Dark Avengers #8

First things first. This was really an X-book, and a really good one at that. It was the climax of the Dark X-Men/Dark Avengers crossover (which will conclude in a one-shot next week).

Second things second. Luke Ross is a good, but not great artist, but he really killed on this one. In a book with at least 25 different characters, it was never hard to tell who was who. Even Norman Osborn looked better than he has in other Dark Reign stories.

Third things third. We knew it was coming. Hoped it was coming. We old-timey Marvel fans could never believe that Emma nor especially Namor would betray mutants. And when push came to shove, it was Emma who shoved that creep Daken's head into the ground. And Namor who smashed Mimic's face into a pane of glass, saying only, "Silence, whelp." If there is a perfect line of Namor dialogue, that may be it.

Last things last. The Marin headlands was a cool destination for mutantkind, and Fraction's run has been decent for the past few months. But what appears to be the upcoming status quo, in which mutants reside in an artificial island in the Pacific outside of U.S. jurisdiction looks great. Of course, it is very similar to a concept from the pages of Cable & Deadpool, but the execution on this one is great.