The Thanos Imperative: Devastation #1

** (two of five stars)

Summary

Blastaar takes advantage of the disarray that follows in the wake of the war with the Cancerverse and invades the Kree Empire's throneworld of Attilan.  In flashbacks, Cosmo the dog has conversations with Ronan the Accuser, Quasar, Beta-Ray Bill, Gladiator, and Silver Surfer, telling each of the heroes that they could be better prepared for galactic threats (like Blastaar's attack).  In the present, the Inhumans attempt to repel Blastaar, leading to a confrontation between Blastaar and Medusa.  Before Blastaar can win, the aforementioned heroes arrive, taking down Blastaar and his forces.  As the group does so, Costmo reveals that Star-Lord had always planned this sort of super-powered team to truly guard the galaxy, but had to settle for "misfits and outcasts and psychopaths."  In a flashback, moments before Peter sends the Guardians from the Cancerverse, he tells Cosmo to assemle a team of "heavy hitters as scary as the menaces they have to face!" He calls them "Annihilators" and laments they had been so far above his league that they had never listened to him.  In the aftermath of the battle with Blastaar in the present, Cosmo takes the Annihilators on a tour of Knowhere, where we see them squabbling over their name and how often they are going to assemble.  They agree they will be, in the words of Silver Surfer, "the ultimate sanction."  Cosmo mentions that Pete left behind a to-do list of pending concerns and suggests the Annihilators start there.  However, before they can agree, Ikon, of the Space-Knights, arrives on Knowhere, threatening that "a failure to act may doom us all."

The Review

This issue is fine.  I gave it two stars because it doesn't really do all that much more than introduce the Annihilators.  The battle with Blastaar, which probably could've merited its own mini-series, is pretty much limited to a sideshow, which I feel like is a bit of a squandered opportunity.  But, the Annihilators are a pretty great concept, so I'm excited to read their mini-series.

The Good

Again, I dig the Annihilators' concept.  I wonder if DnA always intended to end "The Thanos Imperative" with their formation, or if they saw that great two-page splash spread in issue #3 and thought, "OMG, that would be bad-ass!"  At any rate, I liked the idea that Peter Quill had to make do with his motley crew because no one listened to him but, because he was clearly right about the Cancerverse, they're listening now.  I also liked Cosmo as his messenger.

The Bad

As I said above, I'm surprised DnA give us only a few pages dedicated to Blastaar invading the Kree Empire.  It leaves all sorts of questions, in my mind.  For example, how did Blastaar manage to get all the way through the Empire to Attilan without being stopped?  Are the Kree that de-powered that they weren't able to stop him before he got to Attilan?

The Thanos Imperative #6

***** (five of five stars)

Favorite Quote:  "You have hunted me down and brought me to my Death.  Literally.  She's right behind you."  -- Thanos to Mar-Vell

Summary

Mar-Vell takes up Thanos on his offer, summoning the Many-Angled Ones and preparing the necropsy to kill the Avatar of Death (and, as such, Death itself).  In "our" reality, Surfer warns the assembled heroes that, if Galactus fails to stop the Galactus Engine, "our" reality will fall quickly behind him in death.  Medusa informs the group that Blastaar has retreated and she sends in Quasar and the Nova Corps to back up Galactus.  In the Cancerverse, Mantis predicts the arrival of Nova, who then appears.  Pete directs Rich to take on Thanos, and Rich instructs Worldmind to give him the entire Nova Corps' powers so he can plow through the Revengers en route to Mar-Vell.  Mar-Vell prepares to finish killing Thanos, who informs him that he faced "our" Mar-Vell several times and that his failing was always that he was head-strong, acting without considering the consequences.  At that moment, Death appears, and Thanos informs Mar-Vell that he invited Death into the Cancerverse by trying to kill Thanos.  Death then obliterates Mar-Vell and all the undead beings in the Cancerverse.  (In "our" Universe, the Fault begins to collapse.)  Thanos begs Death to take him with her, but she rejects him, enraging him.  He promises to destroy another Universe for her, and Nova and Pete realize that he means "our" Universe.  Pete instructs the Guardians to teleport back to "our" reality, and they're furious when they arrive to realize that he and Nova stayed in the Cancerverse.  Rocket Raccoon demands that Major Victory send them back to Sanctuary, but Victory informs him that he can't, since the Fault has collapsed.  In the Cancerverse, Pete informs Rich that they have distract Thanos in the sixty seconds before the Cancerverse collapses so that he doesn't leave to destroy our Universe.  Pete pulls out the Cosmic Cube and the two engage Thanos.  Three days later, on Attilan, Medusa delivers a eulogy for Pete and Rich.  Quasar and Rocket Raccoon take a tour of the memorial garden erected in honor of those lost (Adam Warlock, Drax, Phyla-Vell).  Quasar informs Rocket Raccoon that the Nova Force disappeared with Rich.  He notes that, even if Pete and Rich survived, they're stuck in a collapsed Universe that can never be re-opened.

