COMIC BOOK REVOLUTION

Guardians of the Galaxy #25 Review

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It all starts here. Even though we got that big splash page of Thanos return at the end of the last issue of Guardians of the Galaxy this is are going to see Thanos back in his former glory. We have not seen Thanos since the original Annihilation, that brought back the cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe, were he was killed off. After a few years away Thanos is officially back and not just back but is ready to headline his own big event in Thanos Imperative.  And I can’t think of better writers than DnA to bring back one of the top Marvel villains. I fully expect Guardians of the Galaxy #25 to be another excellent read that brings back the character. So now let’s see if this issue lives up to expectation.

Creative Team

Writers: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning

Artist: Brad Walker

Inker: Andrew Hennessy

Colorist: Wil Quintana

Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10

Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10

Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: In the year 3010 Starhawk tells some of the Guardians that the error is still not accounted for. The other members of the Guardians do not believe Starkhawk since the universe has become a paradise again. Starhawk says that the timeline is still unstable and he has to tell the council while walking up the steps into the council chambers.

Inside Starhawk says that there is an imperfection in history between 2008 and 2010 but the council does not believe him and says that time is always so troublesome. Major Victory gets offended by this and says that is when the Guardians of the Galaxy first started and is the council’s legacy. One of the council members says they understand that is where Major Victory started but that if Peter Quill did not start the Guardians someone else would have.

Starhawk speaks up and says they are wrong and the timeflux war is 2010. He explains that a year ago (2009) the timeflux began and that the future was changing and even collapsing on itself. All the other members say that they thought the error in time was corrected by bringing in all the Major Victorys back to the future.  They then say that the true error was the Fault but they told Peter Quill and his Guardians to prevent the disaster with the help of Kang. Starhawk says that was not enough as it was only the calm before the storm which has already started up again in the year 2010. Starhawk then asks the council to play the archives that should not exist.

We then get one of Peter’s video logs where he explains that with Moondragon they were able to find out that Magus was not dead and Phyla, who they thought was dead as well, warned Moondragon. He then says that Moondragon got one last warning saying some other threat has appeared but did not get a name.

Shifting scenes we see the Guardians arrive at the Church of Truth were they see that the whole place looks like a war is being fought with all the destruction. Drax then tells the group that he feels something and that Thanos can tell that he is back. Jack wonders who Drax is talking about and Drax says that killing Thanos is his purpose and that he already did it before and has to do it again. Moondragon tries to stop her father but Drax says he has to. A giant explosion suddenly goes of and the Guardians go check it out.

They all rush out see what happened and Moondragon says she suddenly feels a presence in the air. Gamora, Mantis, Major Victory, and Cosmo suddenly appear and the whole group is finally reunited again. After they all great the others Gamora tells Drax that Thanos is back and that Phyla was the first one Thanos killed much to the horror of Moondragon. Gamora says they have to get out of their but before the Guardians can even move Thanos appears in all his rage ready to kill everyone on sight.

Peter tells everyone to regroup and while Peter, Jack, and Mantis are running Mantis says that it seems the Church has been trying to bring Thanos back for years and that as soon as he returned he destroyed all those who brought him back. Peter and Mantis look back and see that Moondragon, in a fit of rage, attacks Thanos. Moondragon does not last long and as Thanos is about to kill her she is saved by Major Victory and the rest of the Guardians who are giving Major Victory and Moondragon cover fire.

Even by hitting Thanos with everything they got Thanos does not feel a thing and lunges at the Guardians. Groot tries to stop Thanos but even he is no match for Thanos who swats Groot away.

On the sidelines Gamora tells Drax that Thanos seems to be stronger than before as her sword split in too when she tried to strike Thanos. Drax does not care and goes after Thanos but Thanos quickly knocks Drax out with an eye beam.

