The Sentry has always helped protect the populous but who can help someone who is like a god?
DARK AVENGERS #13 (Siege)
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Mike Deodato
Coloring: Rain Beredo
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Artists: Deodato & Beredo
Summary: SIEGE BLOCKBUSTER TIE-IN!! After years of mystery, the secrets of the Sentry are revealed! How deep is his madness and who is really in control of him? What is the limit of his power, if any? And what deadly mystery surrounds him causing mortals and gods to tremble in fear?
Review: In a daring move, Bendis flashes back to ancient Israel’s first Passover at the opening of Dark Avengers #13. Throughout the first half of the issue, readers might be wondering why he took this direction because the story jumps to modern times by page 3 where the Sentry is getting his wish granted by Norman Osborn - an infinite supply of the super serum he needs to drink to access his powers. Naturally that means Osborn owns him as much as any human or government can own a superbeing.
The Void continues to fight for control of the Sentry’s body and mind but Robert, the human host is still in there. The only way to extinguish the Void in the past was for Robert’s memory to be erased. For a while, Robert had a normal life with his superhero friends and his loving wife Lindy. Lindy however never felt life with a superhero was normal but it was exciting. She observed Bob’s personal growth and one day he revealed his real secret origin to her, the human side of his origin which hadn’t be explored with before and would either tarnish his reputation or glorify him as a man that has overcome a difficult burden. Bendis tells this missing piece through Lindy’s recollection as she falls into deep despair and regret with a gun in her hand. The secret is something she believes people should know about their Golden Hero before the Sentry’s powers wreak catastrophe on the world. It’s reminiscent of the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie when the Green Goblin tells Spidey, “The only thing they like more than a hero is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying. In spite of everything you’ve done, eventually they will hate you.” Lindy’s theory about the powers in her husband culminates mundane life choices and quantum physics with faith and religion. The powers were clearly unleashed because of scientific invention of the serum but the energies and motivation of the powers belong to a higher being.
Whether the Void’s taunting banter with Lindy can be taken seriously or if he’s just mocking her, is hard to tell (he claims to be someone else). If he speaks the truth that means an old foe is closer to home than ever before and the world needs to be saved again.
Siege is Marvel’s event of the year following Dark Reign. The Sentry is a unique character who seems set up for a primary role in the struggle of good and evil. The character was originally created with a completely falsified history when Marvel claimed the hero was found in unpublished Stan Lee work from the Golden Age; if we look back now, we can see Marvel was successful in the viral marketing of this character. Bendis is taking Sentry from a dull unknown to a robust and memorable asset of the Avengers. Deodato’s illustrations have dominated the Marvel shelf. In this issue, he gives the flashback to Israel heavy inking with an aged sepia look; then in Lindy’s narration, the black and white sketches are fiercely compelling as if readers are getting a clandestine peak into something from his sketchbook. This team knows how to pace an issue and setup the characters for constant cliffhangers. Marvel has announced that there will be changes to all of the Avengers titles but the outcome has not been revealed; it’s possible they will end The Mighty Avengers, The New Avengers and The Dark Avengers to launch one unified title as they previously did with Spider-man’s titles.