The Review

Given that I'm reading this story a year after it was published, I already knew Nova and Star-Lord die at the end of it.  Going into this story, I only hoped that their deaths would be awesome, that they would mean something, that they would represent everything they were as characters.  I'm glad to say I'm not disappointed.  DnA make sure that their deaths make sense in context of the story at hand and that they die with jokes on their lips and heroism in their hearts.  If I was going to lose two characters that I loved, I'm glad it happened this way.

The Good

1) I thought Mantis predicting the arrival of Nova and being confused about whether it actually had already happened was hilarious.  I always love DnA deft touches like this one, that reveal a character in a panel. 

2) I loved the denouement with Thanos.  I knew something was wrong, if you will, at the end of last issue with the idea that Thanos would ask Mar-Vell to kill him, given that the Cancerverse had extinquished death.  DnA show here that Mar-Vell probably should've thought something was wrong, too, since, by killing Thanos, he invited Death into the Cancerverse.  It was a truly brilliant twist.

3) Moreover, DnA did a great job reminding us, throughout the series, that, even though the Cancerverse was the biggest threat, Thanos was still a big problem, if you will.  As such, when the Cancerverse disintegrated, it made sense that Pete and Rich couldn't just leave Thanos to his own devices, like he had suddenly become a good guy.  That attention to detail is what made this mini-series so awesome.

4) I'm glad DnA dedicate a few pages to the memorial service for Pete and Rich.  These sort of moments usually get rushed as authors scramble to finish the story in as few pages as possible.  But, we get some really nice moments here.  Medusa had talked smack about Pete in an earlier issue, but, here, they're both recognized for saving the Universe, with no one else trying to pretend that they did it.  The final page, with its close-up shot of their memorial and Rocket Raccoon's quote ("Damn it, Pete.  Why'd you guys have to be such heroes?"), was the icing on the cake for me.  DnA took time to give us some closure, and the series is all the better for it.

5) That said, DnA definitely leave the door open to the heroes' return.  I mean, we did leave them with a functional Cosmic Cube and the full Nova Force.  If anyone would be able to make their way back into "our" Universe, it's those two.

Final Thoughts:  OK, DnA may have even surpassed "Annihilation" in terms of my favorite Marvel Cosmic event.  Although I'm totally bummed that Nova and Star-Lord are dead, DnA did it in a way that made sense in the context of the story and really drew together everything they've done with Marvel Cosmic.  However, they also added in some new twists and turns to keep it interesting and make it unique.  I mean, having an Evil Captain Marvel create a Universe devoted to worshiping evil demons just so he could avoid death?  Awesome.  I've always loved DnA's unbridled joy at resurrecting characters and concepts from the '70s and '80s, and bringing back a demonic version of Captain Marvel is a great example of that.  Like the best sitcoms, they end on a high note here, never resorting to telling terrible stories just to keep the money coming.  Hopefully, in a few years, they'll have a bunch of new ideas and we'll see our boys return.  For the time being, I'm just happy that I got to be along for the ride for all these issues.  So, in the end, thanks, DnA, for some of the best stories I've ever read and some of the best characters I've ever loved.

The Thanos Imperative #5

*** (three of five stars)

Favorite Quote:  "Mar-Vell!"  "Thanos!"  "Oh @#$%!"  -- Thanos, Mar-Vell, and Star-Lord

