Sometimes, there’s a personal price for something you have done. And only you can pay for it… Your Major Spoilers review of G.O.D.S. #6 from Marvel Comics awaits!

G.O.D.S. #6

Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Valeria Schiti
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: March 27, 2024

Previously in G.O.D.S.: The-Powers-That-Be and The-Natural-Order-Of-Things are two of the forces that shape all of existence. Their mortal avatars and apprentices roam the Earth, working together in an ancient truce… An uneasy alliance of science and magic. Wyn, avatar of The-Powers-That-Be and Aiko, a Centivar of The-Natural-Order-Of-Things were once married, but now find themselves at cross-purposes. Oh, and because of Aiko’s actions, her own apprentice will be sealed off from her own magical powers forever, which is kind of a jerk move…

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ORPHEUS

Awakening in the middle of the night, Aiko Maki finds herself alone, haunted by the guilt of what she has done to her apprentice and girlfriend, Mia. In the hopes of making it right, she travels to a local magical organization, seeking help to get to a higher power: The Living Tribunal. She is aided by a creature known as The Lion of Wolves, who helps her by paying her far for part of the journey, then helping her to make the choices in later ones. One of those is a choice between speaking only truth or one of her eyes, so you can imagine what sort of metaphysical madness Aiko is facing. By the time she arrives in the realm of the Tribunal, she is confident that she can get what she wants, petitioning the living embodiment of justice itself to undo the consequences of her decision, to make it as though it had never happened.

And then, The Tribunal refuses.

NEVER TRUST A WOLF

The real gift of this story is in the fact that The Lion of Wolves openly warns Aiko, and by extension, the reader, that it cannot be trusted and that its motives are hardly pure multiple times during the issue, only to have the final, unexpected twist a surprise. The last page of Aiko and Wyn talking about the unexpected outcome is a really lovely bit of storytelling, albeit one that makes me wonder if the adage “show, don’t tell” would apply. Previous issues of G.O.D.S. have given me problems in how these new powers fit in with the established hierarchy of Marvel cosmology but finding that The-Natural-Order-Of-Things is on the level with Oblivion and The Living Tribunal (flip-sides of the same ontological coin) actually helps to provide some missing perspective. Schiti’s art is also quite good, making an issue where the action is all interpersonal and conversational feel visually dynamic. The strong designs of the original characters work well here, especially in comparison to a fresh depiction of the Living Tribunal that is both creepy and non-Euclidian, perfect for the nature of this story.

BOTTOM LINE: FEELS BIGGER THAN THE MARVEL U

The betrayal in the final pages of G.O.D.S. #6 should not have been a surprise, but it was, and the best parts of this issue provide a similar kind of satisfying dissonance, changing not only what happens next, but what has happened before, making for 4 out of 5 stars overall. I’m really wondering where things go from here, almost as much as I wonder what G.O.D.S. actually stands for.

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G.O.D.S. #6

80%

80%

Be Careful What You Wish For

Aiko faces the music, pays the price, and man, is this a good issue

• Writing

  8
• Art

  8
• Coloring

  8
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