Empyre (2020)

[Drops Of Venus]

spoilers:

Billy's rescue of Teddy happened a lot quicker than I expected, but I guess they were trying to save page time here. I was kind of hoping R'Klll would just reveal herself this issue, but I guess they're saving that for the finale. I'm really curious to see how Teddy will react to his grandma being alive. That final battle better be good! I want some wild Billy/Teddy duo action! And I'm not completely sure Kl'rt and Mur-G'nn are on her side. I know that last page with them made it seem that way, but I think they will eventually side with Teddy and the others once they realize what she's up to. The only one who might still side with R'Klll is Gla-Ree, since he's been nothing but a jerk throughout this whole event. The fight between Cotati!Hulk and the Thing was good. I wonder how they're gonna get out of this pickle, since it seems like there isn't much Sue or Mantis can do about it, which is one complaint that I have. I hope we get to see the both of them being more active next issue. I know Sue tried to help with the force fields... but it just felt like an excuse to keep her away from the fight. Let the three of them find a creative way to take the Cotati down together! And I hope they can find some time to have Mantis interact with Quoi and Swordsman in the final issue, since that was her whole motivation to go there in the first place. I thought this would've happened by now. As for Black Panther... his role has definitely been underwhelming so far. I thought he would be doing a lot more with Excelsior, and he definitely ''died'' too easily. But I'm gonna echo the sentiment of others who said they think there is more to it. Even Swordsman notes how weirdly easy it was to take down the leader of the Avengers, which sounds like a hint that that wasn't the last we saw of him. Maybe this will finally lead to his big plan with Excelsior in the final issue? Let's hope so. So the armor Tony was creating was for Reed. I wasn't expecting that and I don't really see why Reed would need an amor.... but I guess we'll find out next issue.

end of spoilers

One thing I liked about this issue was that it definitely set the stakes very high for the finale. I hope they have more pages to wrap everything up, because that is something that I feel like it's hurting the book too; they could use more page time to develop the story.

[Digifiend]

spoilers:

So the armor Tony was creating was for Reed. I wasn't expecting that and I don't really see why Reed would need an amor.... but I guess we'll find out next issue.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Probably so that he can fly, and breathe in space. It's designed so that Reed can still use his elastic powers, so Tony couldn't just loan him a standard Iron Man suit.

end of spoilers

[mreddie]

That is the best Ben Grimm scene I’ve seen in such a LONG time.

Ewing to write FF please.

I do think that was Slott.

[Sutekh]

So there felt like some last-minute changes led to this issue being rushed, as the entire Invasion of Wakanda arc had to be crammed into the middle of this issue, rather than get it's own book(s). I feel like, as a result, we got a very 'broad strokes' look at the Wakanda bits, and yet also got a rush-job on the Teddy break-out. I cannot believe that there was not a planned panel where Billy teleports into the cell and sees Teddy all chained up and goes all Dark Phoenix on those chains/prison guards/wall in his way, while Carol and Johnny are like 'whoa, dial it back to, like, eleventy-seven or so', 'cause that's just peak drama.

[Tony Stark]

spoilers:

Probably so that he can fly, and breathe in space. It's designed so that Reed can still use his elastic powers, so Tony couldn't just loan him a standard Iron Man suit.

end of spoilers

Those are my thoughts as well. It's going to be epic. Can't wait.

[Waking Replica]

So there felt like some last-minute changes led to this issue being rushed, as the entire Invasion of Wakanda arc had to be crammed into the middle of this issue, rather than get it's own book(s). I feel like, as a result, we got a very 'broad strokes' look at the Wakanda bits, and yet also got a rush-job on the Teddy break-out. I cannot believe that there was not a planned panel where Billy teleports into the cell and sees Teddy all chained up and goes all Dark Phoenix on those chains/prison guards/wall in his way, while Carol and Johnny are like 'whoa, dial it back to, like, eleventy-seven or so', 'cause that's just peak drama.

