Back when the New Universe debuted, I read maybe the first seven of
Star Brand, most of
Justice, a bit of
Psi-Force, and all of
D.P.7; but I never read today's book:
Mark Hazard: Merc Annual #1, "A Matter of Lives and Death!" Written by Doug Murray, pencils by Vincent Waller, inks by Fraja Bator.
For some reason, this series came up a few times on Twitter a couple weeks back; but about all I could tell you about it is the guy was a merc, in a super-hero universe. Like I mentioned, I hadn't read his previous issues, but charitably speaking Mark is circling the drain here. Shot, he spends the whole issue unconscious in a New York hospital, as his friends and family remember the man; leading off with two mercenaries in Afghanistan recollecting about their old compatriot, while in the hospital his closer friends and ex-wife do the same. The life of a merc isn't portrayed as glamorous or even satisfying: one recalls losing multiple comrades, then having to murder deadbeat employers, both probably on more than one occasion.
A runaway Mark had saved tells the most upbeat story: he saved her when she came to the big city, taking her to a dojo, where she made something of herself. But the ex-wife's story is less encouraging, since she knew him as a teen: his father had always wanted him to be the best at everything, nothing had ever been good enough for him. After a stint in the military and Vietnam, Mark had become a mercenary; a job he loved but kept him from home for far too long, leading to the end of their marriage. She tells that story possibly with her son in the room; and he's the first to pipe up to turn off his dad's life-support when the doctor announces it was all that was keeping him alive. That may have been what Mark wanted, but geez, give it a minute, maybe pretend it's a tough call. Although, the kid doesn't tell any stories about dear ol' dad, either...Still, an oddly moving issue; especially since Marvel made the effort to close out the series like that.
Seems like the kind of character Garth Ennis or Greg Rucka or someone like that would enjoy writing about Marc. I'm still scratching my head wondering why they even needed a normal, non-powered guy to write about in that universe, especially when they already had the Nth man. could Hazard not have already fit in the MU instead as a recurring character that knew both Fury and Frank?
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