Asgardians of The Galaxy #4
The Story So Far:
Asgardians of the Galaxy #4 picks up on the planet Chandilar, where our heroes had tracked Nebula to in Asgardians of the Galaxy #3. Nebula bailed and left the Asgardians looking for all the universe like the guilty parties responsible for the destruction of Chandilar. Add to that, the fact that the team still hasn’t had time to process the whole charade with The Destroyer.
Pro-Tip: Lying to your teammates isn’t exactly a trust building strategy.
If an undead god hadn’t ripped the Destroyer apart, Angela’s secret might have been safe for a time. As it is, the team’s less than pleased that she intentionally neglected to tell them that the spirit animating the Destroyer was none other than Kid Loki. Unfortunately, before anything could be done about it, the Nova Corp showed up. Cheers for the Cavalry, right? Wrong. They immediately put the Asgardians under arrest.
Creative Team:
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Natacha Bustos, Matteo Lolli Cover by Jason Keith, Dale Keown
Series Rating: 4/5 Issue Rating: 4/5
With The War of the Realms on the way in a few months, this series is one you want to keep on your pull list. It’s also a pretty good read. The writing is solid, the art is consistently above average, and the characters are quite endearing. The only downside to this is that because it ties to so many other events in the Marvel Comic Universe, you may find yourself at times pulling single issues of other titles to better understand a character’s motivations or a referenced event.
Hint: If you plan to read The War of the Realms and aren’t already reading Thor and Avengers you might want to get started on those titles.
Asgardians of the Galaxy #4 was the most setup-heavy issue thus far. That doesn’t mean there weren’t some moments of action and even a few laughs. Cullen Bunn does a good job of weaving in the Asgardian lore between engaging action and sympathetic characters. I really can’t name one character on the team that truly I don’t like though the jury is still out on Kid Loki.
From MAJK’s Coffee Corner:
I’m really loving how this title ties in bits and pieces of the MCU while working to set things up for what looks to be a dynamite cross-over. Asgardians of the Galaxy #4 starts off with what I often referred to as a DBZ opener. For you non-Anime folks, that means a review of scenes from the last episode/issue. It’s a pain when you are binge watching Anime but in this case a great idea. This mini recap lets new readers get caught up without the expense of picking up every back issue.
Spoiler Warning: If you have not read Asgardians of the Galaxy #4 There May Be Spoilers Below
Arrested!
In this case The Nova Corps landed on Chandilar but instead of trying to sort out who the actual bad guy in the situation was… they began shooting. Honestly, they probably contributed as much to the damage of Chandilar as anyone else did. With Nebula long gone, and the Asgardians having risked their lives to help fight the undead gods, you’d think Gladiator would be grateful. It stands to reason that old grudges would be put aside and he’d explain to the Nova Corps what was going on. Turns out, Gladiator is kind of an arrogant jerk. On top of attempting to decline emergency and medical services from the Xandarians, he pretty much implies this mess was the fault of the Asgardians. Thanks a lot, Gladiator! (yes, that was sarcasm)
Friendship and Animosity
As in the last couple issues, we get to see the recruitment of a team member and this time it is Thunderstrike. It ties in nicely to a conversation he is having with Skurge about his father and being a hero. I was liking a bit on the fence about Thunderstrike in this series, save his little dude bro-ism in issue #2. When you get a peek into his head though he’s actually got a pretty good heart.
We then check in on Valkyrie and Kid Loki arguing and a couple interesting points are brought up… There something Valkyrie really wants. Loki knows what it is. He claims that he can make it happen. Valkyrie is protective of Annabelle and that fact might make her amenable to Loki’s claims but we will have to see.
Keep in mind that Loki really likes messing with people. I know, not shocking news, but this little fact does lead to some interesting issues in battle. Whether because he is trying to prove a point or because he’s just being Loki – that’s anyone’s guess.
Angela, meanwhile, has been chatting with Scott Adsit, Nova Corps Commander. It’s sounds a lot like Angela’s giving them information hoping to convince them to release her team. Until that moment that Adsit explains where Nebula is heading and we realize, at about the same time as he does, that she was never really at their mercy. She was just biding her time to find out where Nebula was headed.
Art & Writing
As usual the art is excellent. Adsit’s face when he realizes Angela was never really their prisoner is just beautiful. Watching Gladiator try to lift the tiny hammer that Throg was forced to leave behind is just hilarious. It gets better when Throg shows up to retrieve it.
The writing is solid. Setting up for the real fun ahead without making a boring issue is a touch job. I really loved watching the subtle calling out of social media backlash against young heroes that are stepping in for classics. It was well blended in to the story, obvious but not preachy.
Angela is quickly becoming my favorite on this team. She’s got all the marks of a real leader including understanding the art of strategic surrender. I was a bit surprised in Asgardians of the Galaxy #3 when they didn’t try to defend themselves but I chalked it up to some kind of “our quarrel is not with them” thing. Seeing that she had a plan all along really shows that she’s playing to win.
Mischief, Chaos, and Lies
As the Asgardians battle their way out, Loki decides it’s time to teach Valkyrie a thing or two about having faith in her Midgardian half. Dropping Annabelle into battle in Valkyrie’s places comes with some very unexpected results.
In spite of the “fun” Loki, takes moment to seek out his brother, Thor, and warn him about the coming of Nebula. When he arrives he finds that being on the recieving end of a surprise is not his preferred position.
MAJK’s Age Recommendation:
So far Marvel’s age recommendation of 12+ for this series, falls in line with my estimation. There’s no real gore. All violence is cartoon level violence. Some of the issues facing these heroes & anti-heroes might be a tad complex but they are broken down and the good / bad choices are clear.
Best Line
My favorite lines in this issue all give away big spoilers so I’m going to skip that at the time of this writing. Feel free to tell me your favorite line from this issue in the comments section.
Next Issue: January 16, 2019
