Following the devastating results of the previous issue, this issue offers up planned resolutions on both sides of the Kree-Shi'Ar War. Each king faces facts, makes decisions, and commits to the final outcome of this skirmish in the stars. Abnett and Lanning have become the masters of the Marvel Universe -- or, at least, of the cosmic corners of the Marvel Universe. The decisions these writers have made and the situations they have placed upon their characters have ensured that not only will the characters never be the same, but that the Marvel Universe will continue to grow and evolve.

Pelletier's art, as always, continues to impress. Magyar and Quintana accentuate the gracefulness of Pelletier's figures, the boldness of the action and the textures of the worlds these characters inhabit. While this story is engaging in its own right, Pelletier, Magyar, and Quintana bring great benefit to the overall adventure.

This issue could easily muddle its way through and simply mark time in the Kree-Shi'Ar War, but it does so much more. The focus of this issue is on the kings involved in the battle: Black Bolt and Vulcan. The kings' decisions are made clear here, as are the reasons for them being driven to make the decisions they select. This story dives into the effects those decisions assign to the peripheral characters -- those not in position to declare plans of action, but those certainly able to affect the outcome of the battle on a more intimate scale. Crystal, Ronan, Gladiator, Medusa, Marvel Girl, and Maximus are more defined and better characterized here. The outcomes of the individual conflicts each faces will certainly change these characters.

After everything that has occurred from the death of Lilandra to the marriage of Crystal and Ronan, this series has changed the Marvel Universe. With one more issue and an epilogue slated, it is a certainty that Abnett, Lanning and Pelletier will make a few more changes to the composition of the Marvel Universe cosmos. I, for one, am anxious to see what those changes are.