The rest of the Guardians see that Drax is in trouble and Peter sends in Jack, Bug, Major Victory and Gamora to help out Drax. Peter than asks Mantis how Thanos can be back and that Magus is the one behind the resurrection. Mantis says she does not think this is what Magus had in mind when bringing back Thanos. Peter yells at Mantis asking what the hell was she thinking letting Magus go and Mantis says they were occupied by trying to keep Thanos at bay. Peter asks if they can get in a mindlock but Cosmo says that he and Mantis have been trying to do that since they saw Thanos but have been unable to. Peter says he didn’t want to resort to his last trick but decides to use it.

Peter starts walking up to Thanos and telling Thanos to look at him. Peter pulls out the Cosmic Cube which Thanos is instantly drawn toward. Just as Thanos is about to reach out and grab it Peter uses the Cosmic Cube to send out a blast that knocks out Thanos. Before Thanos is knocked out we see that Thanos is not in the mindless state anymore.

Peter can’t believe it and says “Star-Lord for the win.” Gamora then yells at Peter for using the Cosmic Cube to only take out Thanos when he could have become a God. Peter says he did what he had to do and the Cosmic Cube is just a paperweight now.

Back in 3010 the Council of the Guardians of All Galaxies finish watching Peter’s recording and Starhawk says that there is an error in the recording as Thanos has returned when he shouldn’t. Starhawk says that the fate of the past and present will be decided in 2010 with the original Guardians of the Galaxy being the ones standing between the galaxy and annihilation.

At Starlin’s Bar all the Guardians have gather together for some drinks and toast to Phyla who gave her life in the line of duty. Peter and Rocket sit at the bar thinking of all that’s happened and Rocket asks Peter if he regrets putting the Guardians together. Peter says he hasn’t as they put down Thanos. Peter and Rocket then toast to a new tomorrow. End of issue.

Commentary

The Good: Guardians of the Galaxy #25 was an absolute blast to read. For what may be this series swan song (God I hope it isn’t) I couldn’t think of a better way I would want one of the best titles on the market to go out. DnA ended Guardians on a high note as this title goes on a “hiatus” for Thanos Imperative while also putting everything in place for that event.

While this issue was a very action heavy issue DnA did not shy away from giving us a big story and a lot of content. This issue set-up Thanos Imperative perfectly as we saw the Council of the Guardians of All Galaxies talk about the error in the timestream that is Thanos. We also got the two sets off the Guardians quickly catch up with one another and inform each other what has happened since the group was forcibly split up in middle of a big battle. So even if this was an action heavy issue DnA provided a lot of information for us in setting up the next big cosmic event.

With this issue DnA also wrote the text book on how in one issue you can show how big of a threat a villain can be in order to set up a big event. When you set out to bring back one of the biggest villains in your universe the writer and artist better show us why the villain is one of the biggest threats in the universe. This is something that some of the supposed big villains for big event stories (cough*Nekron*cough) haven’t been able to get across. Thankfully DnA didn’t just bring back Thanos but he made an instant impact that showed why he is a villain that all the heroes in the Marvel Universe have to team up to take down.

I loved how DnA choose to bring Thanos back by showing just how powerful the character is as a mindless brute now that he is back and then showed that once he was taken down that the true Thanos is back. Even though Thanos looked unstoppable in his mindless state as a long time reader I know that Thanos is now even more deadly that he is back to his senses. Thanos was just a beast in this issue and with him getting his mind back I can only think of how much more deadly Thanos will be once he wakes up during Thanos Imperative. Coming off this issue Thanos really showed why he is the Darkseid of the Marvel Universe.

And I liked that even though Thanos was only growling his way throughout the issue DnA used the Guardians in their own separate groups talking about how terrifying Thanos is. With all the destruction Thanos was causing and the fear that the team had since they were trying everything to stop Thanos carnage was a great way to build up Thanos.

Also having a character like Gamora, easily one of the toughest fighters in the Marvel Universe, say that she wasn’t even able to put a dent on Thanos with her sword says a lot. And seeing how Drax, another one of the best fighters in the Marvel Universe, and Groot were easily swatted away was another great way to show how powerful Thanos was.

