A VERY Quick Look at Dark X-Men: The Beginning #2(of 3)

Right off the bat, here's a disclaimer: I HATE Weapon Omega and I really don't like Cloak and Dagger either. Seeing as those three characters are involved in 2 of the 3 stories in this comic, that's should tell you right there why this is going to be a very brief post.

-The first story features Cloak and Dagger and is written by(my hero)Paul Cornell, with Leonard Kirk providing the pencils. Cloak and Dagger are destroying a field of drugs in Columbia when Mr. Everything, Norman Osborn drops in and asks them to join his Dark X-Men. At first the duo scoff at Osborn's offer, but after Osborn tells them he would provide them with government intelligence on drug runners worldwide, Dagger decides she and Cloak will join up.

-Story 2 is about Weapon Suck... Oops I mean Weapon Omega and is written by Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman, with art by Michel Lacombe. Omega is working at a construction sight, trying to make amends for killing my beloved Alpha Flight... Yes, that's right, I am a PROUD(and probably slightly insane)Alpha Flight fan! Osborn meets up with Omega and reveals that MGH(Mutant Growth Hormone)was accidentally leaked into the air during a nearby battle. MGH gives people mutant-like abilities for a brief period and Omega's fellow construction workers(who have unknowingly ingested the MGH)begin to drop like flies because Omega is around. Osborn promises that if Omega joins the Dark X-Men Hank McCoy himself will dedicate his time to helping Omega out. Omega agrees and we learn that Osborn was responsible for the MGH leak and that the Hank McCoy who will be working with Omega is actually Dark Beast.

-The final story is written by Rob Williams with pencils by Paco Diaz, and is about Daken. Osborn tells Daken that he'll be joining the Dark X-Men whether he likes it or not. Osborn explains to Daken that he is nothing more than a mindless brawler who has no thoughts other than killing his father, Wolverine. Osborn acts like a smartass and tells Daken that he is obviously insane, and that if he knows what's good for him, he'll follow Osborn's orders. Daken surprises Osborn by revealing he is much more cultured and well-educated than Osborn could have ever imagined, and that Osborn actually doesn't know anything about Daken, while Daken knows everything about Osborn.

Eh, I knew going in that I wasn't really going to enjoy this comic and sure enough, it didn't impress me. All the stories were OK, but my raging hatred for some of the featured characters hurt my overall reading experience. If you are a fan of these characters then this is the book for you, if not, my advice would be to steer clear. For a score, I'll go with a 5 1/2 out of 10.Who knows, maybe this image will actually happen in the near future. Then again, I doubt Norman Osborn's giant disembodied head will be there when Daken whacks Wolvie.