So, in the pages of New Avengers, the brand new Sorceror Supreme has finally been revealed. Unfortunately, it seems that I was right to be worried before. The new Sorceror Supreme is… Brother Voodoo. Why? I don’t know. Of all the mystical characters in the Marvel Universe, he is one of the least explored and the least interesting. Of course, I was never a fan of getting rid of Dr. Strange as the Sorceror Supreme in the first place. At any rate, this issue sees a couple of battles. First, we have the bad-ass New Avengers brawl against Madam Masque. The best part is Spider-Woman’s fight with her in the smoke. The other main fight is Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, fighting against the Hood, with last minute support from the New Avengers and Dr. Strange. At the end, Brother Voodoo arrives.
No, I’m not really excited about this choice. Especially since Brother Voodoo will be joining the team, if solicititations are any indication. Also, Brian Michael Bendis’ dialogue is wearing thin on me this issue. For one, there’s the way that Luke Cage is just so childish about Jessica Jones’ old crush on Spider-Man. That was just stupid. Then there’s the little pissy fight between Ronin and Spider-Woman. It seems to me that superheroes are always at their most immature when Bendis writes them. Captain America was sufficiently awesome in this issue, as was Spider-Woman. Even Hellstrom got a few good moments. Nonetheless, it wasn’t as good as previous issues. I think that the previously stated bi-polarness of the last issue was an indication of future quality. Billy Tan’s art is a nice indication of that. It’s normally quite nice, but his depiction of the Hood’s demonic form is less than stellar. To use a metaphor, the Dark Reign plots in New Avengers have been kind of like a honeymoon thus far. And now it’s over.
Plot: 8.0 Art: 7.8 Dialogue: 7.8 Overall: 7.8
