Defenders: Beyond

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I could belabor the point, but it’s all right there. Al Ewing and Javier Rodríguez are doing something incredibly special here. No matter what editorial or corporate regime comes along later, this is who Loki is. Realizing that a "lie" is a "story" told, the "God of Lies" Loki becomes the "God of Stories" in Loki: Agent of Asgard #13. now if only someone could inject a bit of the "Steve & Steve" -Englehart & Gerber- madness of yore, which was my fave Defenders period before other writers killed it totally dead (and don't even START about D.A.K.'s Dollar Bill), it would be perfect - but you're close! Cloud is given an arc exploring their relationship with gender. They started as a noncorporeal sentient nebula thrust by circumstances into a physical form that switches between male and female presentation borrowed from the first cisgender humans they met. Contemplating the abstract, primal, archetypical nature of the beings in the Fourth Cosmos, they settle on a nonbinary appearance and choose to stay behind when the rest of the team leaves to explore themselves further. Phoenix's outfit is notably white, which may suggest Taaia is a White Phoenix like Jean Grey in New X-Men #154 or Hope Summers in Avengers vs. X-Men #12.

Crossover: The Masked Raider tells Strange that when he found the Enclave's lab, Adam-IV (also known as Korvac) had already been awakened and was escaping. However, the Raider had to let him escape to go after the last Enclave member... and Korvac then showed up as the Big Bad of Iron Man (2020, Ongoing).

And while Loki’s speech about change rings true in your queer reading, it also reminded me of Kieron Gillen’s explanation (confession?) for why he killed off Kid Loki. It was because it’s a comic book in a shared universe and if he didn’t do it, the next writer would. Little did he know that his story would be the foundational text of the Loki of the 2010s. Even when Gillen tried to kill Loki off and reset the character, they remained permanently changed, and always changing. When the Anti-All is shattered and its essence scattered across the Multiverse, one of its fragments resembles Knull's dragon emblem — with Doctor Strange speculating that Anti-All is the source of all the dark entities who seek to destroy the universe. Mark: TOAA tells Tigra she’ll go home, “when the storyteller chooses.” And whaddaya know, “storyteller” is the credit that Ewing and Rodríguez share. The Celestials observed from within the new cosmos...while we continued maintanence from here. Nothing dies, while we remain--here in the remnants of the Second Cosmos, outside all that is known...and beyond it. — The Beyonder Appearing in "Yesod: The Second Cosmos" The Blue Marvel tends to avoid the Avengers, but he has joined Luke Cage's Mighty Avengers in Mighty Avengers (Vol. 2), starting in issue #3, and throughout Captain America and the Mighty Avengers.

Tigra encounters the Beyonder in Secret Wars II. The Beyonder threatens to destroy the Multiverse in Secret Wars II #8– 9 (though this issue just says "universe"). Karen Charm: It’s too bad about the soup, because I don’t have any silverware on me. Let’s just wait for it to cool down a bit, room temperature should be good, and we can see about using our hands. And as for meeting God, she just lives next door (you can tell from the orange cobblestone walkway). We could go over and see if she wants any soup. Finger-Painting With God The Beyond is depicted as a featureless level in Fantastic Four Annual #23; however, its design in this issue is based off "Heaven" from Defenders (Vol. 4) #10– 11, specifically issue #11.

