Shadow and Flame with Magik

Writer Sam Humphries

Artist Mike Mayhew

Colorist Rain Beredo

Letterer VC’s Cory Petit

Black Vortex, Part Six

The first two issues of this series feature the team-up with the Avengers.  The official Team-Up character for this issue is, Ronan the Accuser.

Issue opens with Ronan is chronicling his thoughts into a giant book.  He is on Hala, and I guess he is writing the last days of the city.  In space – Gamora, Beast and Angel – are fighting off the Kree along with Captain Marvel, Drax and Nova.  Ronan narrates throughout the issue, via the transcription.

Ronan introduces – Storm, Jean and Quill – to the Supreme Intelligence.  I haven’t read Ronan and Supreme Intelligence since Hickman’s Fantastic Four 600, so that was three and a half years ago.  I imagine, they are still, essentially, the same character.  Apparently, there is a Accuser Corps now.  Everyone has a Corps, these days.

Quill hints that the Black Vortex is a deadly item.  Ronan wants to pull back the Corps so that they can submit to the Black Vortex.  Supreme Intelligence denies this requests.  Maybe I have forgotten who has the Black Vortex, at this point, I thought it was somewhere on the Spartax moon.  Quill calls the Supreme Intelligence, Slimer.  Supreme Intelligence states that he knows about the Black Vortex.  If the Kree continue their fight, they have a 32.2 percent chance of surviving.  With the Black Vortex, the Kree’s chances drop to 2.01 percent.  The Supreme Intelligence is waiting out for the Kree Armada to act as the cavalry.

Spartax.  Ma Savage is fending off trespassers.  Team Pryde – Kitty, Lockheed, Agent Venom, Corsair, X23 and Beast – arrive to be Ma Savage’s cavalry.  Count, cavalry, as a word that I can’t spell without looking it up the first time.

When Lockheed wasn’t on the ship, at the end of All New 39, I was worried that the writers had forgotten him.  So glad he showed up here.  I’m a tad worried that we may lose Lockheed during this crossover, which I will admit, I worry whenever they make a point of showing him, more than once.

Agent Venom fires at someone, who is shocked that they are the holders of the Black Vortex.  We see that the person is none other than, Gara – Last of the Viscardi, an Elder of the Universe.  We met her way back in Black Vortex Alpha, the first part of this crossover.  She is here to destroy the Black Vortex.  I imagine Pryde would be cool with this, if she isn’t under the impression that the cosmic mirror can revert back, her three allies.

Thus ends, my three (well, two) favorite pages of the issue.

Ronan is disappointed that the Supreme Intelligence isn’t take his advice.  Quill likes to call Ronan, Big Guy.

Apparently I missed this, but the Black Vortex was wheeled in front of the Supreme Intelligence, so Quill has it.  Quill reasks if Ronan would really submit to the mirror.  Quill pretends that he is about to submit to the Black Vortex.  This causes the distraction that Ronan needed, to submit to the mirror.  His new costume design, isn’t that impressive or off model.

Is he just wider?

Brennan 7.  Thane gets back to his flock, but they are all dead.  Ebony Maw, who is the white face imaginary friend, taunts Thane.  Ebony Maw, which is just ‘Man” but with a ‘w.’  Very clever.  Ebony Maw (it is nice to finally know his name) convinces Thane that he needs to go back to J-Son and seek revenge.  Thane is all for it.

Hala.  Ronan goes after Gamora, Beast and Warren.  Beast is distracted as he is trying to create a replica of Space-Time.

Nova makes a comment about how Ronan looks cool, for a guy wearing a bucket.  Which is funny, as Nova, himself, wearing a bucket on his head.  That Sam Humphries, funny guy.

Beast, the colossal failure and ruiner of things, that he is, sees the replica of Space-Time.  It has a massive Beast-caused rip in it.  Oh Beast, you are the worst!

Beast runs off, as he is a monster.  Gamora stabs Ronan through the chest and flies after Beats.

Issue ends with Ronan writing in that book.  The Guardians of the Galaxy and the X-Men will be remembered for saving Hala, as heroes.  Ronan will be a disgraced Accuser.  He was right, in submitting to the Black Vortex, as it saved the day but the Supreme Intelligence told him not to do it, so he betrayed his overlord.

Not a bad issue.  I probably won’t buy another issue of the series until issue five, which has Rocket teaming up with . . . The Pet Avengers!  I’m so pumped for that!