Guardians vs Olympians…for all the Marbles. It’s Guardians of the Galaxy #12 written by Al Ewing, art by Juann Cabal, colors by Federico Blee, and letters by Cory Petit.
Charlie Davis: GOD. Can I say that? Like can I just say that I wasn’t sure what we were getting into with the impending new chapter of this book, but it was not THIS. I had to sit for a while after I read this issue and just let it sink in. There was so much going on here and it’s hard not to just say that Al Ewing set out to right the wrongs in cosmic marvel for the last 12 years or so. There is so much to unpack here.
Allison Senecal: GOD! I feel you. I went from wary as hell considering the impending changes to the book and now I’m just really happy to be here yet again and also looking SO forward to what’s next. Ewing managed to hit a few things I was worried would be left dangling with the increased roster…but well!
CD: A lot of people say that you can’t have it all, but I am not sure what they are talking about because this issue damn near touched on everything that Ewing had strung up since the beginning of the book. Shall we get into it?
AS: Can we just lead with Noh? Because Noh!
Just Weird Kree Stuff
CD: I am just…I am just SO THRILLED with how this book portrays Noh. Without having to go through all the gory details of his past incarnations, this Noh, the one that’s always thinking ahead, the one that has the weird Kree tech and most of all the one that feels human emotions so vividly really just feels like the definitive version. Ewing managed to reach into the grab bag that was all this old continuity and pull out all of the things that really matter to make Noh someone you want to connect with. He’s got all his Morrison weirdness, but not the assholeish nature that went with that and he’s got some of the softness Gillen gave him, but with none of the straight up idiocy that came with that characterization. This guy, the one that saves his friends and looks smart and cool doing it backed up with an undercurrent of love. This is it for me.
AS: I’m mostly geeking about his freakin’ micro-reality. We’ve seen this before (and from Ewing if I’m remembering correctly – in his Royals series) but Cabal just makes me sweat over it here. But yeah, Ewing’s Noh-Varr is so effortless I love what he’s done to meet the character in the middle again, especially after West Coast Avengers.
I…gasped? At the Herc page? I just…I…the lion visual really pinged something primal and appreciative in me. Have we ever seen that for Herc before? It’s like a scifi update on his classical lionskin cloak and I am still going feral.
CD: I absolutely love it. All of the cosmic and astrological stuff especially in the visuals have been stunning over the last couple of issues. For a cast this large, literally everyone has had a spotlight moment. This is Herc’s, taking on his father with the spirit of a cosmic lion. This is honestly what I think cosmic marvel needs to be. Just something that evokes the visuals that Cabal can absolutely deliver on. I’ve never felt as bad as I do in this moment that he will not be on the book anymore after this.
AS: I’m feeling better about Frigeri coming on after seeing some preview work, but yeah. Cabal is a lot of what’s made this title so special most months.
Now one thing Noh’s cube didn’t protect is Groot. And I’m honestly not sure I’ve ever been as blown away by Groot as I have during this run. The all-“I am Groot” perspective story early in the run? And now literally every single cool-ass thing Ewing and Cabal are doing in this issue. Groot is kind of a lore blindspot with me, so I have no idea how actually fresh some of this is, but!
CD: But still! Groot has leveled up a bit just like everyone else in the book and some of my favorite parts of this issue were Rocket’s subtle reactions and just taking charge of the situation even though Groot obviously was very worse for wear. One of the things Cabal excels at is making these stunning splash pages and Groot turning into something of a lightning tree was something I had to go back and look at again and again.
AS: Yeah Rocket knowing that Prince has the Power Stone and making him use it to restore/beef-up Groot is just *chef kiss*.
Then we get into Ewing actually addressing the Heather and Phyla situation, something I wasn’t sure we’d see in any closure on before the new era began. Not only do we get closure, but damn do we get some great character work on those two. Hermes vs Moondragon is such a bonkers fight. Ewing really said “sure he’s the god of speed and stuff but what if we pulled out all the stops on him being the god of communication”. I think this is a nice, if maybe unintentional, meta beat as well, considering how many of Phyla and Heather’s issues have stemmed from a lack of communication.
CD: Absolutely. I think what’s happened between Phyla and Moondragon deserves some space so let’s break it down.
