You might think you know all about the cosmic powers of the Marvel Universe, but there are a few players no one has ever met… until now. Your Major Spoilers review of G.O.D.S. #1 from Marvel Comics awaits!

G.O.D.S. #1

Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Valerio Schiti
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $9.99
Release Date: October 4, 2023

Previously in G.O.D.S.: The infinite détente between THE-NATURAL-ORDER-OF-THINGS and THE-POWERS-THAT-BE nears an end. Old acquaintances are reunited during a Babylon Event. The Lion of Wolves throws the worst parties. Don’t look under the table. There’s a John Wilkes Booth penny on the ground.

What does it all mean?

THERE’S A DEMON IN THE BATHROOM

We open at the end of a universal crisis as the Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Stephen Strange, and the mysterious Sir Reddwyn, Lord of the Highlands, Root of the World Tree, Salt of the Earth discuss the endless battle between good and evil. Wynn scoffs at the idea, asking Strange which he sees himself as, and wondering if anyone can even tell the difference in the grand scheme of things. We then jump back a decade to witness the crumbling of Wynn’s marriage as his wife discovers that he is a centuries-old avatar of the Powers-That-Be. Worse, she has herself been offered a position as one of the hundred Centivars of The-Natural-Order-Of-Things, which means they’re on different sides of a cosmic cold war. Back in the present, Wynn attends an assemblage of universal defenders (including Drs. Strange, Voodoo, Doctor Doom, The Black Panther, Mister Fantastic, Amadeus Cho, Nikola Tesla, and more) who are preparing to repair a Babylon Event, a coming apocalypse on a cosmic scale. Splitting into three teams, attacking the problem from the magical, scientific, and metaphysical angles in the hopes of stopping the end of the universe.

Meanwhile, Wynn finds a penny on the street.

“NOT DYING ISN’T LIVING, KIDDO”

The ideas on display in this issue are the kind of esoteric, over-the-top concepts that Hickman specializes in, but special attention has to be given to Wynn’s journey across the cosmos with his penny, visiting first The Collector, then The Contemplator, on to the Trader, and finally to the vaults of The Possessor. It’s literal four-dimensional chess-playing, ending with Wynn and Doctor Strange unraveling the “Babylon Event” in one move. There is a downside to that, however, as it makes the pitched battle between heroes, villains, and magicians of all stripes essentially meaningless, putting Wynn above the smartest and strongest. Granted, that’s the point here, as Wynn’s activities are literally designed to be above the plane of human comprehension, but it’s still a bummer seeing the likes of T’Challa and Doctor Doom treated as lesser beings. The art is gorgeous throughout the issue, and special attention has to be given to the coloring of Marte Gracia, which adds an ethereal sense to the meetings with the Elders, while making the battle sequences look like a fight for reality itself. The designs of Wynn and his wife(?) Aiko are also just plain excellent, balancing “superhero costume” with “something otherworldly” and hitting the bullseye.

BOTTOM LINE: I’D LIKE IT BETTER NOT IN THE MARVEL U

In short, G.O.D.S. #1 pulls off a difficult trick, expanding a stratum of Marvel’s cosmology in interesting ways, providing really lovely art and coloring, and showing us new sides of the Sorcerer Supreme, the Elders of the Universe, and some of the fundaments of Marvel’s firmament, and mostly pulling it off, to the tune of 4 out of 5 stars overall. This book could easily be the equivalent of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman in its transformation of Marvel’s universe if they have the guts not to erase it with the next big crossover event.

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G.O.D.S. #1

83%

83%

A New Take On The 616

There's a lot to love here, especially in the roguish Wyn and his deadpan assistant, but having it take place in the Marvel Universe, on the framework of sixty-plus years of storytelling, makes it a little less approachable. Still an excellent debut.

• Writing

  7
• Art

  9
• Coloring

  9
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