Summary

The Guardians are faltering under the Revengers' onslaught, and Mantis orders Thanos to remove himself from the fray, something he (shocker) refuses to do.  The Scarlet Witch makes her way to a dying Vision and, apologizing for the harm that was done to him, proceeds to take out the Revengers.  (Evil Captain America tells her that the Many-Angled Ones will flay her soul, to which she responds, "Oh, I know they will.  I chose the side I believe in long ago.  I will accept the consequences.")  The Guardians are suspicious of Wanda's change of heart, but Vision confirms that she has been working for the Machine Resistance from the start and beseeches them to trust her.  Thanos asks her to take him to the site where the necropsy was performed, something she can do by exhausting her powers (leaving her vulnerable to Mar-Vell and the Revengers).  She agrees, accepting her coming torment, and sends the Guardians and Thanos to the Cancerverse's version of Sanctuary.  In "our" reality, Quasar has saved the assembled heroes (including Major Victory and Namorita) from the destruction of Sanctuary by encasing them in a shielded bubble.  Nova uses his powers to jump them to the frontline of the Fault, where Medusa and the Allied Council inform them that they are quickly losing the battle, with another round of even more powerful beings than the Galactus Engine preparing to cross behind the Cancerverse's vanguard.  Nova informs the group that Star-Lord took Thanos into the Cancerverse, and the Council decries his acting without its approval.  The Council decides to fight the Cancerverse directly and not risk trying to find the Guardians and Thanos in the Cancerverse.  Nova refuses to participate and deputizes Quasar into the Corps to lead the Nova rookies in his absence.  In the Cancerverse, the team arrives at the remains of Sanctuary and Thanos prepares for the ceremony.  However, the Revengers arrive and battle erupts.  In "our" Universe, Nova watches the message Star-Lord sent him before the team left for the Cancerverse, informing him that Major Victory should be able to send him directly to where they are.  Nova says good-bye to Namorita and departs.  In the Cancerverse, Thanos betrays the team, asking Mar-Vell to give him the release of death and, in exchange, he will give Mar-Vell everything he wants.

The Review

This issue was a good read.  Nothing huge really happens until Thanos' betrayal at the end, since it's mostly just setting up the climatic final battle we'll get next issue.  But, it does that well.

The Good

1) Back in the "Annihilation:  Conquest" arc in "Nova," I praised DnA for their ability to take a character who only appeared for three issues, Ko-Rel, and turn her into a compelling, fully realized character.  So many authors treat these sort of temporary characters -- who exist only to move a certain plot point forward -- as throw-away scenery, rarely taking the time to move them past typical Ensign Jones archetypes.  But, DnA have also excelled at imbuing the most minor character with a personality, and they do it again here with the Scarlet Witch.  Her tragic ending was essentially foretold in the "Realm of Kings" one-shot, but it's no less sad when it becomes fully realized in this issue.  This attention to detail shows why they're the best at what they do.

2) I loved Rich telling Medusa to go @#$% herself.  God, I hate her.  I'm so glad to see someone defy her yet-again poorly considered orders.

3) I totally didn't see Thanos betraying the group coming.  I mean, I knew something had to happen, but I didn't think it would be that.  DnA do a good job of planting the seeds of Thanos' plan throughout the series.  In issue #4, I wondered why he egged on Drax, though it seems like it might have been to test his hypothesis that he couldn't die.  In issue #5, he told Rocket Raccoon that he had to take time to reverse engineer Mar-Vell's spell, but now I'm wondering if he wasn't just stalling to make sure Mar-Vell had a chance to arrive.  It shows just how in charge of the story DNA are.  I'm still not sure, though, how Mar-Vell can deliver death to Thanos, given that death doesn't exist in the Cancerverse, but I'm sure we'll see how that goes next issue.

The Thanos Imperative #4

**** (four of five stars)

Favorite Quote #1:  "Surfer!  The Revengers are the enemy's big guns!"  "Interesting…when we next have a quiet moment, Richard Rider, we can discuss the definition of the term."  "Surfer just did deadpan trash talk."  "I know.  Can you believe it?"  -- Nova, Surfer, Quasar, and Nova, engaging in some light banter amid the chaos

Favorite Quote #2:  "We can take him!  Side by side, like we faced down Annihilus!"  "I seem to remember you dying when we did that!"  "Precisely!  What are the odds of it happening twice!"  -- Quasar, Nova, and Quasar, talking about the good ol' days

Summary
On Sanctuary, Lord Mar-Vell is torturing Namorita in an attempt to discover why she appears to be the most anomalous of the anomalous persons he's collected.  However, Nova and his strike force appear, disrupting the proceedings.  Ronan goes after the prisoners, Beta-Ray BIll and Guardian clear the engineering decks, and Nova, Quasar, and Silver Surfer take the fight directly to Mar-Vell.  Quasar disables Evil Giant-Man who's holding Namorita while Rich takes on Mar-Vell.  However, Mar-Vell reveals just how powerful he is, shattering Surfer's board and probing Rich's mind to discover that Rich is only there to save Namorita because she's his girlfriend and not because she's the Avatar of Death, as Mar-Vell originally suspected.  Meanwhile, in the Cancerverse, Peter rages at Drax for killing Thanos, and Drax defends himself by saying he couldn't help it.  Mantis defends Drax, saying that he had become an Avatar of Life and being in the Cancerverse -- where life rules supreme -- overwhelmed him.  However, the entire group is shocked to discover Thanos reconstituting himself, cell by cell.  Thanos, as he's knitting himself back together, explains that Death essentially rejected him when she returned him to life.  Drax attempts to kill Thanos again, but Thanos kills him first.  In "our" Universe, Mar-Vell senses Drax's death, given that he's an Avatar of Life, and realizes that the Avatar of Death from "our" Universe must be in the Cancerverse, since only an Avatar of Death could kill an Avatar of Life.  He and the Revengers teleport from our reality, leaving the heroes to pull themselves together.  Gladiator calls to Rich, telling him he needs to speak to Major Victory about Star-Lord and Thanos, who he informs Nova is still alive.  Surfer is on the verge of putting two and two together when Mar-Vell detonates an explosion, seemingly destroying Sanctuary.  In the Cancerverse, Alternate (since he's not really Evil) Vision explains that the death of the Avatar of Life has lit up Titan like a beacon.  To prove his point, a Scarlet Witch-led Revengers team arrives, destroying Vision.

