Writer: Kieron Gillen
Art: Guiu Vilanova, Andres Mossa, VC’s Travis Lanham, Pasqual Ferry, and Matt Hollingsworth
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: 5.99
Release Date: November 9th, 2022
The Fallout of Judgment Day is felt in this week’s A.X.E.: Judgment Day Omega #1 by Kieron Gillen. After events, we make promises. “Nothing will ever be the same again.” For the Eternals, it’s a lie. It’s always the same and always will be. However, in the wake of Judgment Day, they discover what is truly Eternal…
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THE DISPATCH
A.X.E.: Judgment Day Omega #1 attempts to wrap up loose ends from the Eternals perspective and does so in a rather low-key exciting fashion. And from a story standpoint that did one heck of a job balancing the specific clientele, I wondered why the focus was so Eternals heavy. Sure, the Eternals began the entire A.X.E.: Judgment Day event but gradually the Avengers took over. The X-Men also became more of a focus… not the Eternals. So, I wonder if Gillen went heavy on the Eternals because he’s going to continue to spearhead/ continue his Eternals ongoing after this?
The Ikaris angle was pretty touching and bled more into the series than it did into A.X.E.: Judgment Day showing the aftermath between himself and the parent of the child that died in his place. The emotion is certainly overcharged and attempts to deal with the weighty topic of death, especially when the “killer” had no idea or acknowledgment, are heartfelt and intense. Furthermore, Gillen provides a unique wrinkle involving Krakoa itself and spends an awkward amount of time talking about a zine with the Hex (this 10-story Eternal).
Truthfully, A.X.E.: Judgment Day Omega #1 was a bit too boring. Zero action was showcased and Gillen simply spends time cleaning up a few dangling plot threads that aren’t essential to the event. Each perspective Gillen focused on was more personal to specific characters and weren’t questions I wanted to be answered in the first place. I wanted big things answered. How is the entire planet moving on past this? Where does the world put the blame? Do they legitimately blame the Eternals? And if so, how about Tony Stark or the mutants? Where are they in all of this? The aftermath of A.X.E.: Judgment Day should be huge and we mainly get small-scale items that appear to be plot devices for the future ongoing, which is a bit disappointing.
ART
Moreover, I was incredibly disappointed with the art in A.X.E.: Judgment Day Omega #1, especially compared to what we received throughout the entire A.X.E.: Judgment Day series. It’s so drastically different that I wonder if A.X.E.: Judgment Day Omega #1 was actually planned or if Gillen asked to put it in as a segway to his ongoing Eternals book. Why am I saying this? Well, why didn’t the creative team from A.X.E.: Judgment Day continue on with one more issue? The art team is entirely different. Ikaris looks like Conan the Barbarian and the boy’s mother looks portly compared to how she appeared in the Eternals ongoing. Plus, in that scene involving Ikaris, her facial expressions and emotions look weird with her eyes bulging out of her head. The Hex was drawn too big within the small panels utilized making it hard to distinguish any real features, the coloring involving Uranos was so deep blue that the lines and colors of the characters ran together making the panels difficult to read, and don’t get me started on how Wolverine looked in this issue. Altogether, this art team was a bit disappointing.
FINAL THOUGHTS
A.X.E.: Judgment Day Omega #1 was slow, boring, and doesn’t wrap up the bigger loose ends. Sure, it hints at Eros and the public feelings of Eternals but everything else seemed more Eternals driven pushing readers towards an ongoing. I wanted to see more of an aftermath focusing on the big picture which we don’t receive. How is the world dealing with this traumatic event that devastated literally EVERYONE and killed millions?
Additionally, the art was a huge turn-off this week. Plus, it’s the art that sets the tone and puts an issue over the top. It makes or breaks the issue. And sadly, the art team only hindered A.X.E.: Judgment Day Omega #1. I would not recommend this issue even if you followed every A.X.E.: Judgment Day issue to this point. I feel like you could easily get all this information in a new Eternals ongoing at the beginning or easily sprinkled in alongside the events as they appear. And if this art team is on the new Eternals ongoing, I’d sadly have to pass before it began. I need more realism and depth in my illustrations. It’s just simply not my cup of tea. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!