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A.X.E.: Judgment Day
A.X.E.: Judgment Day Companion
When the Avengers, the X-Men and the Eternals go to war, the ramifications are so great that one book cannot possibly contain them! See all sides of the conflict in this essential Companion volume to the main A.X.E. event! The Eternals know that the mutants have conquered death — but what are they going to do about it? As the oldest immortals on Earth eye up the newest, the doomsday clock starts to tick toward Judgment Day. But will its arrival spell the end for mutantkind? And where exactly does Starfox — former Avenger, Eternal of Titan and brother of Thanos — stand in this epic confrontation?
COLLECTING: A.X.E.: Eve of Judgment (2022) 1, A.X.E.: Death to the Mutants (2022) 1-3, A.X.E.: Starfox (2022) 1, A.X.E.: Judgment Day Omega, A.X.E.: Iron Fist and Fantastic Four (2018) #47-48
COLLECTING: A.X.E.: Eve of Judgment (2022) 1, A.X.E.: Death to the Mutants (2022) 1-3, A.X.E.: Starfox (2022) 1, A.X.E.: Judgment Day Omega, A.X.E.: Iron Fist and Fantastic Four (2018) #47-48
224 pages, Paperback
Published February 21, 2023
13 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Kieron Gillen
1,474 books1,909 followersKieron Gillen is a comic book writer and former media journalist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
December 20, 2024
Avengers, X-Men, Eternals oh my! This 'companion' read to A.X.E.: Judgment Day is a must-read solely for including the key opening comic book and the epilogue. Otherwise the miss match of the likes of the three-part Death to the Mutants, the Starfox and Iron Fist one-shots, and the two Fantastic Four cross-overs although OK reads are not fundamental to the main story. Overall one of the better recent big Marvel events for dialogue, art and plot, but a very stale concept. A 6 out of 12, Three Star read for me.
2024 read
2024 read
March 27, 2023
I did not enjoy this book. Probably as is it completely from the Eternals' point of view. I do not know or care about these characters enough. It was a bit of a slog to get through the book.
For me, it did not add anything to the main Judgment Day story. Most of the events here are summarised in the main story. I would only recommend getting this book if you follow the Eternals storylines.
The only part of the book I liked was the Judgment Day Omaga book. I liked that the Fantastic Four books were more around the Invisible Woman, but I did not see the point of those stories here. The book finishes with a couple of full-page variant covers and a thumbnail gallery as well.
For me, it did not add anything to the main Judgment Day story. Most of the events here are summarised in the main story. I would only recommend getting this book if you follow the Eternals storylines.
The only part of the book I liked was the Judgment Day Omaga book. I liked that the Fantastic Four books were more around the Invisible Woman, but I did not see the point of those stories here. The book finishes with a couple of full-page variant covers and a thumbnail gallery as well.
Read
October 21, 2022Normal practice with a big summer superhero event is to farm out a lot of the tie-in one-shots and miniseries to, at best, a sidekick writer, and at worst whoever the publisher has handy and/or cheap. Gillen, on the other hand, being Gillen, has written huge swathes of them himself, knowing exactly the complex ways in which they interlock, and noted in his newsletter "If I published 18 short stories and I had them in this kind of structure they'd be accusing me of radical modernism". And I do love when people sneak weird experimental projects into being under a cloak of geek – see also Faction Paradox, which is both a spin-off of a spin-off of Doctor Who, and a way to publish strange high art novels by people whose only credentials are as Who fans so wouldn't get past the gatekeepers elsewhere.
So yes, on one level this is a way to do oddball character pieces and have them sell considerably better than they would if you made another doomed attempt at an anthology book: only here, for instance, do newly introduced Eternals the Hex become more than the cool visual and obvious threat they represent in the main series. The various deaths of major heroes in the main book feel like the sort of thing that'll be reset easily enough, even without the mutants' and Eternals' vanquishing of mortality, but here we get the loss of one character who has only recently been developed in this fashion and who goes out in such a way that the loss lands emotionally. And the Starfox issue, while its art style is very much at an angle to the rest of the event, does a great job of rounding out the character's relaunch as something more than 'Please make sure the character Harry Styles is playing no longer comes across mainly as having date-rape as a superpower'. Hell, as everything continues to catch fire and fall over in our own, less narratively satisfying apocalypse, I'm definitely nicking one of his lines and putting it aside for possible use in the not too distant future: "It was a beautiful world. And it was good to live here, at least for a while. It was good to meet you."