As always DnA excelled in writing all the characters of the Guardians of the Galaxy team. It was great that after so many issues of the team being separated into two sets of teams that the whole team was back together. This title is always at its strongest when the whole team is together and that first page were the whole team greets the other one was just spectacular as a reader I was just saying “awesome” along with the team. And right from the beginning with their battle against Thanos we see that the team still has the same dynamic they had before they were split up.

DnA really proved why they are the best writers of team books right now as they just understand how to write every character on the team. Even with 11 members, more members than in any other team book, each character was given their moment. Sure Peter, Drax, and Mantis got more screen time than the other members but each member was give a nice moment were even if you’re a new reader can get the personalities of each member. It is something we don’t get in any other team book and DnA just expertly handle the whole roster.

What is even more amazing with the work DnA have been able to do with Guardians of the Galaxy is that they have been able to take a group made up of Z-list characters within the Marvel Universe and show that this team is just as great as the A-team of the MU like the Avengers and X-Men. It’s easy(ier) to take a group of known characters and sell them to fans but to take a whole group of unknown characters and turn them into a heavy hitting that stops universe destroying threats is an amazing job. And this issue is a big example of how great this team is as they were able to take down Thanos who is known as a destroyer of universes.

Drax really stepped up here. Drax has really been a standout by showing himself to be a total badass in this series especially in these last few issues. Even though Drax was no match for Thanos it was great seeing the moment Drax sensed Thanos that he was absolutely focused on his goal no matter how tough it is. Drax really has shown himself to be the Wolverine of the group.

Now the real star of the show in this issue turned out to be Peter Quill (Star-Lord). DnA have done a great job building up Peter’s character to be one of the best leaders in the MU. Peter is nowhere close to being the strongest character in the group but he showed that his quick thinking is what makes him a great leader and I loved that as soon as he heard that Magus tricked him he realized he can still use the Cosmic Cube. It was great that he got to be the one to take down Thanos.

Also it is cool seeing that the Council of the Guardians of All Galaxies. I liked that all those video logs that DnA have been using that each member of the Guardians have been recording are actually videos that the future Council have been using to look into the past and see if there are any errors in time. It is a very good use of something DnA introduced back in the first issue. I also like that Starhawk used these video logs to show the Council of the Guardians of All Galaxies that the original Guardians of the Galaxy are a very important to the future. With all this build up that happened for Thanos Imperative I cannot wait for the event to start next month.

And while it is not known if Guardians of the Galaxy will return after their hiatus the last page was a nice way to cap of this title if it does not return. Personally I hope this title returns but the ending with Peter and Rocket was a great ending as we see both these characters drinking beers like best friends and just looking toward the future. Very well done DnA.

Brad Walker provided some very good artwork for this issue. It is great seeing Walker back on this title as I prefer his artwork over Wes Craig. Walker delivered great action in this action heavy issue. The battle between the Guardians and Thanos felt epic and I liked how he used the destruction Thanos caused before the Guardians got there as the setting for the fight. The setting help elevate the threat level and the desperation the Guardians were feeling to take down Thanos. So overall this was a great looking issue that kept the issue moving even in the slower moments.

The Bad: I have no complaints for this issue.

Overall: Guardians of the Galaxy #25 was another spectacular issue. Throughout their run DnA have put on a clinic as they showed how to write a big team book. This issue had everything you want out of a story: big villains, universe ending disasters, and a likable team of heroes ready to take on any threat. Hopefully once Thanos Imperative is over Guardians of the Galaxy does return because it would be a shame to lose this title which has easily been one of the best titles on the stands. If you are looking for a great team book with epic stories than pick up DnA’s run on Guardians of the Galaxy. There are very few comics that are more fun with a great cast from the top down than this title.

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Guardians of the Galaxy

Thanos Imperative