Disappointment Would Be A More Accurate Title For This
The aftermath issue for the Thanos Imperative event hits and proves to be a passable issue that really only shows how little momentum is left in Marve's cosmic franchise, assembling the upcoming Annihilators team in a completely mechanical fashion and doing nothing else.
Cosmo is our lead character in this issue and is easily the best thing about it. Cosmo is a consistently entertaining character and possibly the best thing DnA came up with in their run on Marvel's cosmic franchise. It is a brilliant move to have him narrate and lead us through this story, especially since the story lacks much else to offer.
The main action piece sees Blastaar, ruler of the Kree Ceded Territories, taking advantage of the weakened Kree Empire and trying to conquer it all under his rule. So Blastaar is making the big move that has been built up to in the background of things for awhile now, but it is used as just a set piece for the Annihilators show up, which is a development you see coming from the start of the issue. We have Blastaar making his major play, and... that is it. Apparently, it does not work out. But what does that mean? We are given only one line of dialogue to sum up how it all worked out. Does Blastaar still rule the ceded territories, or has the Kree Empire been unified again? Seriously, does this issue reshape the political landscape of the cosmic scene in the background? Is this really the whole result of Blastaar's climb to power since Annihilation? This is disappointing, to say the least.
The real story in the forefront here is Cosmo recruiting the members of the Annihilators, and there are some fun moments within these scenes, especially Cosmo riding on the Silver Surfer's board. But overall, these scenes really fail to achieve anything. They each amount to Cosmo asking and the person reluctantly agreeing. Why is a question never answered in a satisfying way. Beta Ray Bill probably suffers the worst from this. The character literally just appeared out of nowhere during the Thanos Imperative with no explanation, and we get nothing about him here either. This goes beyond just nitpicking over the continuity of Bill being involved in this after recently setting himself up with S.W.O.R.D. Could you at least bother to simply introduce a character, DnA? Then there is Gladiator, the character who needs the most explanation because one would naturally think he's a little too busy ruling an empire still in chaos from War of Kings to have a side gig. But ruling is boring. Seriously, that is the explanation. It seems Gladiator has just developed the personality of a bratty princess. The laziness of that explanation is really amazing. Sadly, it is still more than we get for any of the other characters. DnA actually skip the parts of these scenes where the characters would actually express their individual reasons for being a part of this new team, which really are the whole points of the scenes when we already know who the members of the Annihilators will be. This is the issue where we find out why, but we do not.
This issue also takes a very weird perspective on the Annihilators, painting them as the team the Guardians of the Galaxy should have been. The Annihilators are the team Star-Lord really wanted, and the Guardians were just who he could get. This fails to work in more way than one. First, it is actually kind of offensive to some fans who have stuck with the Guardians of the Galaxy this whole time. You kill off Star-Lord, Phyla-Vell, Drax and Adam Warlock and then tell me it's okay because this team is better than those guys anyway? That's a bit screwed up. Second, how is this the team Star-Lord wanted but wouldn't agree? Wendell Vaughn was dead. Ronan the Accuser was busy rebuilding the Kree Empire. How was Beta Ray Bill possibly on Star-Lord's radar, and did he seriously try to recruit the SIlver Surfer and Gladiator? None of that makes any sense. Who are these cosmic heavy-hitters he genuinely tried to recruit at the time and ignored him? Third, the Guardians of the Galaxy DID have cosmic heavy-hitters. The team started with Drax the Destroyer, Adam Warlock and Phyla-Vell as the current Quasar. Star-Lord did recruit some of the top guns of the cosmic characters at the time. This whole hard sell of the Annihilators as the team the Guardians of the Galaxy should have been just fails terribly.
The worst crime of this issue is that it is really more just an uninteresting prelude to the Annihilators limited series than an aftermath of what seems to be the final chapter of the Annihilation Era. Appreciate seeing Gamora on the cover, because you won't inside the issue. We are left in the dark as to how she is dealing with the recent losses of both Adam Warlock and Nova. Similarly, don't expect to see how Moondragon might be coping with the losses of Phyla and Drax. There is really no Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Mantis, Major Victory, Bugs, Worldmind or former cast of the Nova Corps. Robbie Rider appears for a page, in the background. We don't get to see what has become of what is left of the characters cosmic readers have been following for the past few years. Maybe we will see some of this in the upcoming Annihilators series, but we really should see it here in the aftermath issue.
Thanos Imperative: Devastation is a very basic story that is solid enough in its art and storytelling but has no real thought behind it. It doesn't bother with showing us much of the aftermath of all that happened in the Thanos Imperative, and it fails to develop the Annihilators as a natural progression of things and not just a desperate attempt to cash in on the idea of a Cosmic Avengers. There is nothing about this issue that is worth the money or the time to read it. All you need to know for the upcoming Annihilators series is that Cosmo asked them all to join. You really get nothing more from this issue than that.
