Dark Avengers 15

Bendis' other issue this week is a far more impressive outing than Siege 3. It features some troubling developments in the life of the Sentry, as well as providing some insight into the nature of the relationship between Norman Osborn, the Sentry and the Void.

First, we're treated to an excerpt from "Siege: The Cabal," wherein, at a meeting of the cabal, Osborn orders the Void to attack Doom. However, Doom is actually a Doombot, and it releases a swarm of bug-like machines upon its destruction that proceed to attack Avengers Tower. Norman Osborn convinces the Void to allow the Sentry to return, and together they set about destroying the machines while Victoria Hand evacuates HAMMER personnel and the rest of the Dark Avengers. While most of the Avengers take off in the Quinjet, Bullseye (Hawkeye) takes the Sentry's wife, Lindy, aboard a helicopter with him. He flies them out over the ocean and, after insulting her until she slaps him, chokes Lindy to death and tosses her into the sea.

Upon reuniting with his fellow Avengers, Bullseye tells the Sentry that his wife killed herself by jumping out of the helicopter over a stretch of Jersey farmland. The Void then becomes the dominant personality, flying into a rage and nearly killing Bullseye. He's calmed by Osborn, and flies off to search for his wife. Victoria Hand is shocked as she observes a knowing glance between Osborn and Bullseye, assumably realizing that Osborn arranged for Lindy to be killed.

Overall, this was an exciting issue. We're definitely being set up for a big climax with the Sentry, though what exactly will go down and how well executed it will be on the part of Brian Michael Bendis remains to be seen. I'm enjoying seeing Victoria Hand finally realizing what it is she's a part of, between her frustration with the Avengers' inability to follow orders, skepticism about the nature of the attack on the tower, and shock at Bullseye's murder of Lindy. I'm hoping she'll play a pivotal role in the final issue, and curious to see what will become of her post-Siege, if she lives that long.

I really enjoy Mike Deodato's art, I think it's among the best the Marvel Universe has to offer. I'm impressed by the level of detail that goes into a lot of his work, and he has an excellent command of facial expressions. My one complaint (and I don't know whether to blame him or colorist Rain Beredo for this) is that occasionally, due to the nature of the coloring, characters start to look like plastic-y CGI figures, which to my eye just looks a little odd.

Edit: I'd like to add an additional note here, something I'd intended to address in this post when I started writing it but then forgot about. Hasn't Lindy been killed and resurrected in the past? Hell, wasn't that our introduction to the Sentry at the beginning of New Avengers, that he'd turned himself in for killing his wife but then brought her back? And I swear this came up again, perhaps in one of the early issues of Mighty Avengers. So why is her death an issue now, can't the Sentry just bring her back to life? I confess myself confused with this whole situation.