philosophers, he's since carved out a niche as one of the favourite driving forces behind Marvel's all-ages Adventures line. There, he's arguably instated a writing ethic more akin to classic Marvel Comics than anything produced by the current core line-up. His attention (and retention) for characters is well observed in Marvel Zombies as he makes use of some of the great under utilized characters in ways akin to his Adventures stories.

Bill Rosemann (Editor), Ralph Macchio (Senior Editor), and Joe Quesada (Editor In Chief) deserve full credit for whatever minor influences they might have had in the process of greenlighting these projects. It is, however, Van Lente who seems to be most deserving for utilizing these much loved, but often overlooked, horror characters from the seventies. Combining them with other curiosities, like the long since forgotten motley crew from the late eighties, Night Shift, not only reemphasises the diversity of the Marvel pantheon, but builds on the atmosphere established by previous Zombies series, greatly enhancing it.

Things don't look too good for the Night Shift come story end, but I really hope Van Lente hasn't killed them off. I don't think anyone would really begrudge him for taking that license, but it would perhaps diminish the praise I really feel compelled to heap upon him. As a writer, he's achieved something none of his predecessors ever did. By combining iconography that's inspirational to longtime readers, with a very well directed and written story, Van Lente has well and truly made the Marvel Zombies brand his own, finally elevating it to a level all the previous spin-offs should have reached.

As a story, Marvel Zombies 4 becomes far more significant than the sum of it's parts. While the checklist of guest characters is something to behold, it's the progress of the story, and their contribution to it, that secures the success of the four-issue mini only half way through the plot.

Fans eagerly following the exploits of The Hood and Dark Reign will find detached touchstones that connect an otherwise isolated story to the core Marvel Universe. In fact, those interested in the developments of the Hood's relationship with sponsor demon, Dormammu, might actually want to seek this story out in particular. It's unlikely the tangent series will provide any key significant developments in the on-going internal struggle of The Hood, but like good corporate comics should, it produces volume and greater context for the tale.
Of course, on the subject of so-called "continuity," we already know "Z-Pool" - the decapitated head of Zombie Deadpool - will be a lasting consequence of the story as he spins off into a secondary Deadpool title, Merc' with a Mouth.

Those keen to rationalize independently written series in the Marvel Universe might note an unlikely overlap via Son of Satan, who also appears opposite The Hood in recent issues of New Avengers. While the Avengers book, detailing the search for a new Sorcerer Supreme, specifically references Daimon Hellstrom's ignorance to the identity of Parker Robbins, MZ4 has nothing of the such.
If you're really concerned, it seems plausible, despite indirect references to similar ignorance, that MZ4 takes place after those issues. Future issues could still make a reference. I'm not sure that really matters, however, as these things are bound to happen without strict editorial intervention.

Granted; the connectivity of in-universe stories should not be underestimated in any well rounded critique, but of course, this element is additional to the quality of a story. Without a doubt, anyone reading Marvel Zombies 4 will probably want to check out the previous instalment. I'm generally reluctant to claim any issue of a superhero comic fundamentally requires previous reading, but Van Lente makes good use of in-character video recordings (last will and testament) to frame the context of each issue. It elaborates on previous events, while also informing any uninformed reader with allusions to the integrity of each character.
MZ4's Jennifer Kale will pays off big time in the final pages of the issue -- food for thought for those trade waiters among you.

All in all, Marvel Zombies 4 is just a very solid read.
It does a great service to the legacy of the seventies Marvel horror characters, returning them to the spotlight in a way that feels unique, but wholely appropriate. I hope the company can benefit from this example without losing sight of what made the feature work.

Kev Walker and colorist, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, continue the tradition of a grim tone to the art of the series. While not identical to previous series, the reference points of tones, colours, and linework, feels unmistakable. If I really had to draw such conclusion, I might say that I actually like this approach a little better.
MZ4 takes a more conventional visual approach in the pencils, both in lines drawn, and the application of inked blacks. Colours are certainly more vibrant as well, quite delightful in scenes like Dansen Macabre's rainbow effect, and in the vivid reds used both to compliment highlights on Morbius, while also giving the pale of his skin a real pop. Being that this story is set in "our" Marvel Universe, it arguably stands to reason that the art might be directed in that sense.

I wouldn't be surprised if we return to the series at a later date, hopefully to elaborate a little bit clearer on what makes the series so good. (Other than Van Lente.)

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 5

Marvel Zombies 4 is currently available monthly. For more information about release dates, you'll find archival information in our weekly Shipping List entries. You can pre-order the MZ4 hardcover edition via Amazon, but if you don't want to wait, check out Marvel Zombies 3, currently available in collected format. You'll find plenty more offers like that in the Infinite Wars Amazonian Gift Shoppe and by using purchase links provided, you help sponsor future entries in the Infinite Wars, which, let's face it, could potentially save your life in the event of an actual zombie plague outbreak. Or, at the very least, give you something to read while you're held up in a fortified area waiting for help.