Avengers: Siege

[The NZA]

 

fuck yeah

this image makes me believe bendis can be forgiven for Disassembled

 

Honestly....you knew it was coming. Ive really dug Bendis' New Avengers, and there's a few names from that team that should stay, i think. But prolly the biggest reason Dark Reign has worked so far is that the core Avengers have been adrift: Cap: Rebirth looks to have Steve back around early next year (i love bucky these days, but pleaseohpleaseohplease), but until then, he's out. Tony is having a great run playing fugitive, but at some point - i really hope they pull this off without feeling too contrived - he's got to "forget" the database of costumed identities but still retain his mind, which in recent issues is slipping hard, he's barely ducking Norman who he'd normally run circles around. Thanks to some good writing and one of Loki's better plans, Thor is not only ousted from Asgard but recently traded in the Odinson power he held to keep a loved one alive, so he's not only preoccupied, he's been taken back down a peg. (Meanwhile, Hawkeye/Ronin's become one of the most interesting goddamn characters for me out of nowhere. seriously, why is no one else past Wolverine looking at Osborn and saying "he needs to fucking die."?)

 

Again, ive been loving much of Dark Reign. The "villains coming together" has been mostly well done, its given all kinds of people time to shine - and the biggest players in the one-shot, The Cabal have been as menacing as ever, while still showing the obvious cracks in any kind of agreement like this. Bendis says this is gonna be the response to that issue, and i know its been obvious since the start - the classic Avengers come in to fix the shit no one else has been able to - but god i cant wait to see it. Post Civil War, everone's too caught up in staying hidden (pro and anti alike) to mount any kind of assualt that could handel H.A.M.M.E.R. and heavy-hitters like Ares and Sentry, and while Fury is tearing it up in Secret Warriors mounting an offensive for the former, again, who's been reading any of this shit and seen everyone scared of Ares and been thinking "holy shit i cant wait till Thor shuts this motherfucker down."? I cant be the only fanboy here.

 

Enough fapping, here's the article.

 

Norman Osborn's political and extralegal powers give him worldwide influence over events in the Marvel Universe, but that's not enough for the former Green Goblin. He wants to extend his dominion over to other realms as well. In the December one-shot ,"Siege: The Cabal," by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Lark, Osborn makes a move to do just that. The events of the one-shot serve as a prologue to "Siege," an event that begins in January and involves a huge cast of characters from Marvel's "Avengers" titles. CBR News spoke with Bendis about the project, which marks the end of Osborn's Dark Reign and the beginning of the next major chapter of the Marvel Universe.

 

Bendis envisions "Siege: The Cabal" as a companion piece to the "Secret Invasion: Dark Reign" one-shot, which detailed the origins of Norman Osborn's secret criminal brain trust. "This is how the Cabal falls apart," the writer told CBR. "We knew they were going to fall apart. The only question was how were they going to fall apart?"

 

Bendis wants to keep much of the plot details about "Siege: The Cabal" under wraps, but the solicits for the special reveal that part of the reason the Cabal unravels is because Norman Osborn sets his sight on conquering the realm of Asgard. "I don't want to reveal too much, other than the fact that Loki has Norman's ear," Bendis said. "Loki has been working him pretty good since the beginning of 'Dark Reign.' We've seen almost all of those scenes front and center."

 

Further complicating the dynamic between the Cabal members is the power vacuum that was left when two of it's members, Namor and Emma Frost, quit the group. "In 'Siege: The Cabal,' Norman replaces Emma and Namor with two new members," Bendis remarked. "And he does so without the other remaining Cabal members having any say in the matter."

 

While one of the new members remains a secret, readers who have seen the cover to "Siege: The Cabal" know that the other is the villain known as Taskmaster. "I'm a big Taskmaster fan, and he's a Norman loyalist. He's running Camp Hammer," Bendis remarked. "If people are going to be disloyal to Norman, he's going to replace them with loyalists. That's just the way he does things."