Moondragon, Moondragon
CD: You know, I knew it was gonna have to end up like this in some kind of way, but I wasn’t sure they were going to address exactly how pulled apart Phyla and Heather have been since Moondragon’s merged together. There have been subtle hints along the way that leading the idyllic life they had in their reality actually didn’t make them better people. It stopped them from growing, from figuring out how to deal with trauma at all. It stopped them from knowing each other at their worst. The fact that we got Phyla openly admitting that she doesn’t love all of Heather and would like to see the darker parts…that makes my brain happy.
AS: “Show me the Dragon” short-circuited my gay little brain. Sometimes a queer couple is a lesbian and her cosmic dragon wife and I think that’s great. Hermes’ reaction to the Dragon of the Moon is about what you’d expect upon finding out you aren’t the biggest bitch in the room. I love the absolute hubris shown by the Olympians in this issue. They really think there’s nothing bigger and badder than them in the entire galaxy. In several entire galaxies. It speaks to the scope of Marvel cosmic that they truly have no idea, haha. Hermes getting shocked into brief immobility allows Heather to finally telepathically snag him and the page where she traps him in Groot’s brain is SO MIND-BLOWING. Hermes is immediately taken down another peg, upon finding out how Groot’s mind is able to hold him since Groot is beyond language.
CD: Seeing Phyla wrapped up in The Dragon of the Moon was so so good and also seeing the team actually work as a team was some exquisite stuff especially given how all of this started with a fracture of the team. Caused by Quill none the less. I love how he came back and immediately the team came together to fight. It speaks to who he is now and I really loved the Moon and The Sun coming together to create the Black Hole Bullet. And MAN that double page spread of Athena. Ugh there are just so many cool things to talk about.
AS: THE DUALITY OF THE DRAGON AND THE MASTER. I YELPED. I loved that!!! It makes so much damn cosmic sense. Those are two concepts in Marvel Cosmic that had fallen by the wayside and Ewing really neatly revitalized them both in a couple of neat strokes in this run, culminating in this.
And yeah, the team coming together to pull this off after being on the outs, and also the contrast at the end with the Galactic Council deciding to help fund the Guardians after we saw how that Summit issue went down… just a fantastic way to bring that back around. If you’re going to launch a new Space Age of Marvel, do it in an expansive additive way, and Ewing’s done just that. Literally pulling all the toys out of the box.
The Master of the Sun
CD: Can we talk about how Star-Lord has just come full circle in this book? Quill really has become the heart of it all along with being the heart of the team. I absolutely love that for him. Has your opinion changed on Peter through all of this?
AS: Definitely! I’m a Star-Lord Fan now? Wild. I really love that Ewing has just gone HUGE with him and not looked back. I hope there’s NO looking back and god I hope future creative teams don’t try to get him back down to earth again. Like I mentioned, Marvel Cosmic is enormous, and to deal with enormous threats, you need to have super out there heroes. Star-Lord as he exists at this point in the series is exactly that. I really don’t need Plucky Earth Man in Space anymore. Like we know Pete and Rich are Earthers. So is Heather. But they don’t need that to be their defining character trait?
CD: No they don’t and I really love what Quill has become. I love that Zeus plays on some of the fears that the reader might have had when Peter went away that he somehow wasn’t Quill anymore. That he’d lost touch. I LOVE that they spend some time showing that’s not true. I will be so angry if they need MCU synergy so something happens to Peter again to take him back to a place he doesn’t need to be. I think we might be past all that now though.
AS: Between this and S.W.O.R.D, it feels like Ewing has a tight grip on the reins in the cosmic arena and I don’t want to see that end any time soon. This is the freshest it’s been since Conquest and it’s really gotten to the core of Marvel Cosmic that I love again but it’s doing it better. The decision to not rebuild the Nova Corps is another great move. I’ve been waiting for DC to similarly dissolve the GLC for a while now, and I think getting as much away from space cops as possible is the best move. It also just kinda streamlines Marvel’s cosmic line. More focus on the big OP heroes, please, even if they are all Guardians of the Galaxy now.
CD: Honestly? That’s just fine with me. Every hero is some sort of Guardian anyway. These ones just have cool jackets now.
Marvel Minutiae
- What is Phyla’s TATTOO?!
- What about that dress!!
- Editor Chris here, I absolutely can’t get over the I AM GROOT brain trap.
Charlie Davis is the world’s premier Shatterstarologist, writer and co-host of The Match Club.
