Initially touted as Marvel’s big blockbuster event of the summer and poised to somehow change the status quo once more, Queen in Black has now managed not only to be overshadowed by other “status quo defining events running parallel to it, " but it’s also managed to make almost all of its major plot points take place in tie-in books.
This element of “doing homework” reaches its boiling point in this issue in particular, with some truly pivotal context for the closing finale having taken place in two entirely different books, all while this main event-focused issue only seems to be set on showcasing random globe-trotting action while barely even summarizing what’s going on in other locales. And that, of course, only makes this series even more redundant, especially when we’re literally just one issue away from the finale.
A Whole Lotta Nothing
Issue #4 once again gives readers a quick snapshot of the Avengers conducting anti-symbiote operations across the world, from teams in the UK, Japan, Italy, and Egypt tackling multiple alien soldiers that have been enhanced by Hela’s symbiotes. Another quick snapshot in space shows the Dark and Light Avengers teams created by Tony Stark and Cable also enacting their final gambit against Knull and Hela (something you won’t see in this book at all, but will see in full in Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark #3) that forces the two cosmic forces to meet face to face for the first time.
Meanwhile, back in New York, Black Cat manages to defuse the symbiote's supreme intelligence (once again, to find out how you’ll have to read the most recent tie-in issue of her own book) and the makeshift new Fantastic Four quickly defeat the symbiote-powered Fire-Lord with little effort as well. But of course, just when things start to look good for our heroes, symbiotes across the world start twitching, and Reed Richards starts panicking before he tells everyone what’s going on. Back in the Baxter Building, the Venom symbiote suddenly reaches out to pretty much consume the entire planet…turning it into Venom World. “How?” you may ask. Well, you won’t get answers in this book, but once more, gotta do your homework and read Venom’s most recent tie-in issue. See how this is a bit of an annoying pattern in this issue?
This Could Have Been an Email Instead
At this point, I think Al Ewing and co. have pretty much been told to wrap this event up as quickly as possible, because very little actually explains how there can be so much happening in issue #4 in particular, but little to none of it has any real value to the event itself. Instead, Queen in Black #4, despite being the penultimate issue in this primary series for the whole event, manages to make for one of the single most boring symbiote invasions in editorial history. Which is saying something, because law of diminishing returns states this should’ve happened ages ago, but the outright refusal to show major, truly pivotal plot points in this issue itself and instead force readers to go and read random tie-in issues for series they might not even be following is the hallmark of lazy work.
Al Ewing tries his best to keep the tone whimsical and nonchalant, but that only ends up making things worse in terms of just how little we’re getting in this issue. The lion’s share of the issue in particular focuses too much on the Avengers scattered across the globe having their little banter sessions and occasional punch up against the monster of the week style symbiote alien hybrid in that locale. There’s some fun dialogue thrown in, sure (Hydra Party in the UK Parliament? Totally not satire, amiright?), but when your event comic lacks in the event department so thoroughly, it starts to feel like a lazy cover-up.
More annoying, however, is that every major plot point that is supposed to matter happens off-screen and in another tie-in book. Previous issues had this problem before as well, but none of them were quite as heavy handed with keeping all the genuinely interesting stuff off the page than with this book. It’s almost bordering on false advertising when the titular “Queen in Black” book doesn’t even have the climactic battles between Hela and Knull. No, instead, I have to go read the far superior tie-in books to even have an inkling of what’s going on here. Which means that all the best story elements are told elsewhere, while you get the shortened, summarized, nearly ChatGPT-generated version in this book, which is kind of just insulting. Even the supposed biggest moment in the finale with the Venom World reveal feels like it came out of nowhere if you haven’t read the particular issue of Venom from the previous week.
When compared to past Marvel event books with their own respective tie-ins, Queen in Black #4 feels like you’re being forced to do remedial homework while sitting in detention. The context for the book’s events are razor thin to the point of being completely pointless beyond quick recaps you could’ve gotten off Wikipedia instead, which Ewing tries to cover up with generic action and MCU humor. If this is a portent for how the finale is going to turn out (and the solicitations for the week seem to point strongly in that direction), then this event looks poised to be a disappointment beyond words.
An Uphill Art Battle
Iban Coello and Paco Medina continue to do their best work in this issue too, keeping the action as entertaining as possible from a visual standpoint, even if the writing falters so much. Whatever little they do get to show of the action on the page is fairly energetic and fun, which is par for the course for such talented artists in general.
Medina draws most of this book in his usual cartoonish style, bringing a more swashbuckling adventuring element to the Avengers’ globetrotting segments as well as the New York battles. In earlier reviews, I’d mentioned how his style felt a little out of place in an event book of this nature, especially when it’s usually geared towards a bit more lighthearted stuff, but with the way the main Queen in Black series’ story has devolved into this, I think it’s perfectly fine.
Iban Coello takes up the latter half of the book, showcasing snapshots of Hela’s and Knull’s climactic battle – which he should’ve been allowed to draw in full, in my opinion, instead of being relegated to this – as well as the big Venom World finale. I’m a sucker for how Coello draws symbiotes and stuff and the big double-page spread of Venom spreading across the planet is pretty cool, even if it is a little derivative of Spider-Man 2, but the thing that really takes me out of it is that final shot where Venom’s goofy face with tongue rolling out stares at readers from the cosmos. Guru-eFX’s color work keeps the action fresh and interesting for both writers’ segments, but not by much because it just feels like he’s painting by the numbers in this book. While I like some of the shading work he did in the final few pages, the majority of the book feels fairly standard and serviceable in its hues and colors.
An Event That’s Far From Eventful
Queen in Black #4 feels like you’re being robbed. I can’t think of a nicer way to say this when literally all the best parts are kept out of the book, and you’re literally being told by editorial to go and read the tie-ins for the best bits. With this being the penultimate issue for the big event itself, and so little of the titular character or her nemesis actually showing up or doing anything of value in the pages, it makes for a sorry picture of the state of Marvel’s event writing scene, especially when paired alongside other ongoing event books like Avengers: Armageddon.
To put it bluntly, if Marvel doesn’t seem to care about its events and wants to wrap them up as quickly and as messily as possible, how can a reader be expected to invest their time and emotion in that? It’s a big ask when reading feels like being made to do homework at gunpoint, and I’m tired of using that analogy as much as you’re probably tired of hearing it, but I genuinely can’t feel any other way about this book and how this event has managed to consistently disappoint in its main series, while the tie-ins churn out far superior work in comparison. Maybe you should read those instead to enjoy some actually good event work.
Final Verdict: Queen in Black #4 is a frenzied mess where every major plot point that matters taking place in multiple tie-in books for the event, ensuring an almost pointless issue full of nothing but mindless action that wastes another issue of this event series.