Civil War II: Gods of War #4 Review and *SPOILERS* - Marvel Monday

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Written By: Dan Abnett
Art By: Emilio Laiso, Guru-eFX
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 14, 2016
Publisher: Marvel

*Non Spoiler and Score At The Bottom*

This miniseries really only exists because the Hercules series came to a close and Abnett needed to wrap everything up. In the last issue we got a bit more of a tie-in with Civil War II but for the most part this series has stood on its own. For the most part, I have to say that I’ve actually really enjoyed it. It’s an amazing redemption story for Hercules and it’s very interesting to see his character arc through it. So far, this series has been one of the parts of Civil War II that I look forward to and now the series comes to a close with this final issue. Will Hercules and the Gods of War finally defeat the Uprising Storm? Will Hercules redeem himself? Let’s find out.

The issue begins with Tiresias the Seer making a video recording. She is using the video to warn others about the threat that the Uprising Storm presents to them. The Gods of War currently have a plan to take them down but in the even that they fail, this video is being made to help heroes fight the new gods. This takes us right into the battle between the Gods of War and the Uprising Storm. Hercules leads a team in to face them while Lorelei and Ire perform a ritual to weaken them. Horrorscope catches wind of this and teleports herself to their location to stop them. This is where the battle begins and Ire is able to injure Horrorscope with her knife, unfortunately, it is not enough.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Gods of War meet with the other new gods and the battle seems overwhelmingly in favor of the new gods. This is when we learn the true goal of the Uprising Storm. They do not wish to usher in a new era in which the new gods are worshipped. Instead, they simply want to destroy the world, a symptom of their creation. With the new gods winning, suddenly something changes. The injury that Horrorscope took has weakened her and the tide of battle shifts. The Gods of War quickly strike back defeating the new gods one by one. After defeating them, Athena appears before Hercules and offers him a place in Olympus for he has earned it. However, Hercules has found a new path and he plans on following it. This is where Tiresias’ recording ends and she informs us that she plans on posting it online for others to find it. This is where the miniseries finally ends.

Well, this has been one of the biggest disappointments that I have read in a long time. Not only do we receive the same information about the enemies that we have received since the beginning of this series but it is all tied together by one big fight scene with expositional dialogue over it all. Honestly, I loved this series. It wasn’t perfect, but it was really fun and I enjoyed reading it. This ending is garbage and is most likely a result of Abnett just wrapping everything up on his series before turning all his focus on DC and his new contract. This feels like a slap in the face of all the readers following this series. I can’t imagine how readers who were reading the Hercules solo series feel about it. I do praise the art team because the book is gorgeous and I love looking at it but… everything about this series is tainted now. One of the stories in Civil War II that I was suggesting to people is now the one that I’m telling everyone to stay away from it.

Bits and Pieces

Dan Abnett finishes off his run with Hercules without any sort of style or grace. This is a half-assed issue that was clearly thrown together at the last second with dialogue borrowed from everything that came before it. This issue is really pretty to look at and I praise the art team but this is a terrible way to end this series and the entire thing has been tainted. A week ago, I would have recommended this series to anyone interested in Civil War II. Now, I’m putting up caution tape and hoping nobody crosses the line.

3.0/10