AXE: Judgment Day #5: I got the stuff that you want, I got the stuff that you need…

This is the penultimate issue of the event of the year, but it feels like there’s still so much to left unsaid or done, but the tension definitely feels like we’re going to get one of those moments that will hopefully reverberate through the rest of the Marvel universe for at least the rest of the year. Plus, that final splash page, baby! You know it’s a moment when I say, baby. So let’s get to it. 

This issue has got to be one of the biggest humanizations from the six people who are supposed to be so important to this crossover and the world, but we’re five issues in, and we’re still not fully aware of why these people are so important. This point keeps running through my mind with every new issue, and as we keep getting closer to the end, it’s something that keeps sticking in my craw. I mean, I feel for Jada. Her characterization felt completely and totally real. 

So I’m glad for that moment at the beginning with Captain America. This moment was needed in this because Cap should always feel that confident and defiant in the face of total defeat, but here he feels so much more vulnerable than what we’re used to be. It’s been my biggest issue with this event. I can see Iron Man or Cyclops riddled with doubt and insecurities, but that’s not Cap. Cap can express his vulnerability, but this is the man who fought Hitler, who walked up to Thanos during the Infinity Gauntlet and didn’t blink, and I feel he wouldn’t be here. I hope we see the Cap that we’re so familiar with.

On top of the Cap characterization issue, this event feels just a tad too disjointed in places, and some of the events feel like they should be bigger than they are, while others feel like too much energy is being wasted and used as filler. Filler plot points can definitely take me out of a story, and that’s something I’ve begun to notice with the last couple of issues. I hope Gillen can shore it up and deliver with the ending because the ending can make or break the entire storyline. 

Let’s get to the art. I can’t believe how good Valerio Schiti is. Like, he wows me with everything he does. If there was only one thing that I could call flawless from everything I’ve read this month thus far, it’s his art. It’s like poetry set to motion on a still page. Emotions, pageantry, fluid movements, despair, hope, love, I just can’t help just how amazing his stuff looks here. From the charge of the light brigade (god, I hope y’all get this reference), to the triumphant reveal at the very last page, you just can’t help but enjoy what you’re looking at. Art this good will take a mediocre story and elevate it as a piece of art.