Guardians Of The Galaxy #16: Review

Jul 2021

Al Ewing, Juan Frigeri

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Story Name:

16: Look upon me and know fear

Review & Comments

Rating:

Guardians Of The Galaxy #16 Review by Rob Johnson (July 24, 2021)

This is the part 1 of the Last Annihilation event centred around this series.

What Wiccan senses is the death of his 'mother' Scarlet Witch at the Hellfire Gala on the SWORD satellite between SWORD #6 and X-Factor #10.

Arakko was a sister-island to Krakoa that got lost ages ago with Apocalypse' wife Genesis and many mutants in a daemon realm called Amenth. Recently in the X Of Swords event Arakko and its mutants were returned to Earth but Apocalypse went to Amenth to rejoin Genesis. The island and its mutants have now been transplanted on the terraformed Mars.

The Knights Of The Infinite are a Kree/Skrull hybrid team introduced in New Avengers (2015) #3-4. Mur-G'nn of the Knights also appeared as a member of the Alliance Royal Guard in the Empyre mini-series and some of its tie-ins and more recently in the King In Black: Wiccan & Hulkling 1-shot.

Lauri-Ell is the unsuspected Kree half-sister of Carol Danvers who was introduced in the Captain Marvel tie-ins to Empyre. In Empyre: Aftermath Avengers 1-shot she was appointed Alliance Chief Accuser. She's since appeared in CM#27 and that King In Black 1-shot above.

Captain Glory was on the Grandmaster's team in Avengers: No Surrender (Av#675-690). Then he was part of the Alliance Royal Guard during Empyre, but he was imprisoned because he sided with Empress R'Kll. He predicted they'd need him again.

The event will continue in SWORD #7 before returning for next issue. This will probably involve Dr Doom, Marvel Boy and Star-Lord at the SWORD base, and may explain Wiccan's weird feeling and maybe even what Kate Pryde's doing.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Guardians Of The Galaxy #16 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

OK, last issue Dr Strange's old foe Dormammu, boss of the Dark Dimension, finally got his wish to invade Earth-616's dimension. His followers arranged for him to replace Ego The Living Planet, and now he's planet-sized. Or at least his fiery head is the size of the planet. He seems to be doing without the rest of his body.

But this issue starts on the Kree Throneworld II being constructed on the ruins of their sacred planet Hala. Hulking, the Emperor of the Kree/Skrull Alliance, and his husband Court Wizard Wiccan are there to help. At least Hulkling is helping directly by using his super-strength to put huge pieces of machinery in place. Then they have to leave the appropriately-named Phor-Mann to deal with some other Emperory business.

Teddy Kaplan-Altman has received details from Paibok, his ambassador to the Earth mutant nation Krakoa, about the 2 things they announced at the Hellfire Gala:- The terraforming of Mars, and the super-metal Mysterium that can be used as a Galactic currency. Billy Kaplan-Altman says he's gotten weird vibes about Krakoa since then, as though something bad's happened to someone he's close to.

But then something bad happens to *them* as Asgardian-style teleportals pop up around them and their bodyguards. They disgorge Mindless Ones from the Dark Dimension, who do what comes naturally to them - attack the group with their eye-blasts. Wiccan raises a magical force-dome to shield them. He doesn't think he can hold it for long, so instead he casts a mantra-spell to take all the energy the shield has absorbed and return it to senders. But then a large mobile Mindless One's head enters through a portal in the sky.

Gamora, Quasar (Wendell Vaughn) and Rocket Raccoon are in the Guardians Of The Galaxy's spaceship the Almond near Dormammu The Living Planet along with ships from many other Galactic powers. Gamora broadcasts a message suggesting they all get away as fast as possible. Quasar exits the ship to attack Dormammu who is doing a supervillain rant. But then the planet-head's giant mouth spews forth a horde of Mindless Ones and mobile heads.

In the Guardians' 2nd ship the Tennant are Drax The Destroyer, Hercules and Mantis. As Drax tries his hand at his 1st superhero-style joke the ship is attacked by Mindless Ones trying to punch their way in. Mantis' evaluation of the power of the blows is that they'll soon succeed.

But we leave all that for Mars, now known as Arakko, where Nova and Star-Lord are overlooking large statues of I think Apocalypse and his wife Genesis. They too are discussing how Mysterium has rescued the collapsing (after events like King In Black) Galactic economy and raised Earth's status. Sceptical Richard Rider is still waiting for it to be revealed as a scam. Peter Quill had arranged to have catch-up coffee with ex-fiancée Kate Pryde but she's had to cancel.

Nova gets alerts about Mindless Ones attacks and they both get contacted mentally by Moondragon from the Alliance HQ the Proscenium. She shows them what's happening near ex-Ego - Quasar fighting Mindless Ones, and Gamora and Rocket in trouble. Star-Lord also gets a message from his homeworld Spartax where the Astrologers are managing to use Stellar Magic to hold off the attackers. Rich tells Pete to link up with Marvel Boy, Abigail Brand and Dr Doom on the SWORD Station. He's going to use the Nova Force to take a wormhole to Ego.

Drax, Herc and Mantis are also battling Mindless Ones in the wreckage of the Tennant, to give other ships more time to escape. They're about to be overwhelmed when Quasar zooms in to rescue them in a quantum bubble. Gamora and Rocket have a Mindless Gun (which is what they're calling the big Heads) in their gunsights when it disappears through a portal. Only to reappear behind them and destroy the Almond. Then Nova shows up the rescue *them*.

In Proscenium Moondragon gets a mental report that the GOTG have lost both their ships but Nova is bringing them all home. And most other ships got away. She informs Groot, Phyla-Vell and Super-Skrull. Kl'rt tells them of the attacks on Hala and Spartax, but now also on the Shi'ar world Aerie. And now Skrullos, the birthplace of the Skrulls. He contacts Hulkling and Wiccan on Hala and wants 1 of them to go there. Billy suggests sending the Knights Of The Infinite but Teddy says that they must be openly impartial, so 1 of *them* must go. So Billy offers to go there *with* the Knights. And we learn that Lauri-Ell's on her way to back Teddy up.

1 last thing. Hulkling orders Kl'rt to free Captain Glory from the Dreadrock penal colony. They're going to need him.

Continued in SWORD #7.

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