 

The fallout from "Siege: The Cabal" is what kick-starts the four issue "Siege" mini-series that begins in January. "It's written by me, drawn by Olivier Copiel, and colored by Laura Marin," Bendis said. "It's the big, brand new chapter in Avengers lore. It's as big a change to the Avengers franchise as 'Avengers Disassembled' and 'New Avengers' were, and that's not hype or bull. What I like it about it is, it's a very big change to a franchise that's doing pretty well and didn't need to change anything, but the story is telling itself and we're going for it."

 

"Siege" is a storyline that will be huge in both scope and cast. "It stars all of the Avengers teams, the Secret Warriors and the Young Avengers. Plus we've got all of Norman's forces, as well, including the Initiative and all that entails," Bendis revealed. "This the event that brings the classic Avengers back together again. What could happen in the Marvel Universe that would get Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and everyone else to get over themselves and get back together? What would get the band back together on legitimate terms?"

 

"Siege" is a mini-series as well as a crossover event that will spill over into the Avengers titles, and possibly several solo titles that feature prominent Avengers as well. "There will be tie-in issues, and the 'New Avengers' and 'Dark Avengers' issues will be essential, but those issues will include a lot of fun payoffs for a lot of characters. Including characters that people have been wondering about, like Norman Osborn, the Sentry, and Ares," Bendis explained. "Just like we did in 'Secret Invasion,' we're going to flip over all our cards and show you everything. We're not going to end 'Dark Reign' and leave you wondering, 'What happened to that guy? And what happened to this guy?' We're going to turn everything over. I think people were satisfied by the way we did that in 'Secret Invasion.' As a fan, it's what I like to see. And that's definitely what we're going to do."

 

Bendis is excited to usher in the next chapter of the Avengers franchise with "Siege," but he's just as excited to be working again with his "House of M" collaborator, Olivier Copiel. "I love him. I think we've done amazing work together, and I think he's done amazing work on 'Thor,'" Bendis remarked. "Since 'House of M,' we've been dying to work together again. And, as the years went by, and 'House of M 'kept selling, our determination to collaborate again grew."

 

In addition to a story that's immense in scope, with an A-List artist, "Siege" readers will also get some extra features as well. "There's going to be some special back matter material that I'm helping to produce in the back of the 'Siege' issues, as well as the tie-in issues of the Avengers titles," Bendis revealed. "So, the issues are going to be packed. They'll have back-up stories, text pieces, or whatever is appropriate to accentuate what's going on in the book itself. It's going to be a hell of a package."

 

When "Siege" hits stores in January, it will bring the curtain down on Marvel's long running "Dark Reign" storyline while also serving as a bookend to some of Bendis's early Avengers related work like "Avengers: Disassembled" and "Secret War." "'Siege' has been in the works since about 'Avengers: Disassembled.' When it would happen and where was up for grabs, though," Bendis said. "There was some discussion about whether it would happen before or after 'Secret Invasion,' but once 'Dark Reign' was set, Joe Quesada and everybody else said, 'Hold off on 'Siege.' 'Dark Reign' needs to be a part of it.' So 'Siege' needed to fit with the way Marvel is right now. We knew that after 'Dark Reign' we'd be headed towards a different Marvel Universe, and 'Siege' is the beginning of that."

 

so yeah, looks like 4 issues (after Secret Invasion, i appreciate brevity). hint for marvel's status quo post-Siege:

 

That news was followed by a cryptic slide which read "The Heroic Age," which received no other explanation except for Gabriel noting that readers are probably getting a little sick of the bad guys always winning the Marvel U.

[The NZA]

no replies yet, eh? let's see you kids stay quiet on this!

 

 

 

[Iambaytor]

God damn, please kill Daken! Also, Loki's a guy again now? I knew the sexy Loki would be shortlived (rightfully so) but I didn't expect them to sack it this soon after it had gotten old.

[The NZA]

it was done with a purpose though - are you not reading the current Thor book? its quite good.