Elsewhere, though...to an extent it's hard talking about the parent event just yet, when (at least according to the provisional contents lists) the issues in this have all come out but that still has its finale to come. Still, I have had a sense that the sheer number of moving parts, the responsibility of writing the line's flagship book for the year, and the entryist instincts of any good poptimist, have sometimes combined to make Kieron sacrifice specificity in favour of accessibility, and that shows here too, with a certain post-Whedon shared register in evidence at times, even when it makes no in-world sense. Why would Eternals, talking among themselves, compare Uranos to Satan, given Uranos is already their byword for pure evil, and has been since long before they met humans who'd use that name and/or any of Marvel's resident Satan analogues? If ever there were characters you could afford to have come across as somewhat strange and hieratic, it must be the Eternals, especially in an event where there are Avengers and X-Men to offer a contrast to that. Judgment Day remains vastly more interesting than most big superhero events, but is haunted by a frustrating sense that it could easily have been something truly special – and that comes across even more here than in the main book, because this doesn't have to worry so much about the actual plot.
So yes, on one level this is a way to do oddball character pieces and have them sell considerably better than they would if you made another doomed attempt at an anthology book: only here, for instance, do newly introduced Eternals the Hex become more than the cool visual and obvious threat they represent in the main series. The various deaths of major heroes in the main book feel like the sort of thing that'll be reset easily enough, even without the mutants' and Eternals' vanquishing of mortality, but here we get the loss of one character who has only recently been developed in this fashion and who goes out in such a way that the loss lands emotionally. And the Starfox issue, while its art style is very much at an angle to the rest of the event, does a great job of rounding out the character's relaunch as something more than 'Please make sure the character Harry Styles is playing no longer comes across mainly as having date-rape as a superpower'. Hell, as everything continues to catch fire and fall over in our own, less narratively satisfying apocalypse, I'm definitely nicking one of his lines and putting it aside for possible use in the not too distant future: "It was a beautiful world. And it was good to live here, at least for a while. It was good to meet you."
Elsewhere, though...to an extent it's hard talking about the parent event just yet, when (at least according to the provisional contents lists) the issues in this have all come out but that still has its finale to come. Still, I have had a sense that the sheer number of moving parts, the responsibility of writing the line's flagship book for the year, and the entryist instincts of any good poptimist, have sometimes combined to make Kieron sacrifice specificity in favour of accessibility, and that shows here too, with a certain post-Whedon shared register in evidence at times, even when it makes no in-world sense. Why would Eternals, talking among themselves, compare Uranos to Satan, given Uranos is already their byword for pure evil, and has been since long before they met humans who'd use that name and/or any of Marvel's resident Satan analogues? If ever there were characters you could afford to have come across as somewhat strange and hieratic, it must be the Eternals, especially in an event where there are Avengers and X-Men to offer a contrast to that. Judgment Day remains vastly more interesting than most big superhero events, but is haunted by a frustrating sense that it could easily have been something truly special – and that comes across even more here than in the main book, because this doesn't have to worry so much about the actual plot.
January 2, 2023
Pretty good as far as event tie-ins go. Memotaur is my new favorite person. That was such a random side note that I wasn’t expecting but thoroughly enjoyed. Someone give those sisters access to WiFi!
And, quite frankly, I find nothing wrong with the results of Jean Grey’s judgment. 💅
And, quite frankly, I find nothing wrong with the results of Jean Grey’s judgment. 💅
February 13, 2023
I don't often say that these Companion books are necessary or essential reading, but honestly, for Judgment Day, I would highly recommend reading this alongside the main series.
Not only does this volume collect the opening and closing one-shots, Eve Of Judgment and Omega, which set up and cap-off the story respectively, but it also has the Death To The Mutants three issue mini-series that Gillen wrote too, which is essentially Eternals #13-15, dealing with some developments in the main AXE story that you won't get explained there other than 'these things happened'.
Honestly, I would have put the two one-shots into the main series collection, and moved the three one-shots collected there over here instead, to create a more balanced and complete reading experience, but no one ever asks me about how to collect these things.
Also in here is the Starfox one-shot that gives us a glimpse into what Eros has been doing before returning to Earth in the main series, the Iron Fist one-shot that sets up the new Iron Fist mini-series (I'll be honest, I haven't read this one, but it definitely doesn't impact the main book at all), and the two issue Fantastic Four tie-in that isn't collected anywhere else and features Oubliette Midas, one of my favourite weirdo Grant Morrison creations.
