Everything died. In other news, Space-X reached its inevitable conclusion when one of its test rockets exploded in the upper atmosphere due to a computer malfunction. Elon Musk was unable to comment.
A.X.E.: Judgment Day #5 was written by Kieron Gillen, drawn by Valerio Schiti, colored by Marte Gracia and lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Rasmus: So the good news is I didn’t cause the end of the world last week after all!
The bad news is we’re still screwed.
“Judgment has been rendered. Only sentencing remains. It is simple. I turn to the world and whisper: ‘End,’” says the Progenitor on the first page, towering over our heroes as they’re engulfed in horror.
But this is the penultimate issue of the series, so surely things will turn around by the end. Right? … Right, Sean?
Sean: Well, it does seem pretty hopeless. More so than most events where everyone dies horribly and alone. Our scene looking at humanity is largely either people expressing fury over the sheer awfulness of the world or trying to do their best to comfort those suffering within. But there doesn’t seem to be much of a way out of being fucked.
Slow Dance at the End of the World
Sean: This is perhaps best demonstrated by the opening scene of the issue. It’s a rather small moment in the grand scheme of things. Just two people talking over a cup of coffee. And yet, it’s these small moments that I always love seeing in event comics. I think my single favorite moment from an event comic isn’t Superman singing Darkseid to death or Spider-Man surviving a fight against two Phoenixes, but rather a single page from The Infinity Gauntlet where Wolverine and the Hulk just sit on a roof and talk to each other about what’s going on.
Kieron is doing that kind of scene on a much smaller scale. It’s not two of the goodies talking about their capability for violence. It’s just two people who don’t think things are going to turn out OK talking about how they could possibly get out of bed in light of that.
Rasmus: Jada sums it up beautifully: “The idea that maybe it’s not a bad world, and if it is, then maybe it doesn’t have to be a bad world.” That’s basically the entire point of superhero comics. The dream that the world isn’t bad, that it’s actually mostly a good world. Those are the lighter, more wish-fulfillment stories. The more serious ones, the ones that Judgment Day is part of, acknowledge that yes, the world pretty much sucks. But we actually have the potential to change it and we should. If we want it, truly want it, we can make this a good world.
That’s worth fighting for. Hell, that’s worth dying for.
Sean: It’s not the success of the action that’s important. It’s that we try that matters. It’s worth looking at things in contrast to the Distinguished Competition. There’s a simplified narrative that says that their comics are about icons while Marvel’s are about people. DC focuses on big, sprawling epics with characters larger than life who are always perfect. Marvel is about imperfect people who do their best in a bad situation.
But when one dives closer into the material, one can find icons and people in both companies. Captain America, even in this moment, is an icon. He is also a great character, which is something a lot of writers tend to forget when working with an icon: You still have to make them a character. Someone who has reasons for doing the right thing rather than just because it’s the right thing.
The best superhero stories refuse to let things go simply because that’s how they always are. It’s not that they’re the strongest or the coolest or even that they always win. It’s that no matter what the odds are, they always try their best. And, if they’re very lucky, they might save some lives. Because what else is going to get you out of bed in the morning other than the desire to try?
Rasmus: Bacon.
Curating an Apocalypse Mixtape
Rasmus: After a truly amazing appearance by Nightcrawler, Captain America makes another inspiring speech at the feet of the Progenitor. A speech that’s being broadcast all across the world by the X-Men’s telepaths. A speech that’s capped off with Cap being offed.
Which is actually a good thing for the world, because it gives everyone a focus for their anger. It unites the entire world for one single mission: Bring down the Progenitor and save the world.
Everyone is united, ordinary humans, Avengers, X-Men, Eternals, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Spider-Man, The Hex, someone that looks like ’90s Aquaman but is actually Ajak, and most importantly Doop.
Sean: And then things go catastrophically wrong. Because, as we’ve hammered home time and time again, the traditional solutions to event-comics problems aren’t working. And there’s no traditional solution quite like “hit it until it dies.”
So naturally Thor gets blown up, Captain Marvel dies of cancer, and … Spider-Man dies of a migraine. God can’t be creative with all his kills.
