Avengers & Fantastic Four: Empyre

Empyre

by Al Ewing, Dan Slott, Valerio Schiti (Illustrator)

An intergalactic event that will reshape the Marvel Universe! Old allies make a distress call to the Avengers with news of a terrible enemy that could wipe out humanity. Meanwhile, in the most unlikely of places, the Fantastic Four witness the final conflict of the Kree/Skrull War — and a long-hidden Elder of the Universe stands revealed! With the Kree and Skrulls united under a new emperor, their war fleet charts a course — for Earth! The Avengers are ready to fight, while the FF seek a diplomatic solution. But if they can’t work together, the world may not survive. Either way, both teams will be tested as never before! The new Marvel Space Age begins here!

Collects Empyre #0 Avengers (2020), Empyre #0 Fantastic Four (2020), Empyre (2020) #1-6, Empyre Aftermath: Avengers (2020) #1, Empyre Fallout: Fantastic Four (2020) #1.

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

263 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 28, 2020

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a sucky crossover event.
While at the same time, it manages to have the same formula as every other crossover event ever written. I'm not complaining, it's just that there's a universe-ending threat and it takes all the heroes from all the teams on Earth (plus a few from other planets) to save the day.
At least this time around there were no Nazis or Dark Elves.
Because you know what's scarier than Nazis and Dark Elves?
PLANTS!
Finally, a villain who's out for vegan blood!
And honestly, who isn't salivating to see those smug bastards taken down a notch or two by their own food source?



Relax, my fruitarian friends. I love you guys to death and salute your very healthy lifestyle. Just know that if the vegetables ever attack, I'm throwing you completely under the bus.
It was him! *sob* He ate your baby carrot!



Alright.
Having not kept up with a lot of mainstream titles in Marvel lately, I was kind of concerned that I wouldn't be able to get what was happening. But other than not completely understanding some of the inside references, I felt like this was self-explanatory enough to allow someone with a basic knowledge base to follow along.



The gist is that the Cotati (plant people/vegan slayers) are still sore that the Skrulls made them have a contest with the Kree back in the day. And super sore that the Kree then proceeded to wipe them off the surface of the moon. Now they're back, pissed off, and ready to take over the universe armed with a sun-killer & demonic plant egg. <--bud? spore? bulb? something along those lines.
And it's up to the Fantastic Family & the Avengers to fix this shit.



I think I can say my favorite part of this was watching Teddy/Hulkling try (and mostly succeed) in doing what was right for everyone as the new King of the Kree-Skrull empire. And his refreshing romance with Billy/Wiccan is something that I think anyone who enjoys a little love story in their comics will appreciate. I like seeing these zero drama couples in my stories. So, between Reed & Sue with their long-standing marriage as the rock of the Marvel universe, and Billy & Teddy as their honeymoon phase counterparts, this made for a nice reading experience.



I don't want to spoil too much, so I'll just say that I think they did a good job collecting all issues that really mattered. And I was particularly impressed that the epilogue stuff was in here, as well. The last page in it sets the scene for something interesting coming down the pike. Looks good & makes me want to play catch-up with some of these titles to see what I've missed out on.
Recommended.

[Sean Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a space opera? Solidly entertaining, with moments of genuine excitement and pathos.

As a launching pad—pun intended—for a new age of Marvel space hijinks? TBD.

As an interruptive force in breaking up the flow of the monthly books that got dragged into the midst of or fallout from these events? A real asshole.

And therein lies the rub. I know I’m a broken record on the topic of big, huge, massive colossal comic book crossovers, but it bears repeating: I love epic as much as the next guy. Infinity Gauntlet was, next to Dark Phoenix, the story that cemented my love of comics. But, gargantuan crossovers aren’t epic when they happen every six months; they’re annoying intrusions into any momentum creators might be able to build up within the confines of a given book.

Let’s save these things for epic, continuity-affecting events that happen every few years or so and involve the whole gang. That’s fun. I’m in on that. But, these constant “event” comics that keep resetting the status quo before its even had a chance to establish itself? Please. Just. Stop.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cotati have returned to attempt to wipe out all animal life from the universe. To stop them the Kree and Skrull empires will need to merge while Earth is stuck in the middle. If you are fan of old school Marvel like the Kree / Skrull War, you are going to dig this book.

Ewing, Slott, and Schitti knocked it out of the park with this "event" comic. Every issue had some "Oh Damn!" moments. The Aftermath sets up events for the future of the Marvel universe. Great stuff!

