Jiminy Crickets!
David decides to go for fun over plot here, and I can't say that it's a bad call. OK, to be fair, it's not like David totally abandons the story that he wast telling. We learn that it was Roberta's husband that injected her with the Super-Soldier Serum and that Black Widow really does eat her prey. Also, Miguel throws Tyler from the top floor of Alchemax after Tyler revealed that he sent the Specialist after Roberta because he though that she wasn't meeting expectations. (Apparently this Miguel does have a conscience somewhere in there.) That said, though, we don't learn why Roberta's husband decided to inject her with the Serum and why it had to be kept a secret from her. We also don't learn what big secret Tyler was going to tell Miguel (if any), as he swore that he was going to do right before Miguel threw him out the window. In other words, we get some answers, but they really only lead to more questions.
Instead, Peter decides to take a sharp turn to the loony. Apparently, the Defenders' escape from the Alchemax building last issue cut the power to the cell where Miguel was keeping Hargood. (Remember him? He had something to do with the hit on Roberta, because the Specialist had his card on him, but I don't think that we really got any more clarity on that connection.) Anyway, it turns out Hargood is a descendant of Baron Mordo, so he uses the virtual-unreality portal at Alchemax (that he conveniently knew existed) to bring through the Dweller in the Darkness. (Why? Who knows? Roberta winds up knocking him unconscious before he can go Bond villain and explain it to us.) Miguel calls Roberta, turns her into Cap remotely, and tells her that everyone gets forgiven if they come defeat the Dweller. The Defenders leap into action, and Roman eventually arrives with an even bigger creature to take on the Dweller. Meanwhile, Hercules and Roberta deliver the aforementioned knocks, and Strange closes the portal. 'Nuff said.
Was it a totally weird ending? Yes. Would part of me preferred that we wrapped up a number of the open plot points that David left unclear? Yes. Am I excited by the end of the issue saying "The end...for now!" Yes. At the end of the day, even if the Dweller pushed other plots to the background, I can't deny that it was a fun issue. This series had little to nothing to do with "Secret Wars," but, again, I'm not complaining. Sometimes being a comic-book fan means that you just enjoy watching some superheroes prevent a giant squid from devouring the world.
*** (three of five stars)
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