Guardians of the Galaxy #20 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I'm just so sad.

I'm sad because damn if Bendis didn't find the perfect way to kill off Richard and have it mean something.  He did it because he loved Gamora and he wanted Peter and Drax to go home and try to make her happy.  He didn't mean to send back Thanos.  But, as Peter said, he didn't know as much about the mysteries of life, death, and Universes as they all thought that they did, and it happened by accident.  Does it make total sense?  Not really.  Richard says that he couldn't return because he was the door for Drax and Peter to return.  But, he also noted that he was using the Cosmic Cube and the full power of the Nova Force, so that restriction seems fairly arbitrary, engineered to result in the ending that we get.  We also learn that Richard made Peter promise not to tell Gamora lest she suffered, seemingly not really thinking through that request, since it stands to reason that she'd eventually wonder why Drax, Peter, and Thanos survived the Cancerverse but Richard didn't.  Then again, he also had Thanos breathing down his neck, so it made sense that he was maybe a little rushed.

But, Bendis finally finds the emotion that this series has been lacking almost from the start.  Maybe it's because Richard's a more emotional guy than Peter, so something about adding him to the mix allowed Bendis to say things that he hasn't been able to say.  But, Bendis really manages to convey how much Gamora and Peter feel Richard's absence here.  Peter tells us that he agreed to keep Richard's actions secret from Gamora because he loved Richard.  Gamora cries quietly in a room by herself.  Bendis finally made me feel like they're the characters that I loved in the various "Annihilation" series.  It made me miss Richard, almost like a person that I actually knew.

In other words, for all the faults of this arc, Bendis sold me on it in the end.  Yes, the resolution doesn't make much sense when you really think about it.  Yes, it probably should've been an Annual to have space for the whole story.  But, I felt what Bendis wanted me to feel, a profound sadness that a great character like Richard Rider is gone, the same sadness that the Guardians feel.  Bendis certainly leaves open the door that he could be found one day, but, for now, I'm just going to nurse the sad the way that we're supposed to nurse it.  RIP, Richard.  We miss you.

*** (three of five stars)