The Marvel Universe has been rocked in recent weeks by the formation of the Kree/Skrull alliance and the attack of the Cotati against all other living things. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four are scattered around the galaxy as they try to neutralize the threats that seem to just keep piling up.
Writer Al Ewing has been hyping up the fourth issue of “Empyre” and today, it’s finally here. The heroes are facing threats on many different fronts and hope is quickly dwindling. Still, as Ewing teased, a big twist ending is going to show them that things can still get worse.
Thus far, “Empyre” has been a whole lot of build-up for not a lot of payoff. Aside from the first issue, it has failed to deliver big powerful moments, at least ones that we didn’t already know were coming. While this fourth issue doesn’t necessarily break the mold this series has been following, it certainly is a step up in terms of the consequences moving forward.
Captain Marvel and Johnny Storm are trying to get on the same page with the Kree/Skrull alliance and their ruler, Hulkling. Reed Richards and Tony Stark continue to look for scientific solutions in a lab while T’Challa leads his people in the fight against the Cotati in Wakanda. And perhaps most importantly, Mantis takes a small team of heroes to convince her son Quoi to end this war before it gets out of control.
With the heroes scattered and broken into various small teams, this series has not yet delivered the large-scale fight I think most fans were expecting to see. Instead, it has been mostly focus on political conversation and attempts to end the fighting with a diplomatic solution. This issue though, may have given us the final straw in that department.
While “Empyre #4” gave us more of what we’ve been seeing in the previous two issues, it did put an interesting focus on the various leaders involved in this war. We get inner monologues from Hulkling, T’Challa and Quoi, giving us three very different perspectives from three very different characters.
It is fun to hear from all three sides of the war, especially when each leader seems to have some doubts about exactly how they’re handling things. This could potentially be a hint at how “Empyre” will end. Will this massive intergalactic war come down to these three kings?
One thing this issue did not give us much of was other members of the Avengers. Captain America is simply a footnote in “Empyre #4,” Thor is off on a quest and completely absent and Tony simply argues briefly with Reed over this thought process. We do get a fair amount of Captain Marvel, but again we only really see her in a diplomatic fashion.
Not all of the Avengers are inconsequential though. That twist ending that Ewing mentioned involves a certain hero making a surprising move. Given the nature of comic books, it’s not necessarily a huge bombshell, but it is potentially a major turning point in this “Empyre” story.
“Empyre #4” is available now.