[Iambaytor]

No, I can't find out where the current series started or a good torrent of at least most of the run, so I haven't.

[Mr. Hakujin]

this looks pretty effin sweet. so wtf happens to Bucky America now that Cap has been reborn? i'm way behind on all the dark reign shit; haven't even looked at one issue of all the utopia-x stuff, which i heard is really good. actually i'm way behind in reading my comics in general. i'm gonna start reading POWERS today though. so, ya know, baby steps.

 

No, I can't find out where the current series started or a good torrent of at least most of the run, so I haven't.

demonid used to have them all as single issue DL's or part of the weekly DCP packs, but demonid appears to be dead for now. if you really want it i can UL to mega upload for ya. i haven't read 'em yet so i can't really back up nick if it's a ds read or not though...

[The NZA]

ill ask newt, he oughta know when JMS' run started. its the best the books been since...well, at least since the Dark Gods arc with Jurgens, and that was like almost 10 years ago.

 

this looks pretty effin sweet. so wtf happens to Bucky America now that Cap has been reborn?

 

that's the big question right now, the upcoming cap arc is supposed to be about "who wears the shield". safe to say, i dont think bucky's getting benched, which is good cause i loved him as a villian but he's been great as cap as well. this exchange really nailed it for me:

 

Hawkeye: "Yes, im saying we kill Norman Osborn. Its a simple moral question, really: if you could go back and kill Hitler, would you? If you could...."

Cap: "I did."

Avengers: "???"

Cap: "Uh, i did. After the war, i went back and...I killed Hitler."

Avengers: "..."

Cap: "...I'm sorry...what were we talking about?"

[Iambaytor]

They'll probably do what they did the last time Cap got benched and adapt a superhero name that tells that he's like Cap but not actually Cap: ala U.S. Agent.

[Jables]

How are you talking shit about Disassembled. Craziness.

 

Haku- keep on Powers man. There's a thread for it here somewhere, it's dead brilliant.

[The NZA]

How are you talking shit about Disassembled. Craziness.

 

did you read something else? my disassembled was rushed mediocrity ("NOT LIKE THIS...") met with some of the worst side-books from the rest of marvel (spidey's books were laughably forgettable)...shit didnt go well, man.

[Iambaytor]

I've got the Disassembled trade, and it is rushed but still nowhere near as rushed and shoddily assembled as Civil War, House of M, Secret Invasion, or especially World War Hulk.

[The NZA]

WWH, ok. Secret Invasion lost gas, you hate House of M for some weird reason, and Civil War was mostly fantastic up to its ending. somehwere in there, i dont rank a quick conversation, half the team dying and chaos magic as highly, but its good to know others liiked it more.

i kinda threw it out there cause even Bendis seems to know it wasnt well-received across the board (especially with classic Avenger fans, you can imagine) , and that this series of arcs was going to resolve everything. I keep thinking this Siege is (hopefully) looking to tie things up together....im seriously loving Dark Reign over all the rest, but id love to see a reunion sometime.

 

 

[The NZA]

 

Cabal's out, bout to read it. impressions will follow!

[archangel]

did it officially begin?

[Newtype]

did it officially begin?

 

Yes.

[The NZA]

yeah, im thinking it begins with Cabal, fun issue too -

what the fuck was that thing Osborn hit Doom with? and yeah, Doom fucked H.A.M.M.E.R. right on up...wait, why is he looking out for Namor again?

 

 

end of the issue has a preview for the event's first issue as well...looks like this is definitely the one to tie up everything from Dissasembled on - they're billing it as "the event 7 years in the making". not sure how i feel about the "incident" setting it all up just yet...could fit well, could remind me a bit too much of something else.

[Iambaytor]

Was it just me, or did Osbourne inviting Namor into The Springfield Republican Party The Cabal seem a bit off to you? I mean I know he's a world power and all, but he was also one of the world's first superheroes and naturally it would be safe to assume that since he has no huge qualms with a good portion of the surface world it would be natural to draw the conclusion that he'd turn on him.