The Review
As expected, DnA really kick things up a notch in this issue.  Our heroes plans fall apart, succeed, and then fall apart again.  DnA begin knitting together the two stories in a really clever way, with Mar-Vell sensing the death of Drax (the Avatar of Life) and thereby discovering that the Avatar of Death (Thanos) wasn't in "our" Universe.  You can tell they're setting up a pretty spectacular all-hands battle in the final issue.

The Good
1) It was pretty cool to see how crazy powerful Mar-Vell is.  From breaching Rich's gravimetric shields to shattering Surfer's board, he's a serious bad ass motherflarker.  It's also an interesting twist, because it makes you realize how poorly prepared (or overly confident) Nova and the strike force were in confronting Mar-Vell and the Revengers without exactly having a plan.  DnA use the heroes' fairly quick defeat at Mar-Vell's hands to re-balance the story in favor of the bad guys, after last issue had the heroes seemingly doing a pretty good job in moving the ball down the field.

2) The splash page of Thanos killing Drax was spectacular.

3) As I mention above, I thought DnA do a great job starting to bring the two stories together, with Mar-Vell sensing the death of Drax in the Cancervese and realizing Thanos is there.

The Unknown
1) When Mar-Vell takes down Rich, he promises "an eternity of living, inextinguishable pain, flowing from the many-angles of my masters."  I'm not entirely sure if he delivered that, though.  He's interrupted in doing whatever it is he's doing when he feels Drax die in the Cancerverse.  But, when Namorita asks Rich if he's OK, he doesn't really answer, asking how she is instead.  I wonder where DnA are going with this one.

2) I can't wait to see what happens in the aftermath of the detonation of Sanctuary.  I mean, presumably someone dies...

The Thanos Imperative #3

*** (three of five stars)

Summary
During the fight at the edge of the Fault, one of the Abstracts falls to the Cancerverse creatures and the resulting psionic shock-wave knocks out Nova.  In the Cancerverse, the Vision is taking the Guardians and Thanos to Titan, where the sentient machines of this Universe who are revolting against the Many-Angled Ones have based their headquarters.  Vision explains that they have erected barriers that will block the Revengers' abilities to sense an anomaly like Thanos.  On Titan, Thanos learns the truth of this Universe.  Instead of dying, Captain Marvel made a deal of sorts with the Many-Angled Ones to cure his cancer.  Convincing the superhero colleagues around his bedside to join hands with him to share in the power he "discovered," he corrupted all of them.  They then performed a "necropsy" on board that Universe's version of Thanos' flagship, Sanctuary, killing the Avatar of Death and thereby fully releasing the Many-Angled Ones into that Universe.  In "our" reality, Lord Mar-Vell learns of Captain Marvel's death from Evil Quasar.  Meanwhile, Evil Scarlet Witch arrives to inform Mar-Vell of the death of the Defenders and assembles a strike team to return to the Cancerverse to investigate.  At the edge of the Fault, the Allied Council of War falls into bickering, something Nova ends.  He informs the Council that he believes the Cancerverse creatures are not focused on a straight invasion; Quasar agrees, noting that the "enemy elite" has been gathering particular individuals for unclear reasons.  Nova informs the Council that the Abstract who knocked him unconscious conveyed its dying thoughts to him and connected him to Namorita, via the "quantum bond" they share as a result of him bringing her from the Fault.  Through these two connections, he discovered that Namorita is being held on "our" Universe's Sanctuary, and assembles a strike team to take out the enemy elite and end the war quickly.  In the Cancerverse, all sides agree that Thanos must reverse the necropsy, though Thanos goads Drax into a confrontation before he departs, resulting in Drax killing him.

The Review
This issue is pretty good.  DnA spend a lot of time on exposition, but it's done in a way that isn't gratuitous and actually holds the reader's attention.  We have a pretty clear idea now of what the enemies want to do and what the heroes have to do to win.  It's a textbook third issue of a six-issue miniseries.