It bears repeating, but the majority of this volume is essential reading for AXE. You can get by without it, but I don't think you'll get half as much out of the main story without these issues.
Not only does this volume collect the opening and closing one-shots, Eve Of Judgment and Omega, which set up and cap-off the story respectively, but it also has the Death To The Mutants three issue mini-series that Gillen wrote too, which is essentially Eternals #13-15, dealing with some developments in the main AXE story that you won't get explained there other than 'these things happened'.
Honestly, I would have put the two one-shots into the main series collection, and moved the three one-shots collected there over here instead, to create a more balanced and complete reading experience, but no one ever asks me about how to collect these things.
Also in here is the Starfox one-shot that gives us a glimpse into what Eros has been doing before returning to Earth in the main series, the Iron Fist one-shot that sets up the new Iron Fist mini-series (I'll be honest, I haven't read this one, but it definitely doesn't impact the main book at all), and the two issue Fantastic Four tie-in that isn't collected anywhere else and features Oubliette Midas, one of my favourite weirdo Grant Morrison creations.
It bears repeating, but the majority of this volume is essential reading for AXE. You can get by without it, but I don't think you'll get half as much out of the main story without these issues.
November 10, 2022
Almost purely supplemental material to the main event, giving some more detail to the fridges of the war, but not essential at all. Some good, some very pointless. But it helps when a lot of the tie ins are solid
January 30, 2023
This stuff was all fine. It's mostly ancillary and unnecessary to read to get the gist of the main Judgment Day event. Reading these it's very clear that this is an Eternals event and the Avengers and X-Men's names are thrown in there to sell more copies.
I think my favorite story out of all this randomness was the Fantastic Four one by David Pepose and Juann Cabal. He brings back an old Grant Morrison villain to fight the Invisible Woman on what could be the last day of the Earth. If you haven't read anything by David Pepose you should. He's currently writing Savage Avengers and has written a bunch of fantastic indie comics.
I think my favorite story out of all this randomness was the Fantastic Four one by David Pepose and Juann Cabal. He brings back an old Grant Morrison villain to fight the Invisible Woman on what could be the last day of the Earth. If you haven't read anything by David Pepose you should. He's currently writing Savage Avengers and has written a bunch of fantastic indie comics.
November 12, 2022
A crucial component to enjoying the main event (along with his Eternals run and most of the HoxPox era of X books). There were some strong issues here, but it all got very muddy. Maybe it will read better in a trade, but I’m not sure if I’ll ever give it another try.
April 30, 2023
This is a bit more of an Eternals book than anything else. It dived into a lot of background on those characters, and also gives a couple of tie-ins for Iron Fist (the new one) and the Fantastic Four.
Unsurprisingly, the good parts of this were all written by Kieron Gillen. I don’t think most of this is really essential to the event, but it does add some more context and background for the dozens of characters affected by the story. I think my favorite parts are the ones that involve the civilians. I never expected the giant Memotaur monster would somehow win me over via text messages about poetry, but here we are. The story about Toby Robson is still the most poignant part of this Eternals run, in my opinion.
The Iron Fist issue is fine. It’s not amazing, but it’s ok. The writing isn’t brilliant or super tight, but it also was trying to give some significant backstory for a character that I’ve never read before. Why this was included over other books, I’m not sure (Spider-Man, Black Panther, I honestly don’t even know what else was coming out at the time to be included in its place). It seemed like a weird pull to get a spotlight issue.
Similarly, the Fantastic Four issues were included for some reason, despite apparently being part of the regular FF run (at least the Iron Fist issue was a special AXE comic). Worse, they were terrible. Oubliette Midas is the villain, who I can’t believe keeps coming back in different books I’m reading. It reminded me of the X-Force tie in where there’s some other random villain attack going on but with the backdrop of the event. I liked almost nothing about these issues. The narration by Reed was worthless and strangely hard to follow. He prattled on about how great his family was for two issues. Then in the story itself, the Thing is trapped in rubble and using literally every one of his catchphrases, Human Torch is stuck outside the building, and Sue keeps forgetting how powerful she is. I literally kept thinking to myself that if this was what it’s like reading a FF comic, no wonder I’ve never gotten into them.
The Starfox/Eros issue was fine, but not great. I didn’t enjoy the art style at all, but the story was okay. It is one of those introspective books where Gillen was trying to explain what he thinks makes Starfox tick in the face of certain death. I also am convinced that this character cannot pull off a dark lipstick. I love the androgyny they were going for with this redesign, but the lip color was jarring.
