Summary
Since the Silver Age, Marvel andDC Comicshave borrowed ideas from one another repeatedly, to mixed levels of success. But one of the most surprising and unexpected examples was the ddebut ofDamage, DC’s version of the Hulk. But years later, it’s still baffling that the hero is being totally neglected by the publisher.
In the aftermath of theDark Nights Metalevent (masterminded by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo), DC launched the New Age of Heroes. Designed to be a hodgepodge of fresh ideas that could be enjoyed within the universe but independently of the core books, the imprint focused on analogs of Marvel’s signature titles. While the most famous of these was the publisher’s attempt to craft their ownFantastic Fourin the Terrifics, the company also replicated the idea behind the Hulk. Despite being an excellent title, Damage has been left without closure for its biggest fans.
DC and Marvel have a proud, often times humorous history of swiping ideas from one another. Sometimes it’s subtle, other times it’s much more blatant. In the case of 2018’sDamageseries,it couldn’t have been more obvious that DC wanted a Hulk book.
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Who Is Damage, DC’s Answer To The Hulk?
Released in DC’s dominant year of 2018,Damage(Robert Venditti, Tony S. Daniel, Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan) tells the story of Ethan Avery, a US Army volunteer for a super soldier experiment. Using a serum developed from Hourman’s Miraclo, Avery was able to transform into the monster known as Damage, a living WMD who is almost invulnerable – but only for one hour per day. When his mission was over, he would revert to the lean soldier until called on again. Naturally, however, neither the man nor the monster was content with being government property, so they escaped.
Like many DC readers at the time, the New Age of Heroes books flew completely under my radar when they were released. After all, this was barelya year after theRebirthreboot, and theMetalevent was still fresh in everyone’s minds (and wallets). My discovery of the book was almost by accident, only receiving a copy after buying a mystery comics pack that my local comic shop was running. After I finished the book, I tracked down all the current back issues and eagerly awaited each issue thereafter. By the time the series ended, I was left with one feeling: I want more.
Damage’s Fate Was Left Completely Open By The Series' End
TheDamageseries follows the hero as he flees the US government, taking on teams like the Suicide Squad and Justice League along the way. After an excellentbattle with the Man of Steel– in which Damage held his own – Batman decided that containment was the best solution. In order to keep the monster at bay, the Caped Crusader maroons him on Dinosaur Island, where he meets Congo Bill. After fending off the onslaught of monsters and coming to terms with his alter ego, Ethan Avery uses Bill’s small boat to escape. The last thing readers see is the man sailing away into the distance for parts unknown.
Much like the ambiguous fate of Frankenstein’s Monster in various iterations of the story, Damage’s fate has also been left surprisingly unknown. Despite events likeDeath MetalandDark Crisis On Infinite Earthshonoring the breadth of characters in the DCU, Damage seems to have been forgotten by the company. In a market where readers are becoming increasingly conscious of following creators rather than just characters, letting Venditti return to his monster series could offer a nice break from all of the current events.
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Robert Venditti Continues To Be A Severely Underrated DC Talent
Best-known for the Rebirth-eraHal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, Robert Venditti has turned in some of the best DC series of the last decade. Whether it was hischaracter-defining run onHawkman, his political thrillerFreedom Fightersbook or the digital-firstMan of Tomorrowrun on Superman, the writer often goes overlooked. That said, it’s hard to deny his achievements, as one of the foremost Green Lantern writers since 2010, and the man who did the almost impossible in turning in a more widely acclaimed Superman book than a rival Bat-book, something not pulled off since theAll-Starline.
Venditti’s comics often strike a fun balance between Silver Age creativity and tone, Bronze Age adventure and modern action, effectively working as the best of all worlds. Following a brief but entertaining run onJustice League(which was far too short), the writerleft his mark on Clark Kent through theSuperman ‘78titles. With the art style of Aaron Lopresti on the bulk of the series, the title reads like a blast from the past, calling back to Bronze Age Hulk books. For my money,Damagewas the best classic Hulk book on the market– but most readers didn’t even notice.
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In-keeping with past TV successes becoming comics (likeDC capitalizing on the hype around thePeacemakerTV show),James Gunn’sCreature Commandoscould open the door for more monster books. The company itself is far from afraid of publishing fairly obscure characters, especially when it comes to miniseries. Damage is a great replication of the story themes and formula behind Hulk, borrowing the idea of the solitary, reluctant hero and how, at times, the world can be against him. For Avery, there’s the added disadvantage of extended vulnerability, since he can only use his powers an hour per day.
Monster comics have historically been some of the best-written, most thoughtful and most creative books in comics. That was certainly true of runs like Alan Moore’sSwamp Thing, Steve Gerber’sMan-Thing, Gerry Conway’sTomb of Draculaand Jeff Lemire’sFrankenstein: Agent of SHADE. With Robert Venditti doing a phenomenal job handling theSuperman ‘78books, letting him come back in and continue the story of Ethan Avery and his monster is long overdue.
Whether through a miniseries format, a fresh ongoing or even a one-shot, the story ofDamagemust continue – especially if James Gunn’s vision for DC films continues to invest in monster comics alongside more ‘traditional’ superhumans.