The Good
1) DnA do some really clever stuff here with continuity here.  First, I really dug the idea that Captain Marvel was the cause of the Cancerverse, opening the door to the Many-Angled Ones by agreeing to their "cure" for his cancer and spreading their infection to his colleagues in the superhero community.  Second, I like how DnA use what seemed at first to be a poorly made decision -- to "resurrect" Namorita in "Nova" -- and turn it into one of the key turning points in the series, with Nova using his connection with Namorita to track down the location of the "anomalies."  Great stuff.

2) I loved that Nova took charge of the situation as the various factions fighting the good fight on our side started squabbling among themselves.  I can't get enough of DnA showing how much Nova changed thanks to the Annihilation War, and I love when other characters notice it, as Quasar does here.  Also, Nova assembles a hell of a team.  Beta-Ray Bill, Gladiator, Quasar, Ronan, Silver Surfer.  Rock the flark on!  Sepulveda does a great job with that splash page, too, really conveying the awesomeness of the moment.

The Unknown
1) Was it me, or did the Cancerverse's Avatar of Death look a lot like Dr. Doom?

2) Thanos clearly goaded Drax to speed along his transfer to Sanctuary, though I guess we'll have to wait until next issue to find out how and why.

The Bad
1) Pet Peeve #2:  On the recap page, we learn that Vision brought the Guardians and Thanos "back with him through the Fault."  Um, really?  I mean, DnA were pretty unclear on how the Guardians knew how to enter the Fault at precisely the right location in issue #1, but I don't remember Vision appearing until they were already in the Cancerverse in issue #2.  So, either the recapper got his facts wrong, or DnA didn't do a great job of explaining how the Guardians and Thanos got into the Cancerverse in the first place.

2) At first, it appears that Ms. Marvel is the one to assemble the strike team, but, in the end, it's actaully Scarlet Witch.  I'm not sure if it's a dialogue or artistic error, but it threw me off a bit when later we see the Scarlet Witch (and, again, not Ms. Marvel) confront the Guardians.

The Thanos Imperative #2

*** (three of five stars)

Favorite Quote:  "Interesting.  You pretend to be superficial and glib, but you understand."  "I bet you say that to all the boys."  -- Thanos and Star-Lord, bantering

Summary
Nova and Quasar continue helping the warships from "a hundred different interstellar cultures" fend off attacks from the Cancerverse creatures.  They receive some help from Silver Surfer, who arrives with Galactus and a horde of Abstracts.  Meanwhile, the Guardians make quick work of the Cancerverse's Defenders, but realize their efforts are for naught given the fact that the Defenders can't be killed.  Thanos regains consciousness and defeats the Defenders (this time, with feeling!), warning the Guardians how immense the task ahead of them is.  They then come face to face with the Cancerverse's Vision.  Meanwhile, in "our" reality, Major Victory is captured by the Revengers and put into a holding cell with the other anomalies, including Namorita.  Nova, Quasar, Silver Surfer, and the Abstracts fight the Cancerverse creatures, only to be awed by the arrival of the Galactus Engine.

The Review
This issue was OK.  It moved pretty fast, given that most of it is dedicated to the Guardians' fight with the Cancerverse's version of the Defenders.  However, although it was a pretty cool fight, it doesn't really do that much to propel forward the plot.  I mean, it's not like it was a bad issue.  I'm just anxious to see where DnA are going with the pretty awesome concepts they're throwing our way, so I'm getting impatient!

The Good
1) Um, the Galactus/Abstracts splash pages were pretty un-freaking-believable.  You could tell Sepulveda had fun drawing it.

2) Holy crap, the Galactus Engine.  It took me a second look to realize that Galactus is in the foreground in the scene, small by comparison.

The Bad
1) Why didn't Major Victory go with the rest of the Guardians?  It seems weird that he was left in "our" Universe, where he was conveniently trapped by the Revengers.

2) DnA refer to Galactus and the other entities with him as the "Abstracts."  But, instead, they look like Celestials, who, if I'm not mistaken, aren't Abstracts.  I don't think it really matters, but it's with noting.

