Road to Empyre

Empyre

by Al Ewing, Dan Slott (Contributor), Robbie Thompson (Contributor)

Get ready for EMPYRE - the cosmic saga set to rock the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the entire Marvel Universe! A mysterious murder brings together an army of heroes in the search for a killer - setting the stage for the confl icts to come! When everything suddenly changes for the Kree and Skrull empires, that leaves the Warner family from MEET THE SKRULLS out in the cold on Earth. They need to work out how this cosmic crisis aff ects the future of their family - and their race! And that means Mom and Dad educating their kids on just how the Kree and the Skrulls fi rst went to war! Plus: Get all the facts on the major players in this epic event with the offi cial handbook to EMPYRE!

COLLECTING: INCOMING (2019) 1, ROAD TO EMPYRE: THE KREE/SKRULL WAR (2020) 1, EMPYRE HANDBOOK (2020) 1

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Fiction

146 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2020

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incoming (2019) #1 is the prologue that covers so many stories led by the Masked Raider and including the likes of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, the Avengers, Joe Fix-It, Spider-Men (plural) and more, and the ongoing mystery is good enough to make this a very good read. 8 out of 12

The Empyre Handbook #1 is just Empyre linked updated parts of the Handbook of the Marvel Universe which reminded just how bad the Avengers have been since the departure (=sacking) of Brian Michael BendisBrian Michael Bendis. 4 out of 12. The main book for me in this volume though is the Road to Empyre: The Kree/Skrull War #1 in which we catch up with the family from Meet the Skrulls to get an Earth located Skrull view of the upcoming event, a view I rather enjoyed 7 out of 12.

So it's a 6 out of 12 from me overall, but I can already tell that I might not be enjoying Empyre as generally Marvel's events and their space operas are weak, and this looks like it includes both!

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually more than just your typical Road to Marvel book. It's not just a bunch of reprints. It's all new content.

Incoming is by all the creative teams working at Marvel. It's one of those jam books that is supposed to introduce you to 2020 stories at Marvel while being a subtle lead in to Empyre.

The Road to Kree/Skrull War is surprisingly good. It does give you a recap of what you need to know about the Marvel universe headed into Empyre. It's done really well though through a framing concept from the cast of Meet the Skrulls. It does spoil Meet the Skrulls so be forewarned. Meet the Skrulls is a fantastic book in its own right and you should go and read that first if you're interested. It doesn't have anything else to do with Empyre. It's just really good.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, little prologue to the impending 'Empyre' event which does a good job filling readers in on all that has come before with the Kree and the Skrulls. It has some really beautiful artwork, too, which is nice.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first chunk of the book reprints Incoming #1, which is a murder mystery round-robin story told in 4-page segments by dozens of writers and artists. A dead body turns up and the story thread jumps through the perspectives of various Marvel superheroes as they tag team and segue around the 616 to figure out whodunnit and whydunnit. Ho-hum overall, but there is a big callback for very minor characters recognizable to longtime Marvel fans.

The next chunk is a sequel to Meet the Skrulls that has some beautiful art by Mattia De Iulis and a script that might be good if it were allowed to focus on the family and let them do anything other than brood, but mostly is given the duty of providing a recap for the long-running conflict between the Kree and the Skrulls.

The final chunk is an Empyre Handbook that has tiresome and repetitive summaries of all the stories from the many Marvel titles that lead up to Empyre and profiles of some of the major and minor characters who will probably play a role. A real chore to read, the dry and removed narration just highlights how ridiculous comic book writing in shared universes can be. What seems fine in the moment with splash pages and four-colors becomes ludicrous when given a history textbook treatment.

This does not excite me about Empyre, but I'm still going to read it anyway.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collecting some one-shots that form the prelude to Empyre, Road To is a good little primer for the event that sets the scene very well.

Incoming! was a one-shot that was meant to set in motion a load of plot threads for Marvel's stories going forward, but it's mostly about solving the mystery of the death of a Kree and a Skrull. When it initially came out, I never made the connection to Empyre at all, but looking back it's very cleverly done. There are contributions from all of Marvel's big name writers and artists, but it's all lead by Empyre co-writer Al Ewing so it's surprisingly cohesive, narratively speaking.

The Kree/Skrull War story is also surprisingly good - Robbie Thompson uses his family from Meet The Skrulls to frame the current position of the Kree and Skrull, with beautiful artwork from Mattia De Iluis. It's mostly recap/exposition, but it's presented in a new and exciting way that actually made me curious to go back and read their original mini-series.

Road To Empyre isn't essential reading; you can read Empyre and be fine without it. But it's also a lot better than the usual Road To or Prelude To trades that Marvel put out, because it has material that won't be collected elsewhere (rather than a random assortment of issues), and it's also very strong storywise too. A nice surprise for a change.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very episodic story, with constant changes of writing and art teams every few pages. I guess this tells me what I need to know to follow the Empyre event, but surely there's a more entertaining way to do it, rather than a big info dump?