 

Now don't get me wrong, Osbourne had that deck stacked to fail from the beginning what with Dr. Doom and the god of mischief there; but knowingly inviting a not even retired superhero, especially one with Namor's insane amounts of power seemed like the worst idea of all. I mean sure, Emma's good now but she at least used to be bad, and Doom, Hood, and Loki were obviously all serving their own purposes but they could at least agree to disagree. Like I said, I get that with him being king of the seas he's a massive world power, but you never really saw Dr. Doom getting any invites to join the Illuminati.

 

Just seems like with all Norman's careful planning he picked a really shitty group of people to be his evil secret council.

[The NZA]

ah, you just catching up on Dark Reign, though? cause he's at ends with Namor since said atlantean joined the x-men stronghold. did you read Siege: The Cabal? am i forgetting his presence there? i just remember

Doom fucking Norman's shit right up for getting touchy.

[Iambaytor]

Oh, I'm all caught up with Dark Reign and am moving onto Siege now, it's just I think the only person who didn't see Namor's betrayal coming was Osbourne. And yeah, I knew it wouldn't be long before Doom started fucking shit up.

[Jables]

Read the solicitation for The Siege and wow. This looks so cosmically boring it's unfunny. How are they making

the relocation of Asgard

something worth reading? Also, that incident? I didn't remind you of antoher event, It's straight the fuck outta

Civil War

.

[The NZA]

aw, dont judge by the solicits, though.

 

1) the relocation is big if youve been reading Thor, cause it was a fantastic book, and it was explained thoroughly what's going on - why Thor's exiled, what both Loki and Doom (especially) stand to gain with it, and how that factors into the Cabal.

 

2) yeah, i admit, im nervous about that bit i saw in the preview as well, its not going for "subtle". i dont even know how that'd be a red herring or downplayed, but given that this is to be the culmination of wha, 5+ years of Bendis' storytelling (Disassembled onward), i really hope that's an act 1 move and not the centerpiece that's supposed to somehow bring back the good ol' status quo of classic + new avengers. a part of me, post "Brand New Day" and "Ultimatum" is accepting what comics have become: the writing's better than the 90s on most days, but Joe Q seems content to let somewhat awful shit work as a deus ex/transition to a better event/reality, realizing that we as fans'll obviously bitch when bullshit is played, but if if gets us where we wanna be - better writers/supporting cast on spidey books, ultimate titles worth reading again, or in this example, Avengers that live above ground and people know to be Avengers - i think we've shown that we're willing to look the other way.

 

but that's the thing, right? I loved Civil War, and would own it in trade, but the ending was indeed not good. I enjoyed House of M, but it did drag its nuts and in my head, its hard not to feel it was marred by the absolute shit that was Decimation afterwards. Secret Invasion dragged along so much, i have a hard time remembering how it ended sometimes, and the less said about anything post Planet Hulk, the better. Im really hoping The Siege is tradeworthy for me, it has all the right components lined up...but yeah, i get your caution here.

[Mr. Hakujin]

Just got caught up on SIEGE. I have to say, it's not bad. JZA, the incident is no spoiler, in fact Loki cites the "incident" from Civil War directly in Siege- Cabal as the inspiration to get the attack on Asgard underway.

 

aw, dont judge by the solicits, though.

 

1) the relocation is big if youve been reading Thor, cause it was a fantastic book, and it was explained thoroughly what's going on - why Thor's exiled, what both Loki and Doom (especially) stand to gain with it, and how that factors into the Cabal.

Pleas enlighten as I've yet to read any of the new Thor even though it's resting comfortably on my external HD. The fact Thor is banished, Stark is recovering (from what i dunno) under his supervision and what exactly this does for Doom is unknown to me. However, w/ the announcement of "The Heroic Age" it's pretty clear where all this is leading: to the big 3 back in charge of the Avengers.

