Dark Avengers #4

Ugh, it's yet another Avengers title written by the one and only DREAD LORD BENDIS... Well, I've put this off for long enough, I might as well get this over with. Next time I read a BENDIS comic, I'm going to get sloppy drunk, just to see if that makes the experience any better. I mean, it sure can't get any worse, right?

-The Dark Avengers(minus Osborn, who's in the past with Doom, and Sentry, who appears to be dead)are still battling a version of Morgana Le Fay along with her many demonic henchmen.

-In the past, Doom and Osborn confront Le Fay(a version from the past)and Doom manages to send her to the Stone Age to end her threat for now. With that done, Osborn and Doom return to the present and Osborn and the Dark Avengers leave Doom in the rubble of his castle in Latveria. Once the DA's are out of sight, Doom whips out what seems to be a Cosmic Cube and uses it to reconstruct his castle.

-On the plane ride back to the US, Osborn finds out that Ronin went public with his identity and denounced Osborn and his team as a bunch of murdering psychopaths. Osborn decides that he has to respond to Ronin's comments, even though his advisor warns him that responding would just give Ronin's words credence.

-This issue ends with the DA's returning to New York and finding the Sentry glaring at them from atop his Watchtower.

You know what? I have to admit that I liked this comic book! The DREAD LORD actually toned down his usual very annoying dialogue and managed to produce a pretty decent comic book. The characters didn't constantly repeat each other, and everybody didn't talk like Ultimate Spider-Man and speak at the same time. I have to say I was impressed. Not only that, but the story was logical and wasn't all over the place.

Noh-Varr actually got to say some lines, which was a welcome change, as it seems that BENDIS may be planting the seeds for a romance between him and Moonstone. With Noh-Varr going by Captain Marvel and Moonstone using the Ms. Marvel name, a romance between the two does make some sense. Doom with the Cosmic Cube was also interesting since I sort of remember Doom and the Red Skull making some kind of transaction in an issue of Captain America a while back. If I was near my Cap comics, I'd dig that issue out, but alas, I don't feel like going through the headache of finding it. I can vaguely remember Doom giving Skull a Time Platform for something, and with Skull constantly having a Cosmic Cube in his possession, it would make sense for Skull to have given Doom the Cube.

For a score, I'll give this comic a score of 8 1/2 out of 10. I can honestly state with no hesitation that this was my favorite BENDIS penned comic in at least three years. I'd say keep up the good work, but let's be serious, lightning isn't going to strike twice, and I'm positive that next month the DREAD LORD will have me tearing my hair out again.