Right now the Marvel Universe is in the midst of two major events, Dark Reign and War of Kings. Both series have a varying degree of impact and we’ll eventually explore both. For now let’s look at Dark Reign and the impact it’s having on the Marvel U. We’re gonna break this baby into sections for easy digestion so strap in and get ready for an update on your favorite comic book company.

Overview:

Dark Reign is likely one of the most ambitious comic events in Marvel history. The actual story of Dark Reign is heavily reliant on events that lead up to it. The biggest sign post is the former event called Civil War, while a bit ill-conceived it is a solid story that sets the initial tone for Dark Reign. The heroes of earth 616 are at odds over the Super Human Registration act and all hell breaks loose as the two sides come to blows over the issue. The events of Civil War were accompanied by a book called Secret War that let you know that something wasn’t right with the powers that be in the Marvel U.

All of that story picked up and moved into Secret Invasion, a story about the infiltration of earth by the Skrulls. Secret Invasion serves to put a lot of key characters in place for the finale that is Dark Reign. The fifty state initiative was introduced during the aftermath of Civil War and played a key role in Secret Invasion. It’s probably the biggest change in the Marvel U, and has become a part of Dark Reign as well.

At the End of Secret Invasion Norman Osborn (the former Green Goblin) rises to power with a cabal of other villains and heroes at his disposal. Dark Reign is the exploration of a new status quo where the normal scales have been tipped and the heroes are on the outs. What makes Dark Reign so special is how difficult it is to execute month after month. To that end Marvel is doing a phenomenal job.

Major Players:

Iron Man

Tony Stark is close to the center of Dark Reign due mostly to his actions going all the way back to Civil War when he worked for the Governments demand to register all its super powered individuals. He had a vision of the future that could not be denied, and it ended up burning him.

Stark rose to power as the Secretary of Defense and even the head of SHIELD before it all came crashing down thanks to the Skrull Invasion. Norman Osborn had already fixed his public image inexplicably and was running the Thunderbolts when the Invasion struck. His actions during the Invasion garnered serious public support and turned the tide in the mental battle between good and evil.

With Norman on top of the world Tony found himself on the outs. By this time we’re well into Dark Reign and Norman’s new regime. Tony Stark is on the lamb and his businesses are all taking a major dive as Norman Osborn hunts him on trumped up charges. Norman is now the head of the new HAMMER task force and is the top cop in America, it’s a bad time to be a hero.

In the recent issues of invincible Iron Man we find that Norman desperately wants all of Tony’s secrets. Tony, to his credit, won’t give up that information without a fight. His reaction is to literally delete the information from his brain. That is where we find Iron Man right now, on the run, losing his mind literally.

Norman Osborn

The best thing about Normans rise to power is that he’s become a villain worthy of being Marvels flagship villain. It only makes sense considering that his actual enemy is Spider-Man Marvels flagship hero. It feels like Norman has reached his full potential as a bad guy. As we stated earlier Norman was the director of the Thunderbolts program when power almost fell into his lap. Scoring the kill shot that ended the Secret Invasion cemented Norman Osborn as a beloved figure.

Norman wasted no time in building his power base and drawing other villains into his scheme to basically milk his position for all its worth.  Dark Reign is basically the story of Norman Osborn flexing his newfound muscle in the faces of the real heroes of the Marvel U. It is after all a Dark Reign.

Currently Norman is still flexing his muscles and has only shown a few signs of cracking under the pressure. His Reign can’t last forever but how he will be toppled is still very unclear.

Nick Fury

Nick went underground a long time ago, only recently resurfacing to combat HAMMER and HYDRA. He was startled to find out that his days with SHIELD may have been tainted by corruption. Nick is still the best super spook in the biz and is training a new team of Commandos to do his dirty work. The work to restore SHIELD to its former glory is a little sketchy but I have faith in BMB to put it all together.

Nick hasn’t come into direct contact with Norman Osborn but that collision is inevitable to say the least. That meeting will be titanic no matter how it goes down.