AVENGERS versus LUKE CAGE

(Marvel)
Where: New Avengers #2 When: September 2010
Why: Brian Michael Bendis How: Stuart Immonen

The Story So Far...
For years the Avengers were torn apart by philosophical differences that erupted in Civil War. A secret invasion by Skrulls exposed holes in the new regime, allowing Norman Osborn to replace SHIELD as the corrupt Director of HAMMER! His tyranny went unnoticed until finally a siege on Asgard exposed the true evil!

With Osborn ousted in disgrace, Captain America is a natural choice to assume responsibility for SHIELD and a holistic approach to the superhero community. Thus, a new heroic age begins for The Avengers!

Having bought The Avengers mansion for $1 at the behest of Tony Stark, all seems well for Luke Cage and his new, fully authorized Avengers team! At least, until Dr. Strange and Daimon Hellstrom crash the housewarming in search of The Eye of Agamotto that's spontaneously appeared in Cage's hands!

Magic is afoot as strange forces manipulate The Avengers in a grand design they have no way of knowing about. Now they'll have to fight each other if they're to keep the universe safe long enough for Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Voodoo to do something about it!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Thing 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Dr. Strange 5 (Professor)
Speed: Iron Fist 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Wolverine 6 (Generator)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Iron Fist 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Agamotto 7 (Cosmic)


The Avengers are: Thing, Ms. Marvel, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Wolverine, Mockingbird, Spider-man & Hawkeye.

Under ordinary circumstances, this incarnation of The Avengers would look to Luke Cage as their fearless leader. Alas, circumstances have it that he's been possessed by an agent of the mystic entity Agamatto!

Agamotto is a founding entity of the paths of magic, spawned from the elder goddess Oshtur. He is perhaps best known for his creation of powerful mystic artefacts: The Eye of Agamatto and The Orb of Agamotto. Both are frequently called upon in the arsenal of Earth's Sorcerer Supreme - Dr. Stephen Strange!

At the time of this episode, Dr. Strange has relinquished his post as Sorcerer Supreme, surrendering the mantle to Brother Voodoo. Voodoo was in command of The Eye of Agamotto, but saw fit to transport it to Luke Cage and The Avengers when he was attacked by two possessed agents of Agamotto: Daimon Hellstrom and Dr. Strange himself!

Along with their possessed teammate, The Avengers will have to contend with Hellstrom & Strange! Cage has grown to approximately thirty-feet tall and is showing signs of his already impressive strength being augmented. We saw Cage get the better of his teammates when they were infected with alien symbiotes [New Avengers #36]. Bad news all around!

Fortunately, the group have just added two high-level powerhouses to their ranks: Thing and Ms. Marvel! Both have the durability to pick up the defensive slack for the rest of the team. They also have the power to fight back!

The rest of the team aren't especially well suited to facing off against the magic of Dr. Strange and Son of Satan, but they have been in situations like this before. The group fought off The Hood (augmented by Dormammu) in New Avengers #54, albeit with the help of Strange and Hellstrom.

It's the numbers of The Avengers against the chaos and uncertainty of Agamotto's magic! That's spells a recipe for uncertainty if there ever was one! Let's dispense with the incantations and find out how it all went down!

The Math: Spider-man Ranking: Spider-man (#2)

What Went Down...
Chaos erupts in Avengers Mansion as the heroes are confronted with the sudden appearance of The Eye of Agamotto and hostile Dr. Strange & Son of Satan! The team scrambles to reorient themselves, unsure of the exact nature or intent of the magical threat that has also transformed their leader into an angry giant!

Wolverine tells The Thing to grab The Eye of Agamotto and make a run for it, choosing the team's newest recruit for his phenomenal strength and rocky hide! He makes a grab for it, but is sent hurtling out of Avengers mansion with a blow from his gigantic magically charged friend!

Jessica Jones unloads care of her and Cage's daughter to the arms of Spider-man, who makes a run for the stairs to get the baby out of danger!

Meanwhile; Iron Fist launches a fly kick in Daimon Hellstrom's direction, Ms. Marvel hovers over a toppled Luke Cage, and Wolverine pounds on Dr. Strange's chest with a fist full of adamantium! All of their efforts are temporary measures in an effort to keep the possessed heroes from the mystic talisman!

Hellstrom clobbers Iron Fist, Luke Cage tugs at Ms. Marvel's hair, and Strange wrestles with Wolverine -- each in a mad dash for The Eye!

Retired heroine Jessica Jones reaches into her untapped super-human reservoir to launch herself at her possessed husband! The super-human uppercut knocks him backward and launches The Eye of Agamotto into the air!

Wolverine catches the magic artefact and hurls it out the window as far as he can! Ensuring the possessed mystics cannot take chase, he rushes them with a calculated thrust of his claws! The unbreakable metal slices into their chests!

Outside the mansion, The Eye lands in the middle of a picnic in a nearby park! The giant-size Cage, Thing and Ms. Marvel take chase - prompting a terrified citizen to throw it into the air!

Ms. Marvel's aerial abilities allow her to snatch the amulet just as Cage and Thing are making a grab for it. The development gives Thing a chance to even the score with a haymaker that sends Cage flying!

Jessica Jones arrives on the scene to leap on her husband once he's landed. She desperately tries to reach the man she loves, but his words don't match his actions - an uppercut that sends the former Jewel flying through the air!

When the possessing entity fails to convince Thing and Iron Fist that it is the voice of their friend Luke Cage, the creature issues an ultimatum: Give him The Eye of Agamotto and he will return Cage. Ms. Marvel counters with an ultimatum of her own: leave Cage or she'll smash The Eye into a million pieces!

