Royals #4 - Spoilers and Discussion

[Seren]

So we begin with a scene set 5000 years in the future. Maximus is getting a lift from his friend? - who we find out is gonna die soon because the air on Earth is terrible (yes it's Earth).
We flash back to Present Day Hala which is nothing but ruins.
We see Ronin the Accuser walks through Hala, naming the dead - and there are a lot of dead.
The Astarion flies over Hala and even though there's nothing left of it, Ronin vows to defend it.
On board the ship, Swain is trying to find a safe place to land while Gorgon complains about Maximus' presence on the ship.
Ronin attacks the ship - Noh-Varr opens his bag of tricks so that at least they all survive the crash.
The Royal Family leave the ship and encounter Ronin who is CLEARLY Not Pleased.
Ronin blames the Royal family for leaving Hala and says they failed their duty and are the cause of its destruction.
Crystal tries to talk some sense into Ronin - didn't work.
Gorgon tries to attack him and has a vision of his ex-wife Myrra - who is the mother of his Children (that point is arguable)
The other's all have similar visions of their biggest regrets (I'm assuming thats what they are anyway) - interestingly enough they're all about love one way or another. Max is not impressed with his.
It ends with Crystal standing before Ronin, who is accusing her of breaking his heart. And now she has to stand trial for everything her family has been accused of.

I am digging the art - especially now that it's soley Tony Silas on the art. There's a lot going on in this issue and it's pretty clear that it's set up for the next one. I really enjoyed it (though no one part really sticks out). I maybe got a bit annoyed at how Noh-Varr and his bag of tricks saved the day again - I'm really on the fence about him (and did he really break Kate Bishops heart? cause if that's the case, its leaning me into the Dislike category. Nobody messes with Kate). But what I'm REALLY looking forward to is issue #5 to see how Crystal answers Ronin's question. I CANNOT WAIT for issue #5.

[The Cool Thatguy]

When was Hala destroyed? Well, the latest time, that is

[Seren]

It was destroyed during the Black Vortex event a few years ago.

[Frontier]

I'm surprised Ronan and Thor don't get compared to each other that often. They're both big guys who have big hammers they swing around all the time .

It was cool seeing Gorgon's wife and Flint's adoptive parents pop up in Ronan's accusing illusions, as well as seeing Swain deal with her unresolved feelings with Ash and Medusa's guilt over Black Bolt (guilt that seems to stretch back to their separation in Soule's run).

And nice to get another small appearance by classic Crystal .

[Ianbarreilles]

If there's one negative to this issue its how short it is it's only fourteen pages of story if you count the cover and the recap page then the whose who page then lastly the letter page and what to read next/displaying all the inhuman related new issues from the three inhumans series we got.

Anyways that's my only real negative one the issue it happened with a few issues before recently that were entirely different series and it's honestly annoying.

[Ianbarreilles]

It's kinda crazy to think that this storyline that we're being given with royals is basically taking place on another side of the Galaxy while the secret empire war is going on which also sadly is where the inhumans are in a really terribly situation without royals who aren't even royals anymore to help.

[Seren]

I will say this - the scene with Ronin naming all the dead on Hala - that was pretty heartbreaking.

It's kinda crazy to think that this storyline that we're being given with royals is basically taking place on another side of the Galaxy while the secret empire war is going on which also sadly is where the inhumans are in a really terribly situation without royals who aren't even royals anymore to help.

Oh I think Steve would've had to drastically alter his plans if the Royal family had stuck around. That's all I'm gonna say on that.

[rpmaluki]

I will say this - the scene with Ronin naming all the dead on Hala - that was pretty heartbreaking.

That actually got to me. He's all alone on this planet, naming all of the dead. They aren't forgotten and they mattered even if he's the only one that cares. That's just so messed up. I wonder what the Black Vortex really did to him, not just his body but his mind as well.

