Brace yourselves people, this issue is a doozy. First the spoilers.
spoilers:end of spoilers
Namor admits to Dr. Doom that the Cabal is unruly. And when he's saying that, he absolutely means it. Two Earths are destroyed in this issue, one being the Supreme Power verse, the other a X-Men oriented one, might even be X-Men Forever. And the X-Men scene is just MESSED UP. Apparently, Terrax likes slash-fics, nuff said. Doom refuses to help Namor.
Wakanda is done. Destroyed. Finito. Cooked. The Cabal went in on it, and only less than 2,000 citizens are left. Thanks a f**kin' lot, Namor. The whole world watched and did nothing to save Wakanda. Some say that's just. I say that just confirms everything Wakandan's felt about the outside world, but whatever. T'Challa and Shuri (they are cool with each other now) try to nab some of the Earth destroying bombs. Maximus and Proxima stop them, and Shuri buys T'Challa time to leave.
Unfortunately, that leaves her stuck against Proxima and her forces. Thankfully, there's no body! But uh, I'm expecting the worst.
Dr. Doom has plans of his own. One of them involving Molecule Man.
This issue focuses on three characters: Namor acting as the Cabal Representative, T'Challa acting as the face of the Illuminati right now, and Dr. Doom, acting as the representative of Doom because he does what he wants. And I think that was more than enough to show how dire the situation is.
I loved Dr. Doom in this issue. Completely shunned throughout the series, now it's his time to shine. And shine he did, denying Namor with style, and plotting his own means of saving the universe. A new player in the mix.
Namor... I totally understand his situation, and how it turned into a complete mess. He's at wit's end, but that's what happens when you deal with guys like Thanos, Black Swan, Terrax, and Maximus.
And as a Black Panther fan... Man, this issue was rough. I had a feeling it would happen, but it HURT. And hopefully the fate of one character doesn't really come to pass.
The art was fantastic this issue, really helped show how bad things have gotten, emotionally, structurally, etc. And of course, Hickman presents a status quo more shocking than any alternate reality I've seen from Marvel as of late. Not just because of how dire it is, but how probable it is. How it fits into the tapestry of what he's been writing since the get go.