G.O.D.S. by Jonathan Hickman *Spoilers*

[your_name_here]

Huh…so Brevoort confirmed it’s wrapping up at #8, but still emphasised the “for now.” Hope the characters come back in some capacity to continue their story.

[Wolverine12]

I meant that they’ve just greenlit a Hellverine book

Edit:
Hang on wasn’t it pointed out that NORT and TPTB don’t have a shared avatar/agent like in-betweener the way order and chaos do?

Oh I see what you’re saying, my mistake.

[Water Spire]

I am an unabashed Hickman fanboy, and even for me this is a dull read.

It just doesn't have the excitement that HOX/POX or his other Marvel epics had.

This may be a litmus test of how much can Hickman get away with, especially with originally created characters (even though I love his indie books).

In all fairness to Hickman, his previous work - HOX/POX, Avengers, FF4 all came with very built in audiences. X-Men readers were pretty much starved for good content at the time Hickman came in and even when he left, Gillen and Ewing and Spurrier carried the line hard. This might have been better received as a creator owned book at IMAGE even if he doesn't get the Marvel universe to play with.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I was excited for this book because it's new characters/concepts but it ended up as a whimper.

Im hoping the next three issues can salvage the run for me. .

[Tien Long]

Took the time to reread all of the past issues. Usually, I don't get Hickman's issues after a single reading, so I thought that a cumulative perusal would be beneficial.

Was it? Eh, yes and no. I'm still confused with some parts. I also find it frustrating that the Powers-That-Be and The-Natural-Order-Of-Things just pop up and become such an integral part of the Marvel Universe.

However, there's always something from every issue that intrigues and delights me. The overall story can be puzzling, but a good, creative puzzling.

While the series may end after issue #8, I hope that we see more of these characters and concepts.

[jackolover]

Edit:
Hang on wasn’t it pointed out that NORT and TPTB don’t have a shared avatar/agent like in-betweener the way order and chaos do?

So, have we seen NORT and TPTB yet, or have we just seen their avatars? To clear up whether they are Lord Order and Lord Chaos?

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

So, have we seen NORT and TPTB yet, or have we just seen their avatars? To clear up whether they are Lord Order and Lord Chaos?

We've just seen their representatives. They haven't made an appearance yet.

[jackolover]

We've just seen their representatives. They haven't made an appearance yet.

Thanks. It will be interesting when they do. Hickman uses these ambiguous designations for these GODS.

[alanyoung909]

So, have we seen NORT and TPTB yet, or have we just seen their avatars? To clear up whether they are Lord Order and Lord Chaos?

We have seen The-Natural-Order-of-Things briefly before, or at least a holographic silhouette of them.

This definitely would make the most sense, plus in chapter two when the natural order god takes over Aiko's boss it's a bald guy with a circle in his forehead. That seems to match with the redesign.

I agree, the seeming similarity between TNOT's look and Lord Order's new design was the basis of my initial theory that these are different names for the same entity.

Hang on wasn’t it pointed out that NORT and TPTB don’t have a shared avatar/agent like in-betweener the way order and chaos do?

You are right.

Aiko says in issue 1 that all the oppositional gods share lesser abstracts expect for The-Natural-Order-of-Things and The-Powers-That-Be, because they hate each other that much. Later, the Thing-of-Order identifies the In-Betweener as the mad avatar of Lord Chaos & Master Order.

So these things are in contradiction.



But still, I have reasons to believe that there is more to this.

Hickman has previously used order/chaos as an equivalent to science/magic, see Three Worlds / Three Moons for the latest example.

The In-Betweener is positioned as the main villain of this book, and his goals seem to be to break the compact that currently exist between Science and Magic. Since IB is also Order and Chaos' agent, I see it as all being connected. We'll probably learn more soon.

[alanyoung909]

This book doesn't have data pages, so we're supposed to put together the clues based on the text.
As of the latest issue (G.O.D.S. 6), lots of pieces are starting to fall into place.
This is my best compilation/theory of all the mythology beats we've got so far.

THE UNIVERSAL AXIS OF POWER
The highest cosmic pantheon of the Marvel Universe is the Universal Axis of Power.
These 'greater gods' are super-consciousnesses that scale in tandem with an ever-expanding universe.

Along the Axis of Power, there are 8 Ur-Divisors / Universal Abstracts.
The Ur-Divisors exist as dyads, binary pairs that represent opposing concepts.
The gods that make up these pairs each hate their counterparts to varying degrees.
The Ur-Divisors have a human form (used to interact with mortals) and a cosmic form (an abstract shape representing their concept).

The Ur-Divisors of the Axis of Power:
[01] LIVING TRIBUNAL - Universal Abstract of Judgment
[02] OBLIVION - Universal Abstract of Nothingness
[03] INFINITY - Universal Abstract of ?
[04] ETERNITY - Universal Abstract of ?
[05] LORD ORDER - Universal Abstract of ?
[06] MASTER CHAOS - Universal Abstract of ?
[07] ?
[08] ?

We have not learnt the last two yet, though The-Natural-Order-of-Things and The-Powers-That-Be are the obvious candidates.
Based on preexisting canon, Mistress Love and Sire Hate are also possible candidates.

Beyond the Ur-Divisors, there are Lesser Abstracts that complete the Axis of Power.
These are servants that that serve as synthesis of dualistic concepts and are shared between oppositional gods.
The Lesser Abstracts seem to have one form that is half-way between a human form and cosmic form.

The Lesser Abstracts of the Axis of Power:
[09] PRE-ORDAINED - The servant of Living Tribunal and Oblivion
[10] ? - The servant of Infinity and Eternity
[11] IN-BETWEENER - The (former?) servant of Lord Order and Master Chaos
[12] ? - The (possible?) servant of ? and ?

[alanyoung909]

Concept Art for Valerio Schiti's new designs

[01] LIVING TRIBUNAL



[02] OBLIVION

[alanyoung909]

[03] INFINITY



[04] ETERNITY

[alanyoung909]

[05] LORD ORDER



[06] MASTER CHAOS

[alanyoung909]

[09] PRE-ORDAINED



[11] IN-BETWEENER

[Tien Long]

Just read issue #6. As I mentioned before, there is something intriguingly puzzling about each issue. It's confusing but a good confusion. Issue #6 was no different. The issue grounded itself with Aiko's very relatable desire to undo a past event, but meeting all of these cosmic challenges and entities was fascinating.

My only gripe was the redesign of The Living Tribunal. The facial designs are a little too rocky, a little too indecipherable. I could get a sense of the three faces, but couldn't get something concrete. Again, a good confusion.

I'm thankful for the info on the new designs of these abstract beings. With all of my gripes, the redesigns are refreshing. However, I wonder about the purposes and powers of the characters. Are they different from before? Is the Living Tribunal still second in power to The One Above All? Is Eternity still the embodiment of the universe or has he become an embodiment of time? And if there were changes, when did they occur? Have all of the abstract beings in the Marvel Universe had new roles and designs because of the end of the multiverse during Secret Wars?

Any information would be great.