I feel like the entire event got hit with like, the most unfortunate set of circumstances. It was delayed bc of Diamond and Covid, leading to whatever initial hype it had dying down, only for Marvel to do a piss poor job at revitalizing it (I commonly see that some people didn't even know this was going on). This event also seemed to be one that actually needed to have tie-ins to view the full scope, but because no one saw any of what happened coming, no one thought to work on their issues more until it was too late, and the ones that were worked on/finished were either superfluous to the event or they were dealing with the lead characters. Strikeforce would've been released the same month as this issue, and we maybe would've seen the jailbreak sequence go on, but because they never finished it, we have to deal with a super-fast on page rescue. And the Wakanda centered issues would've probably also explained a lot. As amazing as it feels to have my favs front and center kicking ass, Empyre as a whole just gives me the feeling of wanting to see what could have been.

[your_name_here]

I do think that was Slott.

Ewing scripted the whole issue.

[Denkota]

Lol at Wiccan dragging teddy around like a pet. He didn't even bother to release him from his restraints.

[Beetle]

Lol at Wiccan dragging teddy around like a pet. He didn't even bother to release him from his restraints.

I thought it was weird how they specified it was a Skrull Inhibitor mask, presumably it cancels out powers like shapeshifting so prisoners can't escape.

But if Teddy's shapeshifting is off, why was he still Green?

[Wiccan]

I thought it was weird how they specified it was a Skrull Inhibitor mask, presumably it cancels out powers like shapeshifting so prisoners can't escape.

But if Teddy's shapeshifting is off, why was he still Green?

It's probably a matter of the artist and/or writers forgetting the green isn't his default form, but I guess it can be headcanoned as them just staying in the form they currently had on when they had the mask put in them and not being able to change that instead of "reverting".

[Hypestyle]

Have all the Earth based Skrulls been outed yet or are they still working at the stealth level in "mainstream" society?

[Cth]

Ewing scripted the whole issue.

Yep, that's definitely all Ewing.

https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...d-the-conflict

“I haven't written the Thing before now - I thought going in that he'd be quite straightforward, but once I started writing him, I could see how much depth was there, and how he'd react both when things were relatively easy and when he was fighting on his last ounce of strength, seconds from death. Which I guess is a spoiler of sorts! Sorry, Thing fans, but we're going to put the idol of millions through some tough times…”

--

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbr...he-galaxy/amp/

"Every time I write a new FF member, they become my favorite FF member. Case in point: The Thing. Just a couple of days ago I wrote a scene with Ben, and there's a reason he's one of the most beloved heroes Marvel has. I get a lot of "who's strongest" questions, being the writer of Hulk, and looking online I see a lot of people bragging -- or more likely complaining -- that their hero is, or isn't, displayed as strong enough. That they're getting jobbed, or winning in a single blow, or having "feats," or whatever. Ben isn't famous for winning fights; he's famous for not losing them. The Thing's strength is not that he can punch harder or lift more, or even take more punishment - it's that no matter what you do, he will never stay down. That, to me, means more than simple feats of strength."

--

https://aiptcomics.com/2020/03/24/em...ancient-magic/

“What one character you haven’t written before Empyre has been the most fun to write now?”

"Probably the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing. There’s a particular moment in the story where he really clicked for me, and I felt like I “got” him on a visceral level – he might be one of my favorite Marvel characters now. Which doesn’t bode well for ol’ Greenskin in their eventual rematch…"

[Journey]

Maybe Green is Teddy's default form he was green as a baby in Lords of Empyre so.....

[Digifiend]

Have all the Earth based Skrulls been outed yet or are they still working at the stealth level in "mainstream" society?

Unknown - the Warners haven't appeared since the Road to Empyre issue in March, so we don't know their fate.

[scourge]

Maybe Green is Teddy's default form he was green as a baby in Lords of Empyre so.....

Naw, we already know his canon default form is his human one. Revealed in the first Young Avengers run.