The Thanos Imperative #1

**** (four of five stars)

Summary
In a flashback to the Annihilation War, Peter Quill tells Nova to scream in the face of Death if he ever runs into her or the other Abstracts (Eternity, Death, Oblivion, etc.)  In the present, an enraged Thanos has escaped his bonds and is trying to kill Star-Lord and only stops when Rocket Raccoon threatens to paralyze him and put him in a cryogenic pod, cursing him to endless life.  The Guardians of the Galaxy's telepaths then contain him, but the Guardians' discussions of what to do with him are cut short when they get distress signals from the Kree and Shi'Ar as the Fault explodes.  In the Fault zone, creatures from the Cancerverse attack the assembled ships, sending the Kree, Nova Corps, and Shi'Ar scrambling to repel them.  On a starship later revealed to be Thanos' flagship, Sanctuary, Lord Mar-Vell instructs Evil Quasar to take the Revengers to find the Avatar of Death, which will read as an "anomalous figure."  On Knowhere, Star-Lord and Thanos agree that the only way to save "our" reality is bring death to the Cancerverse.  To that end, they accompany Thanos into Cancerverse, only to come face to face with that Universe's version of the Defenders just as Thanos falls unconscious as he becomes overwhelmed by the amount of life in the Cancerverse.  Meanwhile, Nova and Quasar join the fight on the Resolute Duty (the Corps' starship), though fail to prevent the Revengers from kidnapping Namorita.

The Review
I decided to do full-blown reviews of each of "The Thanos Imperative" issues to commemorate the end of Marvel Cosmic, a series of series and mini-series that have given me great enjoyment over the last few months.  DnA set up a really high-concept story here, with an alternate Universe -- the "Cancerverse" -- threatening to take over "our" Universe.  The characters from "our" reality are essentially fighting for death, since the inhabitants of the Cancerverse has "conquered" death (by surrendering themselves to demonic powers).  Enter Thanos, the Avatar of Death in "our" Universe.

The Good
1)I loved how DnA set the tone for this series with the conversation between Nova and Quill during the Annihilation War.  Anyone who's read this blog for a while knows that "Annihilation" is just about my favorite story of all time, in part because DnA did such a great job showing the relationships between the characters and how those relationships sustained them at their darkest moments.  By starting the series with that flashback, DnA set the stage for a similarly relationship-driven story.  I can't wait!

2) No one does "heroes with their backs to the wall" better than DnA.  I thought they did an amazing job of portraying the panic the Kree and Shi'Ar felt trying to repel the "extrinsic entities" that came pouring from the Cancerverse via the Fault.

3) I also thought DnA did a great job with Thanos, portraying his anger at being denied death.  It's hard to write Thanos as not just a  completely insane nut-job, but DnA manage to treat him with a certain dignity.

4) With the kidnapping of Namorita, DnA seem to be setting up a scenario whereby the people who have returned from death will somehow help in the ritual that the Many-Angled Ones' servants want to perform to eradicate death in "our" reality.  It should be interesting to see how that goes and who exactly will be involved.

5) I loved the Cancerverse's Defenders!  I so didn't see that coming!  (Though, I thought the Cancerverse Iron Man killed the Cancerverse Hulk?  But, then again, if no one can die in the Cancerverse, so I guess that answered my question.  But, if Iron Man didn't kill him, then why did they make sure a big deal about it in "Realm of Kings?"  Why remove his heart?)


The Thanos Imperative: Ignition #1

**** (four of five stars)

Summary
Thanos has been resurrected, and he struggles with memories of his past self as he begins to come to consciousness.  He reveals that his resurrection came at the hands of Magus, who recognized Thanos' importance to the cosmic pattern.  Magus had found Thanos' drifting corpse and placed it a cocoon, which the Universal Church of Truth discovered and mistook to contain Magus himself.  Its members took the cocoon to their throne world, resurrecting Thanos, who destroyed said world in revenge.  Thanos awakens at Knowhere, the headquarters of the Guardians of the Galaxy, whose telepaths have been trying to soothe Thanos' mind as he returns to consciousness.  Moondragon advocates to Star-Lord that they should kill him, as does (shocker) Drax.  Rocket Raccoon disagrees, saying that Thanos is too cosmically important for them to kill, noting that Drax may have set in motion the whole range of interstellar events of the past few years as a result of killing Thanos.  At the Fault, Nova is joined in his chase of Evil Quasar by "our" Quasar as the Kree and Shi'Ar prepare to attack the Universal Church of Truth, which has been amassing warships (called "templeships") in the Fault zone.  Worldmind warns Richard that the templeships are full of believers generating belief energy, hypothesizing that the Church is planning something big.  Nova crashes into one of the ships with Evil Quasar, only to be confronted by Magus, who's working with Evil Quasar.  Quasar arrives to fight Magus, who reveals that he's transported not just templeships of believers, but entire planets of believers.  Magus then detonates the planets, killing trillions of people and using the released belief energy to bring the leader of the Many-Angled Ones' army, Lord Mar-Vell, into "our" Universe.  Mar-Vell kills Magus for his failure to eliminate the Avatar of Death, and says that his first priority is cleansing the Universe of death.