Rasmus: One small comfort is that the rich assholes trying to escape on a spaceship get blown up, too. The Progenitor might be a big, scary, mass-murdering horror god, but at least he’s fair.
One big comfort is that this is all part of the heroes’ plan. They’ve followed Destiny’s advice, left a lot of heroes to die, in order for a small faction to escape and enact the rest of the plan. The Krakoan resurrection team is part of the survivors, which means they can resurrect a small number of heroes, to go on one final mission.
Anyways, Here’s Wonderwall
Sean: And, as to be expected from a penultimate issue, it’s not a complete success. Certainly most of the team doesn’t die within three seconds of entering God’s innards, but God is well aware of what’s going on and what it means for them to be there. And yet, there’s a degree to which all of this is subdued. The big moment where the heroes face off against the maltheistic being isn’t a splash page or even a massive panel. It’s just a subtle curtain opening from the ever brilliant Schiti. We aren’t at the guitar solo yet, we’re at the opening chords.
Rasmus: As with all events, there’s been talk of “Nothing Will Ever Be The Same Again!!!” Which is a lie, at least 98% of the time. It’s always some surface thing that changes, nothing fundamental.
We haven’t really gotten that with Judgment Day. There’s not really been any huge moment that felt like it changed everything. Not like Spider-Man unmasking in Civil War, Wanda saying “No more mutants” in House of M, Black Bolt unleashing the Terrigen cloud in Infinity or anything of that sort. The closest we’ve come is that the general public of the Marvel universe might’ve gotten more familiar with the Eternals, who I feel like haven’t been as widely known as the Avengers or X-Men.
This very much changes with the final pages of the issue.
One of the central points of conflict at the outset of the series was death and resurrection. It was kept from the humans, only reserved for mutants and Eternals. This was simply the way things were and nothing could be done about it. Doing so would go against everything Krakoa stood for. As Nightcrawler says, “It’s against our customs.” But he doesn’t stop there. He continues, as the voice for a better tomorrow: “Customs are just habits that are way too big for their boots.” Just because it’s the way things are done now doesn’t mean it’s the way things have to be done forever. Things can change.
So the final page turns the by-now familiar image of someone bursting through a Krakoan egg into something new. It’s not a newly resurrected mutant crawling from the egg. It’s Captain America’s shield, triumphantly raised toward a bright sky.
Hope springs eternal.
Jury Box
- This issue has a ton of brilliant little moments. Mystique and Destiny holding one another as they die in fire and blood, Jack of Knives expressing regret for not killing Hope as that would’ve prevented all of this from happening, Tom’s son venting to his dad while he reads comics. Just a collection of little moments that make a larger whole.
- Also Doctor Doom is riding a Jet Ski. Your argument is invalid.
- Nightcrawler is amazing here. First he pops up at just the right moment to give Captain America (!) an inspiring speech, which prompts Cap to ask: “Can you get me to the North Pole?” to which Nightcrawler has the wonderfully cheeky answer: “After the day I’ve had? The strain could kill me! Do you think I’m some kind of superhero?” And then he bamfs Cap to the North Pole, because he’s a goddamn superhero!
- God’s solutions to the various people who are trying to kill him are variations on “Fire. And lots of it.”
- Yeah, despite what he claims, he’s not actually terribly creative. Thor is killed by being made “super unworthy,” Phoenix is burned, Jean Grey is burned, Starbrand is burned, Captain Marvel is given a retread of the previous Captain Marvel and given cancer. It’s all pretty obvious stuff, really. Maybe — and this is just me going out on a limb here — he’s not as all-powerful and amazing as he claims?!
- Of course he’s not. He’s based on Tony Stark, one of the most unrecognized failsons of the 21st century.
- There are a lot of jokes to be made about Captain America punching out of the egg with his shield intact. But frankly, the image trumps verisimilitude.
- My thoughts upon reaching that final page were literally “WOW, awesome!” followed by “Wait … that doesn’t make sense” and then “Fuck it, that’s awesome!” So good work, everyone!
- Obligatory Doug Rushkoff plug.
Sean Dillon
Rasmus Lykke
Rasmus Skov Lykke will write for food (or, in a pinch, money).
When not writing, he spends his time with his fiancée, their daughter and their cats, usually thinking about writing.
