Damage Control 1 - Acts of Vengeance

The next series involved is actually quite a surprise. Today crossover events get supported by numerous limited series, but it used to be the case that there was, at most, a single series containing the core of a crossover and everything else was told in issues of ongoing titles. The idea of doing a special mini-series about a specific group of characters and tying the whole thing into a big event was years before its time. But then Damage Control has never been exactly conventional.

Damage Control (volume 2) #1

Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Artist: Ernie Colon
Letters: Rick Parker
Colours: John Wellington
Editor: Sid Jacobson
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This is the second of a number of limited series featuring perhaps the most obvious but overlooked element of the Marvel universe - the special repairs company. Damage Control are the people the authorities turn to in order to repair structures after the damaging effects of superhero battles. It's such an obvious but mundane function that the series goes for a lot of comedy and throws in the complication of changes of corporate control for added effect. Given the damage that "Acts of Vengeance" will likely generate, it's easy to see the attraction of piggybacking on it. However it also means there's an almost satirical take on the concept as part of the actual continuity (although I've seen some chronologies that try to decanonise it). Worse still this issue comes so early in the cycle that we're getting the humour before we've really had any of the main action.

All that said, the issue itself is a decent comedy piece. It pokes fun at the absurdities of both trying to bring quick repairs to damaged structures (in this case the George Washington Bridge) and corporate manoeuvres, whilst also showing a mess as a plea for help from the Vault accidentally gets sent to Damage Control who assume they're being asked to assess the damage and so send in a team not realising the criminals are still around. The biggest failing in the story's internal logic is the Wrecker's crowbar and Thunderball's wrecking ball being stored at the same prison as the criminals without explanation, allowing them to recover their powers in the jail break. The battle of wits to survive and escape, combined with a later arrival by Captain America, adds to the humour with the funniest scene being when the Wrecker decides to demonstrate his power by smashing through a pillar, only for John Porter (the account executive) to casually point out it's a supporting beam and this brings the roof down. The characters are a fairly typical cross section of office life, including various stereotypes such as the competent manager who fears they're out of their depth and will soon be found out, the lustful intern, the technical whiz and so forth.

Overt comedy in superhero comics is a refined taste so this issue may not be to everyone's liking. In itself it's a pretty fun piece, offering a nice take on how the consequences of all the events are dealt with. But as the second main chapter of such an important crossover (and the way it's billed on the cover leaves little doubt), it's an unfortunate interlude and it's easy to see why it's been subsequently relegated out of the main event issues and even out of continuity altogether.

Damage Control (volume 2) #1 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)
• Damage Control: The Complete Collection (2015)