Oh and if you are fans of Young Avengers you will want to read this book. A lot of it is focused on Hulking and Wiccan. Those two are really charming together.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not usually a fan of these big ‘event’ books, and sometimes it feels like they’re all the ‘Big Two’ publish, but I have to be honest and say that I had an absolute blast reading this one. The artwork was consistently really good and the story, while it did have its dodgy moments, kept me totally engaged and often on the edge of my seat.

While I’d really, really like it if they’d only do one of these every five years (that way they’d actually feel special) this was one of the better ones.

Avengers #0: story 4*, art 4*
FF #0: story 4*, art 4*
#1: story 4*, artwork 3.5*
#2: story 4*, artwork 4*
#3: story 4*, artwork 4*
#4: story 4*, artwork 4*
#5: story 5*, artwork 4*
#6: story 3.5*, artwork 4*
Aftermath: story 3*, artwork 4*

Overall: 3.94 stars, rounded up.

My next book: Captain Marvel vol. 4: Accused

[Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action-packed debut for this Avengers & Fantastic Four crossover series, which also had an engaging and decent storyline which ended with a cliffhanger and stunning artwork throughout.

Definitely need to get the second issue and see where it goes.

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

After centuries of conflict the Kree and the Skrulls are allied against a common enemy - and the battle ground is Earth! Another weak (in comparison to Brian Michael Bendis days) major Marvel event; one that features the 'event' return of the Fantastic Four, as they, alongside Avengers seek to limit the impact of an alien war on Earth. 5 out of 12.

I could say that I am getting too old for these comic books, but it just feels like Marvel is feasting on its CMU laurels and forgetting that all its great stories came from the comic book series, and indeed the events. What happens when the good comic books run out? What will the CMU use as its foundation? On the flip-side Jonathan Hickman's X-universe isn't too shabby!

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good crossover event. Every chapter/issue was exciting and well done. Though the last chapter did feel s bit rushed for me, otherwise thus was a easy 5 stars.

Intergalactic war is coming with Earth once again at the epicenter of it. Though very little is as it seems and even the smartest people in the world can be wrong.

I have always said thay if you want to write gay characters, don't just turn a established straight character, suddenly gay, make them that way from the start. Hulking and Wicca are such characters done correctly.

I think one of the quotes is a "crossover done right", I can't agree more all the Avengers and Fantastic Four characters had their moments to shine. I am assuming Franklin and Val might have has more of a part in the Empyre X-MEN book. All round very good book, promising more to come in both aftermath books.

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a regular reader of these Marvel events, Empyre reads like one gigantic déjà vu, there's nothing new and exciting here, it's War of the Realms all over again, with plant aliens instead of Frost Giants, with Al Ewing and Dan Slott playing all the best hits from Marvel, and it's not like I no longer enjoy reading these events, I do, but for the love of Uatu give us something fresh, I don't want to be reading War of the Whatever all over again next year.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what event comics SHOULD be like. The stakes are high, there are superhero battles going on all over the place, obscure continuity comes back to bite the Avengers and the FF in the ass, and it all looks beautiful while it's happening.

There are no big shocking deaths (although there are a few fakeouts), and there's no surprise resurrections either. There's a wedding! When was the last time that there was a big superhero wedding? And all the while there's political intrigue, the threat of the entire world getting destroyed, and more heroes than you can shake a stick at.

I think it took me a while to realise why Empyre felt off compared to other Marvel events - because it wasn't like other Marvel events, for all the reasons listed above. Yes, it spawned a million tie-ins, but it wasn't a story that existed just for the sake of a story. It furthered the story of the characters it involved, and it was highly entertaining throughout. With a writing team like Al Ewing and Dan Slott though, I shouldn't be surprised.

And of course, it looks lovely. Valerio Schiti pencils all six oversized main issues as well as the Avengers Aftermath issue, while RB Silva grabs the Fantastic Four #0 and Fallout books, and Pepe Larraz helps out with the Avengers #0 issue. All three are rapidly rising stars for very good reason, and these books should put them on a lot more people's radars.

Marvel should take note - this is how they should run their events from now on; story and art first, gimmicks later, rather than the other way around.

[Rylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Kree and Skrulls finally decide to squash the beef and join forces, but not everyone is happy about it. Empyre brings the centuries long conflict between these two races to end. I honestly thought this day would never come, there are some things that always stay consistent in the Marvel Universe and the Kree and Skrulls hating each other was one of them. Well what finally ended this conflict and brought them together? A certain Young Avenger known as Hulkling. Fans of Young Avengers know that Hulking is half Kree and half Skrull he’s the son of the original Captain Marvel Mar-Vell and the Skrull princess Anelle. We finally see the arc that started back in the original Young Avengers come to a conclusion. In fact we see a lot of story arcs come to a conclusion, Empyre takes a lot of stories from Marvel’s history and ties them all together to make this big mega event. As a long time Marvel fan it’s great seeing an event that takes advantage of Marvel’s rich and expansive history rather than disregarding it to make something work. I think a lot of long time Marvel fans will be happy to see these stories finally brought to a conclusion. I know for a fact Young Avengers fans will be pleased with this series. If you’re a new reader don’t worry about not knowing anything because the Avengers and Fantastic Four one shots catch the reader up on what’s what and who’s who. If I could describe Empyre it would be epic, this story feels legendary, reading this I could feel that this was something important. Al Ewing is such a talented writer and he does a good job at making this event feel personal, he takes the time out to show how the characters are affected by everything and give them development. I loved seeing favorites of mine like Hulkling and Wiccan get attention and see their story arcs evolve. My only issue is that there are parts of the story where you need to read the tie-ins. Tie-ins are supposed to be extra bonuses to the story to see how personally some characters are affected by the big event. A good event like civil war doesn’t need the tie-ins to stand its own.

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a solid event!! My expectations were very low for this for some reason. Fortunately, expectations are meaningless. This was good!

Ewing and Slott did an especially good job of strengthening continuity. So much of the story stemmed from old, seemingly defunct plot threads. Celestial Quest, the Kree/Skrull War… even a little Annihilation and Original Sin! It felt very much in line with Marvel, which is pretty cool considering how much of the most recent stuff feels like a straightup reboot.

Very cool arc!

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cotati and Skrulls and Cree, oh my. Dull political intrigue and humdrum cosmic warfare bored me immensely. I could only manage a couple chapters at a time, and then I went and forgot I was reading it somewhere in the middle. Came back to it, but could not reach a point of caring.

Ho - oh so very - hum.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and lore-heavy event that focuses on the Fantastic Four and the conflict of the Kree/Skrull War. There are a lot of sub-plots that eventually tie together, some interesting reveals that allow us to better understand some of the histories of these characters but, ultimately, this event doesn't do much for what comes next, making it very unmemorable by the end of it.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Samir Machado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Havia prometido a mim mesmo que não ia mais ler essas mega sagas de super-herói mas resolvi tentar e... acabei gostando? Gostando bastante? Basicamente, é uma space-ópera com elementos arturianos que deve um pouco à Camelot 3000 e Edgar Rice Burroughs, um toque de O Homem da Máscara de Ferro e O terror veio do espaço. O enredo é estruturado de modo claro e bastante direto, levando-se em conta a quantidade de personagens que envolve, e parece consciente do potencial cinematográfico de se tornar o argumento de um Vingadores 8 ou 9 no futuro. A arte e a colorização são lindas e nos momentos climáticos assumem certos ares de ilustração de capa de paperback pulp.
E o imperador gay da galáxia ser um bombado mezzo rei Artur mezzo César usando uma capa púrpura e uma espada chamada EXCELSIOR conta pontos na minha tabela.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok.

I wish this one was better, simply because it started out SO damn good, such an interesting and mysterious story that I had no idea about, Ewing had something good here, and I blame Covid for the event to be done so quick and lots of tie-ins getting canceled and some midway through not even having the story told how it was supposed to be.

I also blame that the ending and the aftermath of the whole event wasn't good in my opinion. Not interesting and the conclusion of all the things happening and how they happened was mediocre at best.

The main villain here and his army were interesting and since the first preview of what's coming in the Incoming issue was such a superb intro to the whole thing that I was expecting much more mystery and those kinda attacks from the Cotati like they killed the first Skull and Kree characters, but we got nothing like that.

Oh well, is it worth it your time? I don't think so, but if you really wanna read it, just read this main event here and don't bother with the tie-ins and the rest.

[Ciggy Pop Culture · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a perfect example of trash Marvel events. There's nothing interesting that happens in this. It's an artificial event created just to get everyone to buy and read Hulklings wedding with Wiccan. You expect better from Ewing and Slott but no.

