‘AXE: Judgment Day’ Expands Into Three Key One-Shots

by Tony Thornley

Marvel’s Judgment Day event already looks to be one of Marvel’s biggest. Now it expands in October with three character-focused one shots that will prove essential to the story’s endgame.

Event architect Kieron Gillen is joined by artists Federico Vicentini, Francesco Mobili, and Pasqual Ferry on AXE: Avengers, AXE: X-Men and AXE: Eternals. The trio of one-shots will be focused on Iron Man, Jean Grey and Ajak, and the critical roles they will play in the story.

· A.X.E.: Avengers #1 will strip Iron Man of his armor like never before. He’s spent his life building suits to protect him but now Tony Stark has to enter a suit of armor that could kill us all. Can he survive? Can anyone?

· A.X.E.: X-Men #1 will examine Jean Grey’s intricate relationship with the Phoenix Force, burning away the mystery behind their connection once and for all. It wasn’t her. It wasn’t her. It wasn’t her. It wasn’t her. It wasn’t her. Yet: “I am fire and life incarnate! Now and forever” Which part of “Now and Forever” is confusing to you? As one world burns, can Jean Grey justify her existence after burning another?

· A.X.E.: Eternals #1 will tackle Ajak’s past decisions regarding the Celestials and how she plans to lead the Eternals through this latest challenge. Ajak has come a long way. She’s met her maker. Hell, she’s made her maker. Now can she – or anyone – survive her maker?

“I wanted Judgment Day to be a huge scale event book, but also really be absolutely about the people in it – that’s Marvel comics to me,” Gillen said. “When we say SUPERHUMAN we mean both SUPER and HUMAN. These specials really drill down on that, giving a deep-dive personal horrorshow for the three sides in the crossover, centered on one of their main players – Tony Stark, Jean Grey and Ajak. With their history, can they really justify themselves? Let’s find out, in this dungeon-delve-as-psychogeography hell trip. Also, all three have AMAZING ART.”