Dark Reign: The Cabal

The Cabal is an interesting concept to me. I like the idea of a secret organization getting together to influence the events in the Marvel universe. The Illuminati failed because most of their actions were written retroactively. Their influence was cooked up decades after the events they were influencing took place. Osborn's cabal has the potential to actually affect the Marvel universe. This issue is divided into five short stories focusing on a specific cabal-member in each to provide some insight into the member's motivations and intentions.

I'll cover this issue in chronological order. Doctor Doom is the star of the first segment. Jonathan Hickman, mistakenly, writes him as a homicidal maniac. I understand that Doom craves power but he's never come off as a cold-blooded, killer, psychopath to me. He murders The Hood and has delusions of choking Namor to death. Doom also fulfills a Star Wars fetish thanks to some damn-fine art by Adi Granov. The Doctor isn't the only one mistreated though. I don't particularly care for how submissive Hickman writes Namor, who is probably more egotistical than even Doom.

The second segment is a character study on Emma Frost. I don't too much care for Emma Frost as a character, so naturally, this story didn't do it for me either. Matt Fraction attempts to explain the motivations for the cabal's most surprising member, but she just comes off as scrappy. Lots of people are scrappy. Wolverine is scrappy, but you don't see him dining with Osborn. This portion of the issue was by far the worst because it's ineffective, Acuna's art comes off as a clash of colors trying to mingle with each other, and nothing interesting happens.

Things really start to pick up with the third portion. The Hood is actually given some decent treatment. We learn he has a life outside of crime and perhaps uses crime to support that life. Rick Remender is able to make the Hood a very sympathetic character while he's killing and manipulating his own crew; no small feat. Max Fiumara's pencils also provide very menacing images in the lair and almost flashback-style images of the Hood's family as if he were fondly remembering them. Before this issue I had no interest in the Hood and now I am glad he's a part of the cabal.

Namor's story isn't quite as good the Hood's, but it's still a vast improvement on the first two. I'm a huge Namor fan, so any story showing him interacting with his people while rocking out in the speedo is welcomed with open arms. Kieron Gillen writes a story about Namor deciding the fate of a young Atlantean mutant with interesting powers. The king is thankfully depicted as arrogant and in-charge as ever. He's quick to make decisions and doesn't need the opinion of others. When the mutant attacks Namor because he doesn't agree with his decision, we get to see how much of a force Namor really is. We also get the sense this story will have some payoff, as it seems he has plans for this mutant child in the near future. Carmine di Giandomenico's art isn't nearly as effective here as it was in Magneto Testament. There, his style suited the sadness and poverty of the situation. Here, his characters come off as frail. His backgrounds are beautiful, though.

The last story, and definitely the best, belongs to Loki. He has quietly become the most bad-ass character in the Marvel universe. Loki has expelled Thor from Asgard, assembled an Avengers team to rival Osborn's, and brought dissension to the cabal. This tale, written by Peter Milligan, serves as a prelude to Thor #601 (fantastic issue). Milligan writes both Doom and Loki perfectly with Doom testing Loki before even allowing a conversation to take place. We also get a hint as to why the two are working together but are cleverly left in the dark about a few specifics. What did Loki offer Doom?!?!?! AGHHHHH! Regrettably, Tonci Zonjic's art doesn't fare as well. His characters look decent enough, but some of work lacked detail. In a few panels, eyes and facial features were absent.

Overall, despite having three really good stories, Dark Reign: The Cabal is a pretty worthless issue. Doom and Frost's stories have no real value and even if anything in the other three's stories become plot developments in the Marvel universe, I'm sure they'll be revisited in their respective series. If anything peaks your interest here, ask me about the details and then wait for them to be explored in later issues. Buying this issue will not provide you with any insight into the cabal.