AXE: Judgment Day #4: Someday Somebody’s Gonna Make You Want to Turn Around and Say Goodbye

This is the fourth issue in this mini, and things ramp up this issue. There’s a lot that happens, but it felt too disjointed and didn’t focus enough on the stuff that needed to be told here. Gillen usually slays it when it comes to the Eternals lore, and the things being accomplished here in the mini can only lead to a lot of storytelling potential in future stories involving the Eternals, but we’re not sure what the Eternals will be doing after everything is done here. I understand that with events like these, a lot of the more pertinent events are saved for the side stories (see: War of the Realms), but it always feels like it’s a bit of a cheat. So let’s get onto the review…

As I said, there’s a lot that happens in this issue, and the story moves along swiftly, but there’s little meat on these bones. We get plans, a new Prime Eternal, and the reborn Celestial judges everyone, or that’s how it seems. The ending feels like it’s a bit of a red herring, and that’s what I’m hoping all of this was. When you look at the pieces of the puzzle Gillen’s laying out here, they’re not quite fitting together, which feels that way because you have to read side stories in order to get the big picture. The biggest reasons are the big, epic battle that’s alluded to, but is glossed over in just a few panels, and takes a lot of the gravity that these events should carry, and just diminishes them. This is probably my biggest problem with a lot of these events. Instead of telling a coherent, and gripping story, they pad it with as much filler as they can to sell more books. Yes, I know. It’s the burden of events from the Big Two, but damn it, you’d think someone would want to have quality over quantity. 

While I was thoroughly disappointed with the events, and how they were portrayed here, one thing that has never disappointed me is the art. Valerio Schiti has to be one of the best artists Marvel has on their payroll, and hopefully his page rate is as high as he’s worth. The scenes, whether they be on the mental plane, and the Uni-mind, or in the United Nations, where the Eternals and Mutants make their plea to save the world from the Celestials’ judgment, to the ravaged battlefields on two worlds, Schiti is giving the comics world a master class in artistic excellence. His take on the characters here exudes a larger than life presence that these heroes should have. Especially his Starfox. I know Starfox is a rather… controversial character, due to his power set, and how it can be perceived as a power that will be used nefariously, but Gillen and Schiti seem to want to find a way to redeem him, and make the character more viable in the coming years. It’s something that leaves me with loads of ideas, and I can’t wait to see what else he’s going to bring to the table.