 

My guess is they all have to end up

taking down The Sentry, which is really Osborn's only power card. Thus the true end of "dark Reign" and the beginning of the "Heroic Age."

 

[The NZA]

ok, so here goes (you sure you want this out there? nothing huge, i guess, but you know...better to see it executed on page, etc. anyway:

 

 

Firstly: Loki's been working on some big plan inna background, JMS clearly was laying the setup for Siege like a year or two back looking at it now. Thor came back, after all of Asgard fell, and he basically - with the power of his dead father, Odin - breathed life back into the gods. Loki promptly starts planning, and eventually finds a way to revive Tyr (sp?), Odin's dad/Thor's grandfather, but he's crazy powerful naturally and the spell brings him back mad and seeing thor as an enemy. Thor basically has to use some of his odinson power/divine essense to take him down, then realizes he's basically committed patricide...which obviously cannot be abided in asgardian culture, so reluctantly, Balder banishes him. he's out on his own.

later, you'll read what happened to his hammer, odinson power etc. really great run; again, ive been an off & on fan of Thor for decades now, and this was his best run since uh, Jurgens in like 10 years back.

 

2) Stark...once he lost power after Secret Invasion and Normie took his office, task # 1 for osborn, naturally, was to raid the superhero identity files...only to find a booby trap, and that they werent there. he comes to find out: stark just fucking memorized them and never wrote them down. somewhere around here - i started reading invincible iron man after this, and again, book's fantastic - stark realized he could only run so long from Osborn with the entire force of S.H.I.E.L.D. (basically) at his disposal, so he took/did something to basically wipe/format his mind. thus, as he's on the run...he's constantly forgetting things/getting dumber, making the fact that he continues outwitting Osborn all the greater.

 

3) Doom allowed Loki to move Asgard to Latveria because he wants to finally have the secret of divinity/immortality, and Loki agreed to let him experiment on less-known asgardians to this end. whichever one's fucking the other one first is yet to be seen, but smart money's on Doom coming out on top

 

 

 

way i see it, the obvious path is: heroes come back, trounce Osborn & his dark avengers etc....but im not sure that's the finale. like you, with recent events in Dark Avengers, im thinking taking down an overpowered Sentry could be it, like some crazy new Infinity Gauntlet battle, but...that's being optimistic, heh. thinking we'll shed him at the same time as getting our boys back. im starting to think another possibility might be a demi-god Doom? either way, yeah, some great evil unites them and gets the public behind them again. Dark Reign's been a really fun ride for me so far, but its constantly showing the crack's in Osborn's regime.

[Mr. Hakujin]

Nick, thanks for that mega update! I knew the Stark stuff, but I'm a few months behind on Iron Man and don't' know how he got to Asgard, Oklahoma. Guess I need to catch up on Iron Man to see how rocker-T wearing Maria Hill got him there...

 

All the Thor and Loki/Doom stuff I'd no clue about though. I'm confused about a few things:

why would Loki need Osbourne to start a war w/ Asgard if he's already got an agreement w/ Doom to take it to Latveria? I'm guessing the Siege is meant to weaken Balder enough for Loki to take over completely? But then again Siege is playing it as if Loki basically has control of Asgard/Balder already--so why the war? Also, if Doom wants Asgard over latveria then why not help Osborne? Again, I can speculate, it was likely to weaken Osborne more than the fact Namor wasn't included.

 

And glad you mentioned the dissecions as I was wondering what that scene w/ a body on Doom's dissection table at the end of Siege 1 or Siege Cabal(they all blend in) was meant to be. At first I thought it was a Loki doppelganger or something. Was it any specific Asgardian or just some random dude?

 

[The NZA]

 

 

prolly a random dude. i think most of loki's plan is laid out in Thor, but not entirely, some of your speculations could be right - i mean, the last page of a recent Dark Avengers showed just how much norman was under loki's control.

 

 

also: # 2 of this event came out this week, anyone read it yet?