The Good
Last issue ended with Gladiator deciding to obliterate Earth in order the save the rest of the universe from any more incursions, as their sites are always on Earth. It’s a very utilitarian way to deal with the problem, the deaths of billions for the lives of trillions, but since Earth is where all the coolest plotlines happen, there’s bound to be some pushback, though the Illuminati has some strange and horrible plans of their own. Jonathan Hickman has done an incredible job throughout this series of showing the absolute mental toll this has taken on the participants at the highest levels. Reed Richards is often written as being emotionally detached, making him a difficult character to sympathize or identify with, but Hickman writes him as being torn apart internally, particularly as he seems to be having trouble shutting down the logical parts of his brain that know what must be done even as T’Challa tries to sound detached about choosing who lives and who dies. It’s a monumentally powerful scene with some great interjections from Valeria (who finally got a dish of ice cream!) that help both enhance and lighten the mood. He also shows us Doc Green and Captain Britain going on a singularly odd, morbid mission and here’s to hoping that this isn’t the last time those two team-up. It'd be great to see them side-by-side in a less desperate context. It’s the Guardians who get the spotlight last and, through an amazing transition, we go from one cliffhanger masterfully achieved to another.
Stefano Caselli’s art is exactly what this issue needs to wring every ounce of emotional energy out of this vast, gargantuan storyline. Caselli’s cartoonish-yet-grounded visuals help tell the story of what’s not being said, and what’s going on in the minds of the characters in a book with very little, if any, narration or exposition. It’s a difficult, and necessary, skill to make action look great in a still medium, but having characters expressions stay consistent and move “between” panels in ways that look organic is as hard, if not harder, and that’s what Caselli’s style brings to this issue. Frank Martin is on colors and everything springs to vibrant life throughout the issue, but tinging everything enough to let the reader know that, while some things may have a spark, there’s a shadow being cast across the entire issue that's far, far more overpowering.
The Bad
There’s a ton going on in this book at this point, and while this issue brings a lot of it into focus, it also feels scattershot. We take the briefest of glimpses back to check on what’s going on with the Cabal, but after last issue’s panic-inducing cliffhanger, checking back for as little as we get only adds to this all-over-the-place feeling without enhancing what's going on with them. It would have been better, and a more effective use of page space, to simply leave that part out and bring it in when the narrative is less concerned with keeping tabs on as many groups as it is.
The Verdict
It’s great to see a buildup issue that neither feels like a holding pattern nor that it’s focused solely on the plot. Hickman’s ability to consistently have characters drive plot, rather than the other way around, means a lot more investment in the outcome, even if that outcome is in a major comic company, thus having only a few real variations. It’s the mark of a great creator to take these preconception of how events will turn out and STILL make the reader care about the goings on within them.
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