[César Rodríguez Cuenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mes a mes no me ha interesado mucho, pero luego al releerlo todo gana algo. Haría una mejor review pero tengo el dedo gordo de la izquierda cubierto por una tirita y me da pereza escribir con una sola mano

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had a good time with Marvel events lately, maybe they're finding that sweet spot? No Surrender and No Road Home both left good tastes in my mouth and Empyre tastes about the same.

The story is bigger in Empyre, the stakes higher. The constantly-warring Kree and Skrull have allied and the Cotati have built a garden on the Moon. Naturally, this state of calm is immediately shattered when the Cotati messiah, Quoi, arrives and says, "No, yeah, we're actually gonna use this Moon base to assault Earth with tree people and death blossoms." The reasons are convoluted, but once the narrative ramps up, it's easy to get on board.

I appreciated that even though this is a BIG event, the story quickly whittled down the characters I had to care about to a select few. Other character arcs are, of course, shunted aside into spin-off series that I'm sure I'll read someday. Hulking's political skirmishes within the Kree/Skrull alliance were very appealing to me, as were Reed and Tony's attempts to science their way out of the problem. In the end, the weakest link was the villain. Quoi is one of those characters where, if you read Marvel comics in the 60s, you'd probably be like "oh wow, that guy!" I didn't read Marvel comics in the 60s, so all Quoi's ranting and raging about humanity fell on deaf ears. He's basically just a mean little plant dude who wants vengeance against humanity for something the Kree/Skrulls did a million years ago. Get over it, guy.

The art is superb, throughout - no surprise in these big events. I was never bored or uninterested, though I was also never uncertain about the Avengers and Fantastic Four being able to wrap things up in a bow by the end. And boy do they ever wrap things up! This event receives not one but two "aftermath" issues where the heroes hang out, chat, and generally just have an amiable good time. I loved it. All Marvel event series should wrap up in this manner.

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as Marvel events go, this one isn’t awful. The story is interesting, if convoluted, and the art is amazing. I’ll be honest, I’m here mainly for Hulkling and Wiccan, but everything else was decent enough too. The Emperor Hulkling issue isn’t included in this collection, but it’s my personal favorite Empyre issue, along with Avengers Aftermath. Like I said— I’m here for Hulkling, Wiccan, and Young Avengers references, and this series gave me what I wanted. Although honestly, I would have enjoyed it more if it focused more solely on those characters and left the Avengers and Fantastic Four to their own titles. But beggars can’t be choosers, as they say. 4/5 stars.

[Dimitra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Reader,
This, is a Hulkling (aka Teddy Altman) book.
If you pick up this book thinking it purely as a marvel event, you might be disappointed.
For those who followed the young avengers since v1, this book is for us.
If you haven’t read any Young Avengers books I would recommend going through them first so you can appreciate and enjoy this one more.
There are some weak points that needed better handling and I think if they had Anthony Oliveira co-writing this (It’s my belief he’s the best Teddy/Billy writer)it could be even better….but this was great.
Young Avengers fans Assemble!

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Came and went. Pretty generic. Not enough character development. Bad guys too... clearly bad. I actually liked how it started out. Then it just dragged on. This is essentially an alien invasion story. But it doesn't spend much time on the actual invasion. Oddly, some of the tie-ins were better than the main story. Especially Captain Marvel.

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was terrible. It took me forever to finish and finally, I skipped three issues right to the aftermath. Did I miss anything? Not at all.
The whole series lacked a soul, and it was just a disjointed sequence of events. It basically reunited everything that is bad and wrong about comic book events.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

- I have conquered this planet, Richards! I have brought my Heaven to your bestial Earth! What sound will take your world back?!
- ... "Avengers assemble!"