In general, the art was pretty underwhelming, especially compared to the Valerio Schiti work we got in the main title. I don’t know if I would call any of it bad, though some of it seems to be trying to emulate Esad Ribic from the Eternals run, and it has the same effect of giving the characters giant dead eyes and exaggerated facial features that don’t always look human.
So in general, it was better than I expected, but still a pretty mediocre read.
Unsurprisingly, the good parts of this were all written by Kieron Gillen. I don’t think most of this is really essential to the event, but it does add some more context and background for the dozens of characters affected by the story. I think my favorite parts are the ones that involve the civilians. I never expected the giant Memotaur monster would somehow win me over via text messages about poetry, but here we are. The story about Toby Robson is still the most poignant part of this Eternals run, in my opinion.
The Iron Fist issue is fine. It’s not amazing, but it’s ok. The writing isn’t brilliant or super tight, but it also was trying to give some significant backstory for a character that I’ve never read before. Why this was included over other books, I’m not sure (Spider-Man, Black Panther, I honestly don’t even know what else was coming out at the time to be included in its place). It seemed like a weird pull to get a spotlight issue.
Similarly, the Fantastic Four issues were included for some reason, despite apparently being part of the regular FF run (at least the Iron Fist issue was a special AXE comic). Worse, they were terrible. Oubliette Midas is the villain, who I can’t believe keeps coming back in different books I’m reading. It reminded me of the X-Force tie in where there’s some other random villain attack going on but with the backdrop of the event. I liked almost nothing about these issues. The narration by Reed was worthless and strangely hard to follow. He prattled on about how great his family was for two issues. Then in the story itself, the Thing is trapped in rubble and using literally every one of his catchphrases, Human Torch is stuck outside the building, and Sue keeps forgetting how powerful she is. I literally kept thinking to myself that if this was what it’s like reading a FF comic, no wonder I’ve never gotten into them.
The Starfox/Eros issue was fine, but not great. I didn’t enjoy the art style at all, but the story was okay. It is one of those introspective books where Gillen was trying to explain what he thinks makes Starfox tick in the face of certain death. I also am convinced that this character cannot pull off a dark lipstick. I love the androgyny they were going for with this redesign, but the lip color was jarring.
In general, the art was pretty underwhelming, especially compared to the Valerio Schiti work we got in the main title. I don’t know if I would call any of it bad, though some of it seems to be trying to emulate Esad Ribic from the Eternals run, and it has the same effect of giving the characters giant dead eyes and exaggerated facial features that don’t always look human.
So in general, it was better than I expected, but still a pretty mediocre read.
March 19, 2023
So this is a companion to the main Judgment day book and you kinda have to read it together and while its not the best, it does have some stories that are like really good!
The Death to the eternals story was just tie ins of the eternals and it didn't really add much besides showing something that already happened in the main book but from eternals POV and also there was some stuff with one of the hex machines and their texting with some girl which was weird ngl but the stuff with Ikaris was so awesome and seeing his guilt and how its making him act but in a better way, I liked that so it works on that level.
Then the FF story was maybe the best one showing something from Reed's POV and how his family saves him every day and his wife Sue especially and how she is his rock, and also it does well to give Sue a personal enemy in Exterminatrix (Oubilette Midas) and I really like that, its less about judgment and more about family and I really like that, maybe some of the best FF stuff I have read.
The omega issue is included here weirdly but it does well to show how the status quo is affecting the eternals and like what they do next, they have promised some big stuff for the eternals after this event but as of this writing, there hasn't been any maybe in the future there might be and it could be good. It certainly lives them in an interesting place and status quo.
The Death to the eternals story was just tie ins of the eternals and it didn't really add much besides showing something that already happened in the main book but from eternals POV and also there was some stuff with one of the hex machines and their texting with some girl which was weird ngl but the stuff with Ikaris was so awesome and seeing his guilt and how its making him act but in a better way, I liked that so it works on that level.
Then the FF story was maybe the best one showing something from Reed's POV and how his family saves him every day and his wife Sue especially and how she is his rock, and also it does well to give Sue a personal enemy in Exterminatrix (Oubilette Midas) and I really like that, its less about judgment and more about family and I really like that, maybe some of the best FF stuff I have read.
