Dark Avengers #15 - Marvel

I really liked this issue. It didn't really have anything to do with Siege . . at least not directly. But . . since I don't really care about that . . for me, it was perfect. With all of the problems Norman has been having with Bob, this issue it seems as though he's taken a step towards taking care of that. Or . . he just made matters a whole lot worse. The issue starts out with Norman provoking a fight with Doom. This results in an all-out attack on Avengers Tower. While the Iron Patriot is fighting off Doom's robotic swarm, Norman orders an evacuation of the entire building. In the melee and confusion, Hawkeye ends up taking off in his own helicopter. Just him . . and Lindy. As they're supposedly flying towards a safe-house, Hawkeye provokes a fight with her. She begins to fight back, but then he snaps her neck and throws her in the ocean. When he returns alone, the Void attacks Hawkeye with extreme vigor. Norman has to call it off, and Hawkeye sends him on a wild goose-chase in the fields of New Jersey. A couple of things I noticed here. First of all . . does it scare anyone else that Norman has this much control over the Void, and Bob? I mean, it's like he has his very own rabid dog on a very short leash. The problem is, eventually those dogs end up biting their masters . . or someone they're not supposed to. Secondly, have you noticed how much Bob and Lindy kind of look alike? Almost as if they're just different genders of the same person. It seems as though Lindy has put up with an awful lot and still stayed with him. What if she's just another divergent aspect of Bob's already fractured personality? Or, since we found out that he can manipulate matter . . maybe he created her . . subconsciously. Either way, I don't think we're done with this story with Lindy. I don' think the problem is going to be as easily taken care of as Norman expects. And finally . . at the end, when Norman asks Victoria to notify the White House that the tower was a target of a Latverian terrorist assault . . I think Victoria realizes that Norman staged all of this. I don't think she's figured out why, exactly. But . . I think she's starting to realize that she's in way over her head. Or aboard a slowly sinking ship. One that it's captain doesn't even realize is going down, yet. I give Brian Bendis the highest praise for the fantastic job he is doing with the story on this title. And I continue to be impressed with Mike Deodato's art issue after issue. Unfortunately, next issue is it's last. I know there's other plans in store for the Avengers, and probably most of these characters, but . . I really hate to see this creative team dissolved. I hope they end up on something else together, because they really compliment each other's strengths.