The spirit lunges at Ms. Marvel with Cage's gigantic arms outstretched, incidentally launching Thing and Hawkeye into the air. Marvel effortlessly avoids the attack and returns fire with a super-charged hit of her own!

Even though the possessed Cage eats a hard shot, he's still able to wrap a giant hand around Ms. Marvel! She loses her grip on The Eye, but Iron Fist makes the running play with Thing taking chase in the distance!

Sick of the demonic possession - Iron Fist turns and thrusts his mystically charged weapon-hand into Cage's gigantic chest!

Cage goes down hard and Thing jumps on top of him to make sure he stays down with a massive right cross! Jessica Jones and Ms. Marvel hover in support.

The recovered and healed Dr. Strange & Daimon Hellstrom follow Wolverine urgently to the battlefield! They arrive as Doctor Voodoo teleports onto the scene and the possessing demon leaves Luke Cage's body, transferring to the victorious Iron Fist! A revoltin' development as the fight comes to an end!

The Hammer...
Delivering a knock-out blow to a giant possessed Luke Cage probably made Iron Fist an attractive host for Agamotto! He disappears into the other realm of the Vishanti with the hero's body, just as Doctor Voodoo enters the scene -- the story to be continued!

It's an added detail that doesn't impact our result: The Avengers victorious against their possessed comrades!

The victory is shared with Wolverine, Thing, Ms. Marvel and Jessica Jones, who all contributed to the win in a pro-active manner. Mockingbird stopped to film the possession on somebody's phone, which I'm sure has tactical value. Hawkeye was there, but doing his best Where's Wally throughout. I genuinely wonder if Stuart Immonen forgot all about him while drawing the issue. It's almost comical when he appears floating in mid-air in the latter third of the issue. Spidey was on baby duty and generally loafed about, as well.

The line-up reflects a blended group mostly made from the street-level Secret Avengers who formed after Civil War. Ms. Marvel is the biggest trade from the more traditional "Mighty" Avengers. Thing was the most surprising addition, despite a similarly brief stint in the late 80s launch of West Coast Avengers.

We talked about the idea of "JLA-ing" the Avengers in our last entry, concluding that the original 2005 New Avengers line-up didn't really go there.

By the time this second volume was launched in 2010, there was much more credence to the idea of a non-traditional, all-star line-up of disparate pre-established acts. Spider-man, Thing, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Dr. Strange (who eventually made his stay permanent) are a very JLA arrangement.

Much like the JLA; the successful Avengers began to expand beyond their core team formulas. The "Heroic Age" relaunch maintained a brand-traditional Mighty Avengers, while also installing a third "Secret Avengers" title in the oddball hodgepodge mould of The Defenders.

In the years that followed The Heroic Age, the lines between Avengers groups would blur further. Famous hold-outs like Daredevil would join the team. Even the X-Men, who had a few unique ties through heroes like Beast and Quicksilver, would finally be more aggressively blended through the Uncanny Avengers!

The net result is what opponents of Avengers Disassembled and the original New Avengers were afraid of all along: The demise of identity and a tradition.

Thanks to the success of Marvel's blockbuster film franchises, "Avengers" has become synonymous with the company. Almost interchangeable with Marvel itself. Yet, ironically enough, it's the movies that have to date best represented the traditional flavour of The Avengers: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Vision, Hulk and so on.

In comics: It's now a lot easier to name characters who haven't been part of the monstrous Avengers uber brand. It's a muddying of the waters that's affecting many of Marvel's mainstay brands, extending to the dilution of individual characters who now share their identity with multiple alternate characters [see; Hero of the Week: Dr. Doom].

The traffic hasn't been exclusively one-way, though. Earlier this year, Marvel relaunched Power Man & Iron Fist for a new age, restoring the Heroes For Hire to their iconic buddy team roots away from The Avengers! The result is one of the more exciting, upbeat offerings reinvigorating the classics while also revamping them!

Luke Cage is also part of a reinvention of the Marvel identity on screen! September 30th marks the official launch of a thirteen episode live-action Netflix series! Mike Colter stars as the man with bulletproof skin, who we've been celebrating all throughout September on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths!

This celebration helped Luke Cage break into the Comic Book Fight Club Top 10 [see; Cage #3] at the expense of perennial favourite The Thing! The ever lovin' blue-eyed Thing fell to #11 as a result of Cage reaching #9 -- an unplanned result that made today's pre-scheduled feature fight all the more interesting!

Fans of the rankings will be excited to know Thing's shared victory returns him to the Top 10 just two weeks after he fell out! The defeat isn't enough to disrupt Luke Cage's spot at #9, though. Instead, it's Daredevil who will be shunted down from #10 to #11! Keep scrolling to the bottom of this update to see where all the characters finished in the ranks!

If you'd like to get the full experience of today's feature fight, use the Amazon link provided to purchase the collected edition! Doing so helps keep the wars infinite!

You can find more spotlights on Luke Cage, The Avengers and the individual characters by following character links, or diving into the Secret Issue Index! There you can browse battles by series, issue and publisher!

Stay tuned to Hero of the Week for a final spotlight on Luke Cage! Then be here in October as things start to get a little spooky for Halloween!

Winners: Iron Fist, Wolverine, Thing, Ms. Marvel & Jessica Jones
#4 (+2) Wolverine
#10 (+1) Thing
#30 (+10) Iron Fist
#76 (+53) Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers)
#92 (+197) Jessica Jones
#2 (--) Spider-man [+1 Assist]
#120 (-2) Hawkeye [+1 Assist]
#407 (+79) Mockingbird [+1 Assist]
#9 (--) Luke Cage
#65 (-2) Dr. Strange
#101 (-12) Son of Satan (Daimon Hellstrom)
#807 (new) Agamotto

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!

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.