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The next huge crossover of the year is here! The real star of the show here is the artwork. The story is pretty good, but the art is what shines.
Highlights:
- Hulkling, of the Young Avengers, has united the Kree and Skrulls, ending their very long war, and creating the Alliance. As Emperor, taking the advice of of his inner circle Tanalth the Persuer, Captain Glory of the Kree, and Kl'rt of the Skrulls, they amass a fleet to invade Earth's moon, wanting to destroy the Cotati settlement on the Blue Area of the Moon.
- The Cotati (plant people) are led by Quoi, an entity known as the Celestial Messiah. Quoi has a great relationship with the Avengers, and get them to side with them initially against the Alliance. Through the efforts of the Fantastic Four acting as peacekeepers, the truth is revealed and the Cotati begin to invade Earth, causing the Avengers to switch sides.
- As the Cotati invasion begins to overrun Earth (even though every hero is assisting in the fight) Emperor Hulkling decides to launch a weapon that will destroy our Sun, ending the Cotati before they become too powerful to stop. This causes some doubt in out heroes.
- Some of our heroes get upgrades. Mister Fantastic gets his own Iron Man suit, Captain Marvel is given the hammer of Ronan the Accuser (the Universal Weapon) and the rank of Accuser, and She-Hulk gains her intelligence and sanity back via a cosmic copper weapon.
- Going to see Wiccan, Hulkling's husband, Captain Marvel and Human Torch enlist his help to calm the Emperor. It is their unique connection as a couple that shows Wiccan that the Emperor is not Hulkling. After rescuing his love from the brig onboard the main warship, they confront the Emperor who reveals themselves to be Skrull Empress R'Kill, who had been impersonating Tanalth during the beginning of the event. R'Kill is Hulkling's grandmother, who had orchestrated the entire invasion to establish her power forever, while also taking out the Cotati, a threat to all, and the heroes of Earth. With everyone working together, the threat is ended and Hulkling takes his rightful place again.
- The sonics on Mr Fantastic's new suit are able to disrupt the control that Quoi has over the plants and they capture him, transporting him and the remainder of the Cotati to a planet so far away it's not on any star chart.
- Aftermath: 1) Hulkling and Wiccan are married again and Wiccan becomes Prince Consort of the Alliance. 2) The Grimm family get two new members in a Kree child and Skrull child who are rescued from the Profiteer (sister of the Grandmaster) who had been using them to do Kree-Skrull War reenactments. 3) R'Kill tells Hulkling that the Alliance will eventually fail, and we see a future where that happens, when Abagail Brand rescues him and says she has something better (I assume this will launch a new series) and 4) The Unseen, a watcher of sorts who lives on the moon, investigates the Cotati weaponry and finds that it is ancient. For some reason, this knowledge causes Uatu the Watcher to come back to life declaring "There will be a reckoning..."

Obviously there is more to the story than what I've said here, but the basic gist is communicated. I'll be reading many of the tie-in graphic novels in the coming months and am looking forward to seeing more of this from other sides.
Overall, a pretty good Marvel crossover. Not the best, not the worst... but definitely worth a read so that you aren't lost in the upcoming stuff happening in the MU.
Recommend.

[Craig Schorling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was enjoyable even though it felt a little safe and by the numbers. It felt like the equivalent of a popcorn summer blockbuster. There are some great moments but nothing that stands out. There was a really sweet moment at the end with Ben and Alicia that I really enjoyed.

[Matt Quann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just...no. I feel like this would have been better as an arc of the new Guardians of the Galaxy.

[Rafa Araujo · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
Tremendamente aburrido con pequeños destellos de genialidad por aquí y por allá.
Cotati, Kree o Skrulls me da igual lo que pase con cualquiera de las tres razas.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't bad, though the artwork, especially by Valerio Schiti, was pretty cartoony at times. Reed Richards especially comes off very poorly throughout, with his greasy hair and dad bod. Otherwise, not terrible.

[Garrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

BOOOOOOORRRRRIIINNNNGGGGG!!!!! Holy hell, I’ve had more fun staring at a wall then reading this comic, the only reason I gave it 2 stars, is the art is pretty good for the most part. I’m a guy who loves Al Ewing and Dan Slott, love immortal hulk, love dan’s spidey and fantastic four, but this was the worst damn excuse for a cross over I’ve ever read. My summary of this story is the skrulls and Kree team up to fight super vegan/plant based aliens, that want to exterminate all animal life... it was 6 issues of the avengers and the fantastic four not knowing that fire kills plants, and one of the fantastic four is literally a man on fire. If you like to be so bored out of your skull reading something that you would rather bash your brains into the nearest wall, give this story a read, each issue has almost nothing new to offer more then, “oh no, the plants are still kicking our ass... in space... or earth, take your pick”

2 pointless crossovers of 5 (fucking get your shit together marvel)

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun event to read. It starts off with Skrulls and Kree united under Hulkling but turns out its the Cotati and thus begins the Age of empyre and the Avengers battle against this invading force of the Cotati and Quoi/Seqouia their leader, the fabled Celestial Messiah. This event has such epic moments and yes spins off into tie ins regarding the accusers, Thor on his quest, Cap leading an army to stop these forces, Iron man and reed finding solutions and they are all so epic. The ending was predictable yes but it sets up a status quo unlike any other and has me excited tbh. Hulkling and Wiccan marriage was cool, and yes the EPILOGUE!