OK, I'm
serious this time. Unlike
my goof on the "true" secret ending of Batman R.I.P., I think that I've
really tumbled onto the actual ending of
Marvel's interminable
Skrullapalooza.
Yesterday at the
Diamond/Alliance Retailer Summit in
Las Vegas (why does
everyone have a better life than I do??),
Bendis unveiled the next Marvel line-wide blockbuster, "Dark Reign." His description:
"The Initiative was kind of like the Cold War," the SECRET INVASION scribe explains, comparing this new push to Initiative branding that followed 2006's Civil War. "There's a war, and then there's a cold war. This was an invasion, and from the invasion, certain people take the hit, certain people rise up as the heroes who you wouldn't expect, and from that comes a new power status in the Marvel Universe that some would consider a dark reign and some would consider heaven. One man's dark reign is another man's 'Finally!'"
So, aside from new books (like
Dark Avengers....sigh), what could this mean??
Well, I
think maybe Marvel may have let the cat slip out of the bag.
Maybe. Check out the
November solicit for
New Warriors #18:
The future isn’t so bright. Not when Iron Man has taken the Superhuman Registration Act to new heights and imposed his rule over a good chunk of the free world. Super heroes have been outlawed and any hope of resistance has been crushed. And while the New Warriors try to escape this world gone wrong, Night Thrasher takes it upon himself to be the one who just might set things right...
Now, the phrasing
could be interpreted to make it sound like the Warriors are doing a
Days of Future Past bit, visiting an alternate future. But with this latest news about Dark Reign,
I'm not so sure.What if that New Warrior's story isn't an
alternate future, but really the end result of Skrullapalooza?
Iron Man decides more power is the best way to prevent
Skrull shenanigans, and takes over, completing his transition to
Fascist Man? Outlaw superheros, so Skrulls can't pose as them...use
S.H.I.E.L.D. and
Extremis to extend his power over "a good chunk of the free world?"
That would certainly result in shake-ups of the
Avengers teams, including requiring some to be "Dark Avengers." It would certainly be a "new power status in the
Marvel Universe that some would consider a dark reign and some would consider heaven."
Wow. If I'm right...if that's the end result of the
not-so-Secret Invasion...color me impressed...maybe.