[CryNotWolf]

It's strange that Crystal believes she wronged Ronan when she had no choice in the matter...you'd think she'd feel worse about what she did to Quicksilver. But I wonder if that means it's Ronan instilling these accusations, and not themselves? If that were the case, how would he know about Gorgon's baby mama, Medusa divorcing Black Bolt, etc...More likely, I suppose, the Crystal/Ronan stuff is just more pertinent to the story at hand.

Also this book feels like its progressing very slowly.

[Seren]

I dunno - I think Crystal and QuickSilver had a pretty horrible relationship. I feel like her relationship with Ronan was more genuine - and that's probably where her feelings are coming from. And you're probably on to something about Ronan instilling the accusations rather than it being the other way around. Although it could also bit a bit of both.

[CryNotWolf]

I'm just saying, what she did to Pietro was far worse than anything she did to Ronan.

[oasis1313]

I've always liked Ronan--he was so cute in a couple with Crystal.

[Dermie]

I'm just saying, what she did to Pietro was far worse than anything she did to Ronan.

Depends on perspective. With Ronan, she chose loyalty to family over loyalty to the man she loved. With Pietro she (depending on your perspective) got tired of being neglected and ignored by an absent husband who took her for granted, and accepted the attentions of someone who was actually showing her the interest and affection that she wasn't getting from her husband. Not that I condone adultery, but Crys and Pietro's marriage had problems before the affair so his behaviour was partly responsible for what happened. Ronan, on the other hand, was entirely blameless for what went wrong between him and Crystal--it was imposed on the outside from her family/king.

The other thing that muddies the waters a bit with the Pietro/Crystal mess is that it has been said that Maximus had influenced both of them to cause that whole incident--so to what extent Crystal (and Pietro) were responsible for their actions is unclear.

In any case, just because Crystal feels guilty over what happened with her and Ronan doesn't mean she doesn't feel badly about what happened with Pietro too. We know from many past stories that she does--and has apologized and tried to atone. For the most part, they've made their peace with that whole situation over the years. Nowadays the rifts and tensions between them are more about his post-House Of M actions when he abducted Luna, stole Terrigen to try and restore his own powers, etc.

[CryNotWolf]

Depends on perspective. With Ronan, she chose loyalty to family over loyalty to the man she loved. With Pietro she (depending on your perspective) got tired of being neglected and ignored by an absent husband who took her for granted, and accepted the attentions of someone who was actually showing her the interest and affection that she wasn't getting from her husband. Not that I condone adultery, but Crys and Pietro's marriage had problems before the affair so his behaviour was partly responsible for what happened. Ronan, on the other hand, was entirely blameless for what went wrong between him and Crystal--it was imposed on the outside from her family/king.

The other thing that muddies the waters a bit with the Pietro/Crystal mess is that it has been said that Maximus had influenced both of them to cause that whole incident--so to what extent Crystal (and Pietro) were responsible for their actions is unclear.

In any case, just because Crystal feels guilty over what happened with her and Ronan doesn't mean she doesn't feel badly about what happened with Pietro too. We know from many past stories that she does--and has apologized and tried to atone. For the most part, they've made their peace with that whole situation over the years. Nowadays the rifts and tensions between them are more about his post-House Of M actions when he abducted Luna, stole Terrigen to try and restore his own powers, etc.

It doesn't really depend on perspective. With Ronan, they were married for a very short while and didn't really spend that much time together, had no child, etc. Their marriage was always one of responsibility, so she gave up her marriage when that same responsibility called on her to do so. I can't see how she was in any way in the wrong there.

With Pietro she slept with another man behind his back, destroyed their marriage and his already cracking mind. This guy was the father of her child and moved all the way to Attilan where he was a complete outcast just to live with her, and he was never able to acclimate. We never saw her try to talk anything out with him, and I also don't recall her apologizing. What I remember is her forcing people to forgive her by refusing to come out her coma until she was sure that she was forgiven, and then beating the hell out of Quicksilver when he got locked afterwards.

The two situations really aren't all that comparable.

[rpmaluki]

I think Ronan could be influencing them somehow. They feel guilt over their actions and he zeroed in on that and heightened it with the visions or whatever.