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Mark: I think the thing threatening Eternity is The Mouse. Or maybe the success of Eternity’s cousin, The MCU putting more attention and pressure on Eternity. We meet up with him early and get a closer look at the Beyonders and the Beyond than ever before! What's their connection to the mysterious Omega Council and their Concordance Engines from previous Defenders runs? Why does a remnant of the Second Cosmos still exist today? What's the mysterious furnace that powers the engines of Beyond, and where does it lead? Why is the Beyonder so different from the Beyonders? Most importantly of all, who remembers the Secret Wars action figures of the '80s? (Me and Javier do.) Outside of telling its own story, however, issue #4 in particular stands out as a meta-commentary, both on Marvel Comics as a whole and the in-universe histories that inform our heroes. By both exploring the perils of wish-fulfillment in alternate lives and reinforcing the value of exploring “the mystery”, Ewing allows (some of) the characters to experience a little cathartic growth. In the same pen or keystroke, he derides that anyone could “fix” a character’s story with their specific vision of what a character should be, and that constant attempts to do so only further erode what the essence of the character is. Or perhaps I’m reading into it too much, and Ewing just happened to write a pretty stellar “tempt-the-heroes” story. You’ll have to read to find out.

Anti-Magic: By saying the "cantrips of the Onyx King," nobody can do magic (or use powers not contained in their own bodies) for the next 30 seconds.Don’t miss the latest extraordinary DEFENDERS epic from Al Ewing and Javier Rodríguez when DEFENDERS: BEYOND hits stands on June 16. For more information, visit Marvel.com. Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In the first issue, by summoning Cloud, a sentient nebula, Strange realizes that he's basically destroyed the Earth himself, so releases magic unbidden to give them a human form again before it's too late. This works, but then the magic takes its price and pulls them all into the past, to the Sixth Cosmos and Taa. Eldritch Location: The Fifth, Dark Cosmos. It's a world of raw, untamed magic, where there's no sun. The Third Cosmos is even more eldritch, being a place where time is nascent and space has no meaning. The Fourth Cosmos is less bad, but time and space are still looser here. It's also less a multiverse with people and more a collection of the archetypes that would be the basis for the Seventh and Eighth Cosmoses. The final entity is the First Firmament. The story of the Cosmic Jailer is told throughout Ultimates (Vol. 3) and Ultimates 2 (Vol. 2). He makes his proper debut in Ultimates 2 (Vol. 2) #5– 6 and is defeated in Ultimates 2 #100. The Blue Marvel and the Ultimates play a key role. The Blue Marvel encounters the Beyond Corporation in Captain America and the Mighty Avengers #5– 7.

Mark: We’ve reached Keter, The Crown! This is the highest point on the Tree Of Life. What goes on here is utterly beyond human comprehension. The One Above All speaks in the great big caption speech that Ewing loves so much (see Utlimates, the first issue of S.W.O.R.D., and Immortal Hulk for other examples). LOLtron, the management here at Bleeding Cool has paired me with you in hopes of "improving the overall tone and quality of my work," so though I know I will regret it, I am contractually obligated to ask: what did you think of the preview of Defenders: Beyond #5? And this time, please… try not to malfunction and attempt to take over the world. Made a Slave: By the time the Defenders crash-land in the Fifth Cosmos, Zota's been there a while, and has run afoul of Mor-i-Dun, who has enslaved him. As she's being used as a conduit for the Green Door, Betty thinks "I am as I am." Only the being she's being used as a conduit for is a lot less benevolent than God.

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Comically Missing the Point: In issue 2, as the team enters Taaia's house, Betty comments something smells. Stephen thinks she's talking metaphorically, and starts waxing about the situation until Betty clarifies she means literally, something smells - there's a baby in the other room and he's soiled himself. The Dividual: The Fantastic Four archetypes in the Fourth Cosmos are a quartet of beings known as the Four-Who-Are-One. Bait-and-Switch: Seeing a baby Galactus, the Surfer stands over him, musing on all the things Galactus will one day unleash. His hand begins to glow, as the Masked Raider comes in... turns out Norrin's just playing with the baby. As explained in New Avengers (Vol. 3) #33 and Secret Wars #4– 5, the Beyonders are the ones responsible for the incursions that ended the Seventh Cosmos. They destroyed the entire Multiverse as part of a grand experiment. Al Ewing and Javier Rodríguez follow up their acclaimed DEFENDERS: THERE ARE NO RULES series with a new volume and an all-new lineup, including none other than Loki, God of Stories!