[Ivan Lex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never read a "Road To" book before, I don't know if they're all like this, but at least this one bores me like hell ...

I find the concept of doing a full issue with many creative teams each in charge of 4 pages interesting, however the story is wildly boring, we just didn't click ...



A murder occurs on earth, but it is something very mysterious, so mysterious that several of the most prominent characters in the Marvel universe break their heads to find out what is behind ... in the end everything leads to a space crisis in which it seems that the Kree and the Skrulls finally unite to destroy the Earth ...



The second part in which a family of infiltrated skrulls tell the story of the whole conflict between both alien races "Kree-Skrull" seems better to me, if they omitted or summarized the first part the book this would be very good ...

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection explores the unthinkable in the Marvel Universe: peace between the Kree and the Skrulls. Not a temporary alliance or a cease-fire, but a true end to the war, brought together by a new ruler for both people, Emperor Hulkling, the half-Kree, half-Skrull hero of Earth. Exploring the origins of the war, how it’s come to end, and the threat that has brought them together, this is a deep dive into the Marvel Universe like never before. A truly-great lead up into the Empyre saga.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m reading the Slott Fantastic Four in advance of the movie (no, not really) and they’re involved in this crossover so I’m giving it a try.

Aliens are invading earth, led by scarlet witch’s son in-law. That’ll make Thanksgiving awkward.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much to my surprise, this is probably going to turn out to be required reading for most readers before they hit Empyre. Instead of reprinting several issues from other books, this volume includes two issues written specifically to get readers up to speed. The extra-large Incoming story puts some big events into motion and serves as a general state of the MU for readers who haven't been reading everything. It's functional, it works, but it isn't terribly good. Much better is the Kree/Skrull War issue. This is part retelling of Kree/Skrull relations through history and partly the story of an Americans-esque Skrull family embedded on Earth. This is actually a pretty good story on top of being a necessary history for probably a good chunk of readers. This coming event looks like it'll be cosmic in scale, but most importantly it's going to star Hulkling, one of my favorite minor Marvel characters. I'm looking forward to it.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
Empyre, being the new complete Marvel Universe crossover story, is long and spans a large part of the MU that I am not super knowledgeable about. Whenever this kind of crossover happens, I like to read something as a lead in to the event. "Road to Empyre" gave me a lot of information that I feel like I needed to really get something out of the main title. Consisting of three books...
- "Road to Empyre: The Kree - Skrull War" is an issue that combines the aftermath of the title "Meet the Skrulls" with a history lesson for those newer readers who don't know about one of Marvel's biggest cosmic events, and a link to the beginning of Empyre
- The "Empyre Handbook" was a wonderful resource into learning more about the main characters and forces in the main title, specifically the Kree, the Skrulls, the Cotati, and Bel-Dann, Raksor, and Hulkling
- But the main story that pushes us in is the huge issue called "Incoming". Quite a bit of it pertains to showing where most of the MU is at the time Empyre begins, but there is an overarching story as well. Jessica Jones is called in to solve a murder. Teaming with Captain Marvel, some of the Avengers, as well as Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, we discover that the dead body is that of Kree Warrior Bel-Dann. Accompanying his body is a hexidecimal cypher that reveals the phrase "Beware the trees", which refers to the Cotati, an alien race that reminds me a lot of Groot, but more plant-like. When they go to question Raksor, Bel-Dann's Skrull rival on Earth, Raksor tells him that they weren't fighting but trying to unite the Kree and Skrulls together. He suddenly buckles in pain and his dying words are "Empires will fall" as a huge plant grows out of him, exploding his body.
- Combining the end of "Incoming" with the info in the other two issues, I've established some things you need to know about Hulkling to understand this story....
1) He's a founding member of the Young Avengers.
2) He's not human or Hulk. He's actually a Kree-Skrull hybrid.
3) Previously a group of K-S hybrids known as the Knights of the Infinite tried to convince him that he is the reincarnation of Dorrek Supreme (making his real name Dorrek VIII). When he is with these Knights, to placate them, he attempts to draw the Star-Sword, and does, which confirms it.
4) Before leaving for space, Hulking visits his fiance, Wiccan.
5) Arriving in space, he takes up the Star-Sword, claims his heritages and takes the name Dorrek VIII, becoming Emperor of the Kree-Skrull Alliance, and unites the races, only to then declare war on Earth.

Excited to see how all this pans out, and what Hulkling's real motivations are.
Onto the next Marvel crossover!

