This was a week of set-ups in Dark and Mighty Avengers, and the lesser of the two was in Dark Avengers… but not by much.  While the final scene potentially makes next issue really interesting (depending on how it’s used), and the “waking up” of Marvel Boy could lead to some good story-telling, the rest of the issue is a lot of re-tread.  We get it, Sentry is messed up.  Can we move past this already?  While I’m interested in Norman’s motivation for trying to help Bob, I still wish this could just go away.  Also, the Gargan/Bullseye dynamic is annoying; they’re acting like immature teenage boys who need to be separated.  I hope Ares’ little speech takes hold or I’m going to skip over all their dialogue in the future.
         On the art side, Deodato provides more of the same, with the smudgy lines and darker colors providing a shadowy, more realistic look to the figures and scenes.  The panel layouts were somewhat choppy on the two-page spreads at the beginning; some looked like he forgot about the crease  in the middle of the page.  Also, when Norman has a “come to Jesus” moment, he looks a little bit like George W. Bush with Norman’s hair.  I’m not sure if this was a conscious choice by Deodato or if I’m seeing something that’s not there, but it was definitely different from the other drawings of Osborn and it took me out of the story for a second.
          I like where the story is going, but the characters are getting to me.  If Bendis’ portrayals stay the same, this book may be on the chopping block.