Same 2 art teams as last month. We pick up Dr. Strange and Wiccan where we left them last issue, with Strange now narrating what happened to people who keep interrupting, a Bendis favorite.
So, Strange and Hood got to fightin’, with Strange narrating that he had to do it to see how strong Hood has become, and that he’s now more powerful than Dr. Strange. This over imagery of the ground erupting and zaps a-flyin’ and so on. We quickly find ourselves in the now-common “who knows what’s happening” world of the Chris Bachalo fight scene, where there are so many little panels and none of them have a focal point or sense of place in space and time. Like this:
Poor Antonio Fabela is working overtime to bring some kind of sense to this mess, but he can only do so much with a 17-panel spread where the camera is either too close or too far away almost all the time.
Would that this guy were going to burn out fast and not haunt Bendis’ long time on the Avengers to the very end. Doc Strange says there’s so many demons from so many places that it would be impossible for him to guess who is is, which makes the fact that it’s one of his two whole enemies so much funnier. “Which demon could it be?” “Well, there’s the one I fight every Friday, it could be him…” The Avengers quickly realize that if Dr. Strange is looking for the new Sorcerer Supreme, and the Hood is looking for Strange, and they’re looking for the Hood, they could all team up and make some progress. Strange is reluctant, but Luke Cage talks him into it. Meanwhile, the Hood goes crashing back into his hideout, where… I don’t know what is happening, he’s in a lot of pain and Dormammu seems to be enjoying it. It goes on for 2 pages, and then Madame Masque walks in.
She talks him down, and Parker says he’s going to find Dr. Strange and fix his life, but he can’t trust her, so she takes her mask off, and they start makin’ out as the Dread Dormammu watches, like a real creep. Back at the ranch, Spider-Man finds out Carol stole a Quinjet, and is really weirdly upset about it. “It doesn’t matter who you stole it from, stealing is stealing.” Well, Norman Osborn stole it from them, so… Anyway, he’s talked into going with them despite his objections, and they’re off.
Strange talkin’ bout Doom can’t be allowed to be Sorcerer Supreme is gonna sound real funny in about 16 years. But, hold on, a new player is entering the game:
Ah yes, Bourbon Street. The only street in New Orleans. The tourist trap part of town, the place no one actually wants to go. I’m sure that’s where you’d find…
Damian Hellstrom, the Son of Satan. Has he been on the blog? Almost, it looks like, since we didn’t cover his appearance in MTU 126 because it didn’t involve Spider-Man. When the guard rails of the comics code came off in the 1970s, suddenly Marvel felt comfortable publishing a comic called Son of Satan, rather incredibly. Damian Hellstrom is just what it says, only he rebelled against his dad, and became a hero powered by evil forces. Kinda like Ghost Rider, only with a title a lot more likely to get a retailer in trouble with some kid’s parents. Pretty bold. And, as alluded to here, he’s got a weird, complicated history with Hellcat, which there is no need to go into.
An appropriate reaction to the Hood. So, Robbins wants the Eye of Agamatto. Why is he here? Does he also know who might be next in line for the SS job? And he just happened to assume Strange might come ask Hellstrom about it at the moment Strange is coming to ask Hellstrom about it? What luck!