The Review
Holy flarking crap, people!  This issue is quite a ride.

OK, first, the most obvious thing I'll note is how well DnA tie in the various cosmic series and mini-series into just this one book.  I've read most of those series and mini-series, so I was familiar with a lot of the past events we see in this issue, such as Drax killing Thanos ("Annihilation"), Quasar discovering the Cancerverse ("Realm of Kings"), and Nova chasing Evil Quasar ("Nova").  However, I was unfamiliar with some events, such as Moondragon and Thanos being resurrected, the Guardians coming into possession of Thanos, Adam Warlock becoming Magus (and aligning himself with Evil Quasar), and Phyla-Vell being dead.  But, even if I wasn't 100 percent clear on when and where the unfamiliar events happened, DnA do a pretty great job of introducing them and placing them within the context of the events that happen in this book.  I mean, I don't really need to know the full back story to know that Magus destroying several planets full of Universal Church of Truth believers so that he can bring the Cancerverse's Many-Angled Ones to our reality isn't a good thing.

In addition to doing an excellent job getting the reader current on all the various cosmic series' events and setting up the upcoming cross-over event, DnA actually also deliver a good story.  You can feel Nova and Quasar's desperation in trying to stop Evil Quasar from making it to the Fault.  You also get the sense that the Guardians of the Galaxy are really scrambling to figure out something to do with Thanos before he regains his strength.  By the end of the issue, when Magus detonates the planets, you realized just how grand of a story DnA are planning here.  (I mean, you don't just kill a few trillion people for the heck of it.)  I'm exciting to see the band back together again, if you will, even if it doesn't promise to be the smoothest gig they've ever played.

War of Kings #1-#2, War of Kings: Ascension #1-#2, and Nova #24-#25

War of Kings #1:  Holy crap, DnA really just hurl us into the story here.  I loved Crystal's narration of the Starjammer hurling through the Shi'Ar's space barrier.  It really sets the tone of the events that follow:  Vulcan sends in the Imperial Guard to disrupt the wedding of Crystal and Ronan the Accuser, resulting in the kidnapping of Lilandra, the loss of Ch'od's hand, and the deaths of two members of the Imperial Guard, Nightside and Smasher (again).  I mean, what more could you want from a first issue?  So far, DnA take a somewhat different approach to Vulcan than Yost, falling down a little heavier on the "mad king" side than on the "tortured soul" side.  (His decision to drop Nega-Bombs essentially willy-nilly was particularly chilling.)  Yost generally made Vulcan a more nuanced character, certainly portraying him as insane but also never forgetting the tragedy that drove him there.  But, it's early days, so we'll see how his character develops as the series progresses.  DnA use the characterizations of other characters as foreshadowing here.  Crystal's arrogance in her conversation with Polaris will clearly not go unrewarded, if you will, and Gladitor's constant reference to serving at the pleasure of the Emperor seems to be him clearly reminding himself of that fact as he struggles to implement Vulcan's orders.  We'll see where DnA go with both those thoughts.

Nova #24:  OK, this issue is everything I hoped it would be.  I loved the use of Suki, a rookie Centurion, as our perspective on the battle at the Gulf of Sarenta.  (I also love that the battle at the Gulf was mentioned in "War of Kings" #1, just move evidence of the attention DnA pay to continuity.)  Using Suki -- and the fear she feels engaging in battle for the first time -- makes Robbie realize that his brother may have been right, that sending a bunch of inexperienced, untrained Centurions into battle might not have been the best idea.  Unfortunately, Robbie also thinks that he still wants to be on the front lines, and not at the strategic command, though we'll see if that opinion changes as a result of Suki's death.  By having Strontian kill the Centurion hostages, DnA remind us that Vulcan is playing for keeps.  I'm intrigued to see where Rich's confrontation with Ego-Worldmind goes, because I'm really waiting for the "Worldmind Gone Mad" plot to end.