The omega issue is included here weirdly but it does well to show how the status quo is affecting the eternals and like what they do next, they have promised some big stuff for the eternals after this event but as of this writing, there hasn't been any maybe in the future there might be and it could be good. It certainly lives them in an interesting place and status quo.
September 11, 2023
This review is a companion (heh) to my review of the main event, which you can find right here.
Eve of Judgment and Death to the Mutants are pretty neat, but I don't see why Marvel has published them separately like they have any identity outside of the core storyline. Judgment Day has a lot of these weird fragments that don't hurt as much when reading in trades, but must've been a real pain to read in singles.
AXE: Starfox and AXE: Judgment Day Omega flesh out the Eternals part of the storyline. I failed so hard to connect to those characters that I really only skimmed these issues.
AXE: Iron Fist introduces a new Iron Fist, while also giving Gillen a chance to return to Loki. Having no investment in these two characters in the comics, they bounced off me.
On the other hand, as a newly converted fan of the FF, I was looking forward to their tie-ins, and...yeah, no.
So not only is most of the content of this companion not great, it's missing the X-Men, Immortal X-Men and X-Men Red tie-ins that actually mattered and were actually freaking awesome. The only reason to look into this companion is Eve of Judgment and Death to the Mutants, and it's not worth buying the book for those.
Eve of Judgment and Death to the Mutants are pretty neat, but I don't see why Marvel has published them separately like they have any identity outside of the core storyline. Judgment Day has a lot of these weird fragments that don't hurt as much when reading in trades, but must've been a real pain to read in singles.
AXE: Starfox and AXE: Judgment Day Omega flesh out the Eternals part of the storyline. I failed so hard to connect to those characters that I really only skimmed these issues.
AXE: Iron Fist introduces a new Iron Fist, while also giving Gillen a chance to return to Loki. Having no investment in these two characters in the comics, they bounced off me.
On the other hand, as a newly converted fan of the FF, I was looking forward to their tie-ins, and...yeah, no.
So not only is most of the content of this companion not great, it's missing the X-Men, Immortal X-Men and X-Men Red tie-ins that actually mattered and were actually freaking awesome. The only reason to look into this companion is Eve of Judgment and Death to the Mutants, and it's not worth buying the book for those.
March 9, 2023
3.5 Stars.
This Companion book is both good for getting a complete picture of the whole Judgment Day event, but also as the same time, largely extraneous. We get both the prequel story as well as the aftermath tale, but most of that is inferred or assumed.
Where the Volume stands out is in two stories.
1. Iron Fist's tale, left off at the end of the most recent GN continues here. On a plane to South Korea to reunite with White Fox, his flight is interrupted by Loki and his personal trial from the Progenitor. Finally able to defeat Shao-Lao, he receives his marks as the Iron Fist.
2. We see the last two issues of the current run of Fantastic Four. While the world prepares to deal with the Progenitor, the Baxter Building gets invaded by Oubliette, a young woman wanting vengeance for the death of her father. With Reed in his think tank, the rest of the team takes her down. Strong focus on Sue, which is always a good thing.
Overall, I'm glad I read this Volume, but most people could probably skip it and be fine.
Recommend, especially for completionists.
This Companion book is both good for getting a complete picture of the whole Judgment Day event, but also as the same time, largely extraneous. We get both the prequel story as well as the aftermath tale, but most of that is inferred or assumed.
Where the Volume stands out is in two stories.
1. Iron Fist's tale, left off at the end of the most recent GN continues here. On a plane to South Korea to reunite with White Fox, his flight is interrupted by Loki and his personal trial from the Progenitor. Finally able to defeat Shao-Lao, he receives his marks as the Iron Fist.
2. We see the last two issues of the current run of Fantastic Four. While the world prepares to deal with the Progenitor, the Baxter Building gets invaded by Oubliette, a young woman wanting vengeance for the death of her father. With Reed in his think tank, the rest of the team takes her down. Strong focus on Sue, which is always a good thing.
Overall, I'm glad I read this Volume, but most people could probably skip it and be fine.
Recommend, especially for completionists.
January 13, 2023
The term 'companion' should be renamed 'odds and ends' because it really isn't a companion piece to Judgment Day. It's the odds and ends that they chose not to add to the main book. The jury is out if it's worth the sum of its parts or not.
The prelude? Nice to give some back story, but why is it separate from the main book?