Recommend, especially if you are confused at the premise of Empyre. The information here is invaluable.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

COLLECTS INCOMING (2019) #1, ROAD TO EMPYRE: THE KREE/SKRULL WAR (2020) #1, EMPYRE HANDBOOK (2020) #1

Sometimes comic book issues that exist to prepare you for an upcoming event aren't very good, useful, or important overall. In the case of "Road to Empyre," I found the stories interesting, and helpful in preparing me for "Empyre."

I read each of the issues in this collection individually as comic book issues, so here are my reviews:

SPOILERS:

Incoming:

I read this issue about a year ago, but had forgotten most of it, and felt like I should read it again in preparation for my upcoming read-through of the 2020 Marvel event, "Empyre." I liked this over-sized issue quite a bit, and am especially interested in some of the story threads picked up from "Marvel Comics #1000." Al Ewing is one of my favorite current writers, and I'm really drawn to his new character called the Masked Raider.

Road to Empyre: The Kree/Skrull War:

This issue is a sequel to "Meet the Skrulls," and also sets up the 2020 Marvel event called "Empyre." I enjoyed that there was a present-day story, but also flashbacks to important Marvel stories of the past that appear to have an impact on "Empyre." Some of the stories I was familiar with, and others I've never read, so I appreciated the delivery of this information.

Empyre Handbook:

This entire issue was all text, and provided entries on various characters from Marvel Cosmic. I like having these types of issues because it lays out the history of comic book stories in an accessible way.

[Silas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recall reading the first part of this, possibly from a Free Comic Book Day, but the event deals with Hulkling, and I have enjoyed his story since reading Young Avengers a long while ago. I like how these prelude stories bring together very different areas of the Marvel universe. I am generally fairly broadly read, but lag behind current events a bit, so this was my first introduction to this newer Agents of Atlas (though I have read a fair amount of the older one, and knew most of the characters that aren't new), and I also appreciated some of the standalone stories about Skrulls on Earth, which I'm sure will be refreshing as a short form story ahead of a big event, which often end up somewhat impressionistic and a bit of a slog. I hope the reviews will be right, and this will be different, but in the meantime, this set kept things interesting by covering a lot of ground. The collected edition included some encyclopedia entries updating some characters. Since I have lagged behind, it was helpful in tying together some recent stories I had missed or only read islands of trades of, which was helpful, but rather slower paced, and I am curious how much it telegraphs the events of the Empyre event.

[Chantaal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been SO out of the Marvel comic universe over the last few years. Event after event, relaunch after relaunch, book after book happened until I didn't even recognize my favorite characters anymore. I didn't have the heart to keep up.

But, I figure, why not try to come back with a combination of my two favorite things: Cosmic Marvel, and Young Avengers.

Road to Empyre is a great jumping off point for new readers, or for old readers coming back. The art is gorgeous, both in the current time and the "flashback" art after old artists. I also enjoyed how much story and character got packed into the single "The Kree-Skrull War" issue when it was basically a catch-up issue. I want more stories about these families! I want a 6 episode series on the Warners!! (If I had to sit through the soul-aching garbage that was Runaways, then Marvel can definitely pay me back with The Warners.)

Also, I can't explain just how fast my heart fell right out of my ass seeing Teddy at the end there. I'm so damn excited to be back with him and Billy and to see where this goes.

Anyway. Happy to be back, happy to be here, and ready to dive into this event.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm usually skeptical of these one-shots created to kickoff a new crossover event, but I guess the intergalactic tradecraft angle to this story helped to hook me. We start with a classic locked-room mystery but someone it becomes an investigation that involves one hero after another until all roads lead back to the Kree and the Skrulls. Their conflict has been the subject of much drama over the years, especially on Earth, and this event is shaping up to be a good effort to make use of these deeper references to Marvel history.

Then we get other stories of Skrull agents on Earth as a vehicle for discussing the history of the conflict between these two alien races in a manner that is a lot clearer than anything I've covered previously. We've always known they were at war but it was one of those givens about the cosmic side of Marvel like the Shi'ar being annoying.

[Michael Church · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty well done, it just wasn’t super interesting for me. If you’re expecting a single narrative, don’t be surprised that this isn’t it. The first issue is a decent lead in to the Empyre event, though it focuses more on who is going to be involved it seems than what is going to happen. The second issue is about a family of Skrulls and filling them in on some of their history with the Kree.

The rest of the volume is essentially portions of a Marvel universe handbook about various characters and teams. It was an interesting look back at where characters have been for the last several years (most of it picks up around the last Secret Wars and continues through the present). However, it eventually gets a bit redundant going over the history of the last few years over and over from mildly different perspectives.

