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Defenders: Beyond #2
- Writer:
- Al Ewing
- Artist:
- Javier Rodríguez
- Letterer:
- VC's Joe Caramagna
- Cover Artist:
- Javier Rodríguez
- Publisher:
- Marvel
- Price:
- $3.99
- Release Date:
- 2022-08-24
- Colorist:
- Javier Rodríguez
While the Defenders have always protected the people of Earth against supernatural and mystical threats, this time, the balance of the entire cosmos is at stake. Hot on the heels of the events of The Death of Doctor Strange, Marvel Comics sends the new ragtag Defenders team of Blue Marvel, Loki, America Chavez, Tigra, and Taaia on an other-worldly adventure beyond eternity. Writer Al Ewing, being the master storyteller he is crafts a majestically mindbending tale that flings the voyagers through different planes of reality. Accompanying him on this quest are artist Javier Rodríguez and letterer VC's Joe Caramagna, who make Defenders: Beyond #2 a colorful journey as the story slowly takes shape amidst the swirling chaos.
Defenders: Beyond #2 begins with a story, a graphical account of the birth of the first world and the ensuing war between the Celestials and Aspirants that gave way to the Second Cosmos. From this well of life sprang a permutation and combination of "What Ifs," which became the multiverse. To safeguard the narrative, the Celestials created the Servitors, omega beings able to harness the raw power of their creators, who now stand before the Defenders with judging eyes. Tigra, wary of the Beyonder, reminds her teammates of the entity's crimes against humanity, who promptly tries to dismiss the fiasco as a tantrum. But the Defenders know that despite all their talk, the Servitors are a hurdle that needs to be crossed, by hook or by crook.
Defenders: Beyond #2 is a modern-day epic that charts the way forward for the Defenders in the star-bathed realities of Marvel's firmament as the journey beyond Eternity comes to its first halt. Preserving the adventurous spirit from the first breath till the last, the lively pace makes the characters jump through perilous hoops in an elaborate grandiose display. Ewing understands the power of the narrative and makes it an integral part of his plot, a metatextual commentary on the story-bending rules it governs. However, the lack of a solid reason sticks out past the noise of battle and science jargon.
Rodríguez delivers an extravagant display of colors and the abstract, bringing together the aesthetics of the great Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko for a near-blasphemous amalgamation in this issue, which goes above and beyond in both literal and metaphorical terms. Rodríguez gives Ewing's poetic verses a physical form that starts with a chaotic war showing the Celestials and their machinations in full force. Gradually the issue contains the story within a room full of pipelines running up, down, and across, symbolizing the different realities throughout the multiverse. As the minuscule Defenders stand before the giant Servitors, the colors light up the scenes in gorgeous grandeur, putting the scale of the book into perspective.
Ewing uses every narrative device at his disposal, from expositions to MacGuffins and free-flowing storytelling, to make Defenders: Beyond #2 an enthralling read. With Rodríguez bringing his A-game to the table, the resulting mixture will blow readers away with the presentation alone. Accordingly, the characters have also matured, adapting to their predicament and using the confounding rules to hit the wardens where it hurts. Blue Marvel has really grown into the leadership role, and with the surprise visit from a primordial entity, things have heated up just the right amount to end Defenders: Beyond #2 on a sizzling note.