The 'Death to Mutants' story arc? Adds some pieces to the puzzle of how the X-men and Deviants got from point A to point B, but not really necessary. They mention how mutants may be close to Deviants in terms of genetics, but then everybody collectively....shrugs...and the story moves on? One more loose thread for somebody to play with later, perhaps.
**edited to add the Fantastic Four (#47-#48) tie-in story. A fitting end to that run with a guest villain appearance by Oubliette from Grant Morrison's 'Marvel Boy' story. Classic story of the FF as a family.
The Starfox story? It's probably the best piece of this 'companion' TPB. It essentially reworks Starfox from hedonist to predestined leader and counter to Thanos. Interesting to see how you such a blase character can be grounded and made significant.
Bonus: That machine Earth voiceover does all the 'work' in this story
Bonus Bonus: Did the Eternals lose their weird outfits and the 'cost' to their resurrections? That might actually make them...interesting.
The prelude? Nice to give some back story, but why is it separate from the main book?
The 'Death to Mutants' story arc? Adds some pieces to the puzzle of how the X-men and Deviants got from point A to point B, but not really necessary. They mention how mutants may be close to Deviants in terms of genetics, but then everybody collectively....shrugs...and the story moves on? One more loose thread for somebody to play with later, perhaps.
**edited to add the Fantastic Four (#47-#48) tie-in story. A fitting end to that run with a guest villain appearance by Oubliette from Grant Morrison's 'Marvel Boy' story. Classic story of the FF as a family.
The Starfox story? It's probably the best piece of this 'companion' TPB. It essentially reworks Starfox from hedonist to predestined leader and counter to Thanos. Interesting to see how you such a blase character can be grounded and made significant.
Bonus: That machine Earth voiceover does all the 'work' in this story
Bonus Bonus: Did the Eternals lose their weird outfits and the 'cost' to their resurrections? That might actually make them...interesting.
February 23, 2023
Another day another "X-Men vs" book by Marvel
At this point, this has become an annual thing. Don't know what to do? Make an X-Men vs book and boom have great sales.
Judgement day is basically an event to bring Eternals to light. Which it does, but not in a good way. Never been a fan of Eternals, even Jack Kirby and Neal Gaiman's work of Eternals failed to capture my attention. Kieron is a great writer even then the event felt generic, the ending was the same as usual.
The main book aka A.X.E Judgement Day was weaker compared to the Tie-ins, Immortal X-Men and X-Men red tie-ins were the best part of the whole event. It was somewhat of a different approach than other events sure, but the overall was predictable. Despite all these, I would say that this was a fun book, but generic as an event.
My ratings of this book would be,
Main book: 6.5/10
Main Book with tie-ins: 7.25/10
Happy reading
At this point, this has become an annual thing. Don't know what to do? Make an X-Men vs book and boom have great sales.
Judgement day is basically an event to bring Eternals to light. Which it does, but not in a good way. Never been a fan of Eternals, even Jack Kirby and Neal Gaiman's work of Eternals failed to capture my attention. Kieron is a great writer even then the event felt generic, the ending was the same as usual.
The main book aka A.X.E Judgement Day was weaker compared to the Tie-ins, Immortal X-Men and X-Men red tie-ins were the best part of the whole event. It was somewhat of a different approach than other events sure, but the overall was predictable. Despite all these, I would say that this was a fun book, but generic as an event.
My ratings of this book would be,
Main book: 6.5/10
Main Book with tie-ins: 7.25/10
Happy reading
April 1, 2023
Supplemental material to the AXE event, most of which don't actually add anything at all. Most of the issues collected here are indeed directly related to the event, but they're basically on the side and add nothing that isn't already in the main book. They're also almost entirely focused on the Eternals. Maybe if I'd stuck with the Eternals book, I'd be getting more out of this, but I didn't. Probably at least in part because I hate the Earth's narration boxes, with blue text on a black background that I found sometimes difficult to read.
I have to say, I don't know why the Iron Fist and Fantastic Four issues were collected here. Sure, they take place during the event, but I bet almost every ongoing Marvel publishes had some kind of Judgment Day tie in. These in particular had no real reason to be here, and I don't know if you'll get much out of them if you haven't been reading those books.
I have to say, I don't know why the Iron Fist and Fantastic Four issues were collected here. Sure, they take place during the event, but I bet almost every ongoing Marvel publishes had some kind of Judgment Day tie in. These in particular had no real reason to be here, and I don't know if you'll get much out of them if you haven't been reading those books.
April 3, 2023
Bleh. What a hodge-podge of a book. The Marvel Collections Dept. should be ashamed.
