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.
1 comment:
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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