You know, this whole "Dark Reign" thing really has potential. It puts the heroes back on the defensive, where Marvel heroes love to be, and it lets writers do a whole bunch of stories in the fucked-up officially sanctioned protectors vein without having to defile the faourites or create all-new versions a la the Ultimates. And there are a couple of really good stories here, and not in that totally awesome big event way, but sophisticated, surprising, psychological--the initial Bendis story where Osborn calls a villains's meeting and the followup by Matt Fraction where Emma Frost and Namor put their own plots in motion and we learn their sexy backstory. Also the "gathering the troops" issue, again from Bendis. Ares to Daken in a pizza joint: "You must try this! 'Tis glorious crap."


And the rest of the stories here are utterly forgettable filler, but that's not what brings this down; it's that it's a thirty-dollar medium-thick TPB, but you get halfway through and realize the rest is reprinted interviews from the likes of Newsarama, ads, and sub-OHOTMU character profiles for Osborn as new chief security dude. It is the most feeble, blatant middle-finger of a money grab I have ever seen from comics, and I still shake my head in disbelief, and those good stories mentioned above deserve better. ( )