This event is a sequel to “War of Kings,” which I personally found kinda underwhelming. This one introduces a brand new universe, The Cancerverse, and is … also underwhelming.
It’s thirty issues in total, with a one-shot, four minis, and tie-ins to the Nova and Guardians of Galaxy series. These are the issues it covers:
- Realm of Kings (one shot)
- Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #1-5
- Realm of Kings: Inhumans #1-5
- Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 2) #20-24
- Nova (vol. 4) #31-35
- Realm of Kings: Son of Hulk #1-4
I’m going to do an overview here because, honestly, I don’t have the patience to read these issues closely. Again, it’s not that their bad it’s more that I just don’t care that much about most of the characters involved.
At the end of War of Kings, Black Bolt set of a bomb of Terrigen Mists, seemingly killing both himself and Vulcan in the process. The bomb creates a rift across reality, called The Fault, which begins expanding and threatening all of existence. Looking for a way to stop it, Quasar goes inside the Fault and finds The Cancerverse—an alternate reality full of villainous versions of Marvel heroes who want to break across The Fault and invade the 616verse. Like Lord Mar-Vell, a giant monster Hulk, evil X-Men, and the Pentagram Avengers (called The Revengers).
The Guardians continue to fight Magus, who they thought they’d killed in their prior story arc.
Much of the event is the various cosmic heroes fighting off these incursions—but the best parts deal with the aftermath of War of Kings. Gladiator taking over for the (believed) dead Empress Lilandra. Medusa struggling to lead the Kree Empire, and then Crystal leading the Inhumans in her absence.
She also seems to be having some kind of romance thing with Ronan the Accuser.
They’re a cute couple.
They’re also married. I’d forgotten about that at first. It was an arranged political marriage, but seems to be working out.
In the Son of Hulk miniseries, Hiro-Kala (the son of Hulk who isn’t Skaar) goes to the Microverse and Jarella’s world, and meets the Micronauts. That’s always fun.
The event also marks the end of the Guardians of the Galaxy series. In the final panels, Rocket and Quill get drunk together…
ScreenshotNova’s series has a big fight against Sphinx, but there will be one more issue–a formal bridge to Thanos Imperative, which will deal with the fallout of this even.
English (US) · 