This book contains in part crucial elements of Judgment Day that obviously should have been included in the core book for the series, including Eve of Judgement, Death to the Mutants, and Omega. They're often some of the stronger parts of the crossover, including the Omega, which acts as a coda for all of Gillen's Eternals work.
Then we got the Starfox issue, which feels much less important, but helps to define the character.
Finally, we get judgment issues of Fantastic Four and Iron Fist, which have little business in being in the companion book for this crossover.
So, it's a mess. The good material is good, the judgment material is a waste of space. Hopefully Marvel gets their act together when they double-dip an omnibus for this crossover and the Eternals run.
This book contains in part crucial elements of Judgment Day that obviously should have been included in the core book for the series, including Eve of Judgement, Death to the Mutants, and Omega. They're often some of the stronger parts of the crossover, including the Omega, which acts as a coda for all of Gillen's Eternals work.
Then we got the Starfox issue, which feels much less important, but helps to define the character.
Finally, we get judgment issues of Fantastic Four and Iron Fist, which have little business in being in the companion book for this crossover.
So, it's a mess. The good material is good, the judgment material is a waste of space. Hopefully Marvel gets their act together when they double-dip an omnibus for this crossover and the Eternals run.
July 5, 2023
This "Companion" is essential reading for Judgment Day and perhaps even a better read, even if it's less cohesive. I complained in my Judgment Day review that the Marvel Event format resulted in a loss of all character moments. Well, here they are, in the companion!
We also get more time with the Eternals, who I actually really like when Kieron Gillen's writing them! Some of the in-between moments depicted here help Judgment Day a lot, revealing how certain big reveals were pulled off. I'd firmly recommend reading the two volumes back-to-back, or even side-by-side.
Naturally, there's some chaff with this wheat (hello random Iron Fist comic), but for the most part, this companion is exactly what I was looking for while reading Judgment Day.
We also get more time with the Eternals, who I actually really like when Kieron Gillen's writing them! Some of the in-between moments depicted here help Judgment Day a lot, revealing how certain big reveals were pulled off. I'd firmly recommend reading the two volumes back-to-back, or even side-by-side.
Naturally, there's some chaff with this wheat (hello random Iron Fist comic), but for the most part, this companion is exactly what I was looking for while reading Judgment Day.
October 22, 2023
The companion to AXE: Judgment Day certainly elevates the coherence of the mainline AXE: Judgment Day event, though as an isolated book, the arrangement of issues leaves a bit to be desired. I wish the companion and mainline book were just published together, given that neither is terribly lengthy. Integrated chronologically as one book, the overall stakes and logic of the story would be far more clear to readers. I suspect readers this book will somewhat disappoint readers who only read the Companion or read the Companion first rather than reading parts of the Companion first and then the rest in conjunction with the main book.
January 23, 2024
More often than not, the companion material for a big crossover often feel rather superfluous rather than essential. However, I think a lot of the tie-in material for A.X.E. actually turns out to be pretty important to further fleshing out everyone's motivations and helping to make things make actual sense. The main book can feel like a bit of squishy narrative mess with everything happen all at once. But with these supporting books, you get a closer look at the motivations and mindsets of different characters involved in the event and this is way more than just expanded versions of other scenes depicted in the main books.
April 3, 2024
The companion trade is mostly worthwhile for the "Death to the Mutants" miniseries, particularly since it fleshes out the Eternals perspective a lot more and genuinely makes for a better supplementary read to A.X.E.: Judgment Day. This mini puts the spotlight on Ikaris who was a bit sidelined in the main event and how he processes the waging war between Druig's faction of Eternals and the mutants of Krakoa. It'll also read better for those who have read Gillen's
Eternals
run, though it's not absolutely necessary. The Starfox tie-in issue is decent as well, even if it doesn't add much to the overall experience of the event.
But just about everything else here kind of sucks. The Fantastic Four issues are an utter bore, and even the "Eve of Judgment" and "Omega" issues are pretty much pointless given that they are just repeating beats from the actual event issues. It makes for a jarring read if read back-to-back, though I imagine the purpose is to keep readers remembering event as they bounce from one tie-in issue to the next.
I'm not a fan of events, but as far as they go, A.X.E.: Judgment Day and it's tie-ins wasn't all that bad. Fun, even.
