Dark Avengers #13 - Marvel

The purpose of this book, basically, was to give us the 'real' version of the Sentry's origin. Well . . that and comparing the Void's power to that of God smiting Egypt, back in the time of the Pharaohs. Basically, we find out that Bob's origins weren't what we were told in the comic-books. At the end of last issue Lindy had shot Sentry / Bob in the face with some kind of secret weapon. All she wants to do is to be free of her imprisonment . . I don't think she really wanted to hurt Bob. Anyways, as she's kneeling over the Sentry's body, she asks Cloc if he still recording. He is . . so she begins to tell him the true origins of the Sentry. It turns out Bob was just a drug addict, who busted into a lab, looking for a cheap high. Actually . . he was looking for any drugs he could get his hands on. He ended up taking some experimental serum that only worked on him, much in the way that the Super-Soldier formula only worked on Steve Rogers. 'But the real secret of the Sentry? He didn't just take that formula once. Once was an accident. Once was a stupid kid doing a stupid thing. His secret is: once he got a taste of it . . of the power . . he did what every junkie does. He did whatever he could to get whatever he needed. Does that sound like the origin of a golden super hero to you?' He then manifests at the Void. As the Void, he tries to show Bob how Lindy has betrayed them, and that she doesn't really love him. But Bob begins to struggle internally and he won't let the Void hurt Lindy. But the really kind of scary part is when the Sentry flies off to the sun to try to burn the Void out of him. As he leaves, Cloc, who's still recording all of this, says to Lindy . . 'Now you see . . how much he loves you.' But try as he might, Bob just can't get rid of the Void. It's as much a part of him as his lungs . . or his brain. The issue ends with the Void reasoning with the Sentry and deciding to take some action. That's when we see his darkness descending on NYC much in the way that God's plagues did on Egypt. This doesn't look like it's going to have a happy ending. I think Brian Bendis is doing an incredible job with this book. When this title first started, I thought it was just going to be another mini-series or something. But I have a feeling that it's going to be around for a while. Especially with Mike Deodato Jr doing the art. In the flashbacks this issue, Mike did the frames in a sketch-art. It looked amazing. This book is easily one of the best surprises of 2009. It sure surprised me.