War of Kings:  Ascension #1:  OK, after finishing the "War of Kings" series, I decided to read "War of Kigns:  Ascension," because I wound up being really confused about the whole Fraternity of Raports business.  Unfortunately I'm not entirely sure if I'm any clearer on the concept, though.  I spent most of this issue just wanting Chris to stop whining.  Seriously.  I did enjoy the moment where Chris, in his human form, talks about how much he just wanted to be like Rich, a honest-to-goodness hero, and realizes that it's easier said than done.  DnA excell at those moments of characterization.  But, the constant whining made it hard to sympathize with him, because he seemed to spend more time complaing about not being able to achieve his potential (and become said honest-to-goodness hero) than doing anything to try to realize it.  I do like the idea that the anger-management issues he's always had were a result of his poor union with the Darkhawk suit, because it seems to set up a scenario whereby he'll get past those issues and they won't constantly be used as his Achilles' heel everytime a writer has written himself into a corner.  At this stage, I'm not quite sure what to do with the reveal that the Fraternity of Raptors are some sort of cosmic bad buys.  Also, I'm not sure how exactly Chris reached full compatability with the suit.  He made it seem like Talon had taken control over his suit to activate his full armor mode (and make him kill their attackers), so it seems unlikely he had achieved full compatability if Talon had to do it for him.  I'm also not clear on where they're going with this other personality, Razor, taking over Chris' suit.  If I remember correctly, when Darkhawk first started, he switched places with his suit.  I'm pretty sure DnA are using that approach, where only a wearer's consciousness is imbued in the suit.  It leaves open the question, though:  where is Chris now?

War of Kings #2:  Well, the Empire strikes back.  I was thinking when Havok is exhorting Ch'od and Korvus to get the Starjammer to go faster that he sounded like Han Solo, a sense proven even more apt when he pilots the Starjammer underneath the Shi'Ar warship to board it.  The Inhumans definitely land some punches here, and it'll be interesting to see how Vulcan responds.  The Inhumans seem to be planning more than just destroying the Shi'Ar's second battle group, though.

Nova #25:  OK, I cannot possibly imagine a better issue.  When this whole "Worldmind Gone Mad" ordeal started, I had no idea how DnA were going to resolve it in a way that didn't result in Worldmind being a compromised character.  Here, they give us a brilliant answer.  First, they detail how Worldmind didn't just go insane but that Ego took advantage of its insanity to take control of it.  It makes so much sense, because it explains Worldmind's need to divest itself of Richard, since Ego probably realized that Richard was the one person who could get Worldmind to shake off Ego's control.  Second, at first, I simply loved the fact that Worldmind used Ko-Rel and Rohmann Dey as its avatars.  (Also, I need to say that I laughed out loud when I saw the He-Man figures in Rich's room.  Well done, Kevin Sharpe.  Well done.)  I thought Ko-Rel was a great character when she was introduced in "Annihilation:  Conquest," so I was glad to see her return, even if it wasn't exactly her.  But, the fact that she took over the personality of Worldmind was unexpected and awesome.  I'm sad that we won't have Worldmind and Nova's banter, but, if anyone could replace it, it would be Ko-Rel.  I've mentioned before how I haven't been a huge fan of this "Worldmind Gone Mad" plot, but DnA bring it to a close in such a way that I find myself appreciating it, even if I still find it annoying.  Looking at the rest of the issue, the one-liners in this issue are great:  Nova telling Worldmind that it is "critical you pay attention at this time" and telling Ego that it's "time to start thinking about others," not to mention his banter with Ko-Rel ("Is there a vegetarian option?"), were all excellent moments.  DnA brought back some of the fun that I've felt has been lacking since this whole "Worldmind Gone Mad" arc began.  I'm excited to see where they go from here, particularly given the surprise arrival of Garthan Saal at the end!

War of Kings:  Ascension #2:  OK, so, DnA set up a pretty significant ret-conning of Darkhawk, claiming that the original story we "knew" was something Chris created to try to make sense of the information he was being fed by the Datasource.  My guess is that, if I thought too hard about that or read previous issues of "Darkhawk," I'd wind up finding any number of inconsistencies with that story.  (For example, I'm pretty sure people saw Darkhawk and Evilhawk together, so I'm not sure how Evilhawk was just an "evil" manifestation of Darkhawk that emerged whenever Chris lost control.)  But, I'm actually willing to put my obsession with continuity aside, because, to be honest, Darkhawk could use a ret-con, particularly if he's going to be re-introduced as a major charcter.  In terms of the Fraternity, I'm still not sure what its game is.  I've read the series, so I know that their role is helping the Shi'Ar Imperium achieve its glory.  But, why did they decide to use Blastaar?  (I'll return to that thought in the review of "War of Kings" #3.)  Why was it necessary to bribe him with the Cosmic Control Rod?  Couldn't they have just used it?

Final Thoughts:  OK, I'm intrigued.  I'm enjoying the "Nova" issues more than the "War of Kings" issues at this time, but mostly because I feel like DnA are righting the ship, if you will, on that title, whereas they're still just building the story in "War of Kings."  I'm still skeptical of "War of Kings:  Ascension," but I concede that Darkhawk could use a shot to the arm, creativity-wise, so I'm willing to give DnA some space to work.  But, so far, so good.