But just about everything else here kind of sucks. The Fantastic Four issues are an utter bore, and even the "Eve of Judgment" and "Omega" issues are pretty much pointless given that they are just repeating beats from the actual event issues. It makes for a jarring read if read back-to-back, though I imagine the purpose is to keep readers remembering event as they bounce from one tie-in issue to the next.
I'm not a fan of events, but as far as they go, A.X.E.: Judgment Day and it's tie-ins wasn't all that bad. Fun, even.
January 10, 2026
I really didn't like Judgment Day and this companion book is worse, saved only by the two issue Fantastic Four story that focuses more on Sue than the Eternals. And that's the crux of the problems of this event, the Eternals. I haven't read Kieron Gillen's run but the Eternals just aren't interesting here and there is so much nonsense that makes little sense. There are so many characters and Gillen focuses on some of the weirdest choices. There was also a random Iron Fist book in here that did little for the story or the character. The art here was also all over the place. Overall, this doesn't add to the event and seemed pointless.
May 27, 2025
Kieron Gillen wraps up his run with the Eternals just as his work on Immortal X-Men kicks into high gear. Some work I'd like to highlight in this particular volume:
Guiu Vilanova on Death to the Mutants
Daniele Di Nicuolo's kickass anime-style pencils on Starfox
Alyssa Wong on Iron Fist. More Lin Lie please!
David Pepose and Juann Cabal on Fantastic Four
My one complaint is that the DttM covers are kind of false advertising. You never get to see Cyclops standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Warlord Kro, or an 100 foot tall Emma Frost riding Syne the Memotaur like a bucking bronco. That said... 4/5
Guiu Vilanova on Death to the Mutants
Daniele Di Nicuolo's kickass anime-style pencils on Starfox
Alyssa Wong on Iron Fist. More Lin Lie please!
David Pepose and Juann Cabal on Fantastic Four
My one complaint is that the DttM covers are kind of false advertising. You never get to see Cyclops standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Warlord Kro, or an 100 foot tall Emma Frost riding Syne the Memotaur like a bucking bronco. That said... 4/5
December 22, 2022
The three Death to the Mutants issues were the best of this companion. Overall rating of 3.5 stars. Originally read as individual comics; ratings below:
Eve of Judgment= 2 stars
Death to the Mutants #1= 5 stars
Death to the Mutants #2= 4 stars
Death to the Mutants #3= 4 stars
Starfox= 2 stars (Second half of the issue was better. I didn't care for the art style.)
Eve of Judgment= 2 stars
Death to the Mutants #1= 5 stars
Death to the Mutants #2= 4 stars
Death to the Mutants #3= 4 stars
Starfox= 2 stars (Second half of the issue was better. I didn't care for the art style.)
June 30, 2023
I much preferred this companion to Judgement Day than the main story, especially Starfox, Iron Fist and Fantastic Four storylines.
The artwork popped and the story's both worked as one offs and linking into the Judgement Day storyline.
Main high point was the 2 part FF story with a Taking of Pelham 123 and Die Hard vibe and Sue getting to show her badass and empathetic side in equal measure.
The artwork popped and the story's both worked as one offs and linking into the Judgement Day storyline.
Main high point was the 2 part FF story with a Taking of Pelham 123 and Die Hard vibe and Sue getting to show her badass and empathetic side in equal measure.
August 28, 2023
This is really the final book of Kieron Gillen's Eternals (with three random issues from other writers that you can skip). The art suffers and feels rushed but the story is a solid ending to those characters and that tale.
Weird to type, but the companion book is better than the main event.
Weird to type, but the companion book is better than the main event.
December 3, 2023
An assortment of tie-ins and bookends for the Judgment Day event. Some of these probably should've been in the event trade. Collecting some of the X-Men tie-ins in here might've been a good idea too. It's an okay collection of stuff, just oddly collected.
December 25, 2023
Not the Celestial trying to judge the Machine. Solid stories here. Not a fan of the Fantastic Four one, but I loved Syne the Memotaur’s story. Interesting to see the Eternals going on pilgrimage and trying to atone too.
April 9, 2024
Not really essential, but not terrible. I especially liked the two-issue Fantastic Four story included here. Could do without the Starfox one-shot (with terrible art, to boot). If you really enjoyed this particular arc of the X-Men saga, then this book is probably for you.
November 13, 2022
See “Judgement Day” for full review
December 5, 2022
Un companion algo irregular con numeros que sobran (Starfox, Iron Fist), y la coda que requiere Gillen para continuar con sus Eternals en una estructura más dúctil que el concepto original.
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