Random Happenstance

"We interrupt our regularly scheduled programing, to bring you: Deleted scenes from Secret Invasion #8:"

Oh, and spoilers...although, it's everywhere, and if you wanted to read it, you probably would've by now, right?




Credit where due: page from Secret Invasion #8 written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Leinel Yu. Image taken from Rokk's Comic Book Revolution, which had a solid and well-written review, which I very much appreciated since I had no intention of paying cash for this. Let's be frank: if I wanted mishandled or inconsistent characterization, plot holes we've seen coming a year away, and unclear storytelling paired with confusing art; well goddamn, I could just do that myself. And I have!

Now, I was gonna quote a little from Rokk's review, but he's taking the high road: SI may have sucked, but it's over and Dark Reign could be interesting. Well, maybe. I got the Marvel Previews for that, and have a couple of questions:

1. Vile speculation here: do you think maybe Bendis and Quesada thought McCain was going to win, instead of Obama? No offense to McCain, but the Republicans seem more likely to employ or enable a secret cabinet of super-villians. Dr. Doom, the Green Goblin, Loki, and the rest working behind the scenes; that doesn't exactly scream "Change and hope" to me. I know things are tough right now, and the country's got a lot of problems, but I would have to give Obama credit to not let that happen...

2. So, do people in the Marvel Universe know Norman Osborn was the Green Goblin? I thought that was public record, if not common knowledge. Admittedly, the MU has forgotten Tony Stark is Iron Man like six separate times. Is this Mephisto's doing, part of Brand New Day? That would actually work: Mephisto's "favor" to Pete makes his identity a secret, but also Norman's, and brings back future psycho Harry at the evil cherry on top. I don't know if they planned that out, but it would make more sense than a known murderer suddenly becoming a national hero.

3. It's early, so maybe Bendis and everyone will explain it; but regarding Norman's Dark Reign secret cabinet (which really needs a better meeting space): really? I don't recall if he's dethroned this week or not, but Doom was king of Latveria, and a secret cabinet post seems like a demotion.

The same for Namor, although there is the possibility he's taking the spot so he can be in position to stop Norman. While we know Namor isn't that bad of a guy, it seems it's usually still seen as a villain. Namor was previously offered a spot at the big table in Acts of Vengeance, back in the day, by Loki.

Loki, of course, is just there to stir the pot and cause trouble for his/her brother Thor and his friends. The Hood is this month's Kingpin, and Emma Frost...she could, like Namor, still be on the side of the angels. Norman could easily sell the cabinet spot as a way for her to protect mutants' interests, i.e. Norman not putting them in camps. There appears to be a campaign underway to give Emma even more backstory (she really didn't appear all that much through Claremont's X-Men, did she?) with Namor, Tony Stark, your dad, whoever.

But with the possible exception of the Hood, all of these characters are far more powerful than Norman, and could probably take the Green Goblin in a fight; and that struck me as unusual. I could see Norm surrounding himself with either weaker villians, or ones he could manipulate, like his Sinister Twelve in Mark Millar's Spider-Man. Doom and Namor in particular don't seem like the type you could ask to pass the salt, let alone order in any meaningful fashion.



So, Janet Van Dyne, the Wasp, is "dead." Her return would doubtless be pretty easy, but I think she'll be out for a while, at least long enough to move a few "tribute" books and torture Hank and all. Best guess: about the same time Hank starts to heal, or gets a new girlfriend, then Jan will be back. From what I've seen of this issue though, Thor comes across as pissed: the Skrulls turned Wasp into a weapon, so Thor "kills" her (maybe); then later he places the blame for everything, ever, on Tony Stark.

All of this appears to be in service of feeding the fires of Dark Reign: Norman's got his group together, but the founding Avengers? Two dead, one just rescued from the Skrulls and probably an emotional wreck, one super-pissed off, and one now public enemy number one, apparently. This is where Marvel seems to excel, though: planning the next big event. Let's see how this one is executed...



The ongoing "Timing" strip with Nightcrawler and Deadpool, will be back Tuesday. See you then!