Dark Reign: Young Avengers #3 – Review

By Paul Cornell (Writer), Mark Brooks (Pencils), Mark Morales & Walden Wong (Inks), and L. Molinar & A. Street (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Dark Reign: Young Avengers has been a strange mini-series so far. It’s unlike anything Marvel is putting out and yet, I’m not quite sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

The Story: The real Young Avengers test the wannabe Young Avengers by teaming up with them against a bunch of Hydra thugs. Is someone testing them both?

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Alright. Now I’m certain that Paul Cornell is content to let the Dark Reign: Young Avengers mini-series frustrate the hell out of me. The third issue reads extremely well (Cornell makes great use of clever dialogue), looks mighty solid (the darker coloring by Molinar and Streets is an upgrade for the series), and adds a number of interesting twists to whatever the hell the overall plot is about (I’m still not entirely sure). That said, it also leaves me feeling exactly like I did after reading the first two issues of the series. So how did I feel? Confused about the future of the characters and wondering what the whole point of the mini-series is.

Conclusion: So I’m certain Paul Cornell is trying to frustrate me. You know what else I’m certain of? That Dark Reign: Young Avengers is going to read much better as a trade than a monthly. I know I’ll finish it out as a monthly, but I have a feeling everyone else will be better served by reading it once the mini-series is collected.

Grade: C+

-Kyle Posluszny