Review: ‘AXE: Judgment Day’ #6 Ends With Hope

The X-Men and Eternals may have found peace amid the end of the world. AXE: Judgment Day #6 shows there’s only minutes left to save the world.

Kieron Gillen, Valerio Schiti, Ivan Fiorelli, Marte Gracia and Clayton Cowles pass judgment as the world comes to an end.

The Progenitor has begun his extermination of the entire planet. The Eternals are doing their best to save as many as they can with the X-Men and Avengers’ help. They’re only prolonging the inevitable. Earth’s only hope is a small team of human, mutant and Eternal heroes, still trying to end the Celestial’s rampage.

Gillen takes a hopeless situation and infuses it full of hope. The first half of the issue is full of desperation, and the Progenitor continues its march across Earth no matter what our heroes do. It’s a problem that requires more than punching, and he shows that the heroes sent into the Progenitor were the right ones for the job because of their humanity, their faith, and their love, not because Wolverine is good at stabbing or Makkari is fast. It’s an inspirational and aspirational ending to a fantastic event.

Schiti does incredible work again. He’s able to balance action with emotion, and the issue stands out for it. He captures each character’s personality and shows how unique they are- Captain America is an imposing presence in every panel, Nightcrawler is perpetually in motion, Sersi is alluring without seeming alien. Gracia uses color to set the tone and mood of the pages, but also to show how fantastic and awe-inspiring the situation is. Fiorelli’s epilogue pages are nicely done too, but are brief.

Everything comes crashing down in this issue, but there’s still hope. That makes it one of the best event stories in Marvel’s history, and I’m glad we got it.

AXE: Judgment Day #6 is available now from Marvel Comics.