[Lillian Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as individual issues:
Incoming - Could have been half the length and just as effective. Some of the appearances felt forced with no apparent reason for being there (of course Marvel may prove me wrong).
Each change of team/hero resulted in a change of artist, which to be honest I found off putting at first, but would certainly point me in the right direction for issues to pick up in the future.
Some gorgeous Billy/Teddy panels. Loved the FF stuff. And Spider-man (both of them).
In really glad I read FF annual #18 before this so I knew who the two important characters were.

Road to Kree/Skrull War - enjoyed this. Gave all the necessary background you need for Empyre. I already knew some from my background reading but this added more.

[Tuni · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Incoming one shot has such a ridiculously thin plot. Really just there to introduce all the marvel stories and events for 2019/2020. Which is fine. But the conceit that every active person in the marvel universe needs to have some part in this locked room Murder mystery is a bit much. If you’re going to bother with a plot and not just have snippets from the different titles, at least out more effort into it.

The actual Road to Empyre one shot was much better. Two very different but both beautiful art styles. A solid plot picking up with the Skrull family in deep cover on Earth and how the new status quo effects their mission. And a concise but informative look at the Skrull/Kree conflict for the uninitiated.

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

It takes time to build a universe, and also effort to tie something like 40 years' worth of continuity and happenings all together to make a cohesive narrative run-up to telling the current story. I had expected this to possibly be scattershot or boring (and indeed, to everyone but the faithful, the pages of recap text at the end will be exhausting) but this was pretty, smooth, engaging, and got me caught right up on any elements of the Marvel U that I have been ignoring. (You can't read EVERYTHING.) I'm looking forward now to delving into the event itself.

[B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing!

Apparently, they want to hang this epic crossover on an extremely unimportant moment in Marvel history: two guys who watched the Phoenix die and a totally inexplicable Hulkling heel turn.

What really dragged this down were the really, really long Marvel Encyclopedia entries. Do we really need every little bit of the ins and outs of these guys? (And why did they bothermaking Captain Marvel into a Kree? So lame.)

[Francisco De La Garza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encantó este cómic corto porque demuestra lo unido que está el universo marvel en los cómics, todos los héroes y equipos interactuan entre ellos para resolver un misterio y te dan ganas de seguir sus propias historias y enterarte de lo que pasa en ellas, para tener incluso más contexto. Todos los dibujantes de la historia lo hacen genial, es increíble como va cambiando el arte en cada pedazo de la historia.

[Ma'Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never have I been more excited about and satisfied by a superhero crossover event than when it's been written by Al Ewing and Dan Slott. I didn't know about several key points in Skrull and Kree history, and I still don't know how much of this is new revelations vs old, established canon. Definitely read this setup before reading Empyre (which I'm enjoying at the moment).

[Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had no idea Incoming #1 had 80 freaking pages of story in it! Definitely made up for the "technically only 3 issues for $20" issue of this collection. Overall a good primer for Empyre, especially as I haven't followed much of anything outside of the X-books since Secret Wars. Though I'll admit I didn't read through all of the Handbook entries at the end....

[Tanja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es war ein guter Zusatzband, um sich tatsächlich für die Empyre-Zeitlinie vorzubereiten. Kurze Comics, die erklären, wie es zu Den Ereignisse dann in zukunft kommt, die anscheinend in dem dicken Comicband nicht erschlössest werden können. Ich hoffe und denke, dass ich ziemlich bereit bin jetzt die große Geschichte dann auch zu lesen und bin sehr gespannt, was dort so passiert 👀

[Bárbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo leí rapidísimo, no solamente porque es relativamente corto, sino porque me mantuvo tan cautivada que no lo podía largar.
Le bajo una estrella porque soy caprichosa y me hubiese gustado ver más de Dorrek VIII y su consorte, mi niño mimado... Pero es puramente algo de gusto personal: como introducción a este evento, el tomo es casi irreprochable.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not too sure why this needed to be collected. The Incoming book was a solid preview of everything coming up in Marvel. However it was collected to another "preview" book and an encyclopedia. It was light on drama or forward movement. There was solid at throughout. Overall, Incoming could and should stand on its own.

[Bekka · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little info-dumpy in places, but it's forgivable because this is a set-up for a major event. The story is intriguing though, and the artwork is beautiful throughout - I can't wait to see what happens next!
TW for mentions of war, flashbacks to torture of a teenage girl, bombs, explosions, guns, murder, death, swearing.

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my normal cup of tea, and I'm only reading this as it impacts the X-Men universe and my reading there. it was a decent story, but I most appreciate the incredibly wordy Handbook, as it recaps the past decade (and more) of the Marvel Universe. That was very helpful.

[ik.ben.henri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This time I don't understand the bad reviews on goodreads for this comic.

It's the build up and also backstory of the Empyre event, and it does it pretty good. I even expect that I will find this book better than the main event.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those we have 18 events coming so let’s try to collect them as one thing previews.