Doctor Strange’s parting spell has brought together Blue Marvel, America Chavez, Taaia, Tigra, and Loki to form the latest iteration of the Defenders. As part of their cosmic quest, Eternity has ordered them to go beyond creation to seek out his adversary. Since then, they have escaped the Second Cosmos with the Beyonder, fought the Phoenix Force, and reunited with Glorian and Cloud. The time has finally come for the Defenders to journey into the next cosmos of the Marvel Comics Universe and find this elusive God of creation, but not before passing through the doors of the House of Ideas. Created by Al Ewing and Javier Rodríguez, with lettering from VC’s Joe Caramagna, Defenders: Beyond #5 offers the team narrative-altering choices.
Defenders: Beyond #5 continues the journey into the beyond as Blue Marvel leads the Defenders to the House of Ideas. On the way, Loki peers through a glass pane and finds the eight cosmos version of themselves looking back with the intent of catching a glimpse of the maker. With bated breath, the group enters the House and finds the One Above All waiting for them inside. A big battle ensues as the One feels offended by Blue Marvel’s line of questioning, siccing monsters of his creation on them until Brashear challenges his right to question. One Above All proceeds to show the heroes the result of their quest, which gives the God of Stories the answer to the cosmic riddle.
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” From the issue name itself to the metatextual commentary, Al Ewing alludes to the subconscious that resides beyond the mind, weighing heavily upon one’s thoughts and actions. Like any God, the One Above All is vindictive when held to judgment as well as benevolent in dolling out its riddles. Steeped in mythologies, the story forces the readers, alongside the Defenders, to minutely analyze every word spoken to unravel the cosmic symbolism inherent in the rantings. As the rapid flow of the narration trickles down to individual choices, some of which are too set in stone, the book shifts its focus to the wild card character of Loki. The former God of Mischief becomes the crux of the tale’s resolution as they stand before a difficult choice that can send shockwaves throughout the cosmos.
While the artwork harkens back to the blocky layouts of Jack Kirby and the starry color arrangements of Steve Ditko, Javier Rodríguez deserves full credit for the extravagant spread laid before the readers for the final time in this series. Geometric patterns, amorphous shapes, and regal imagery combine to create a psychedelic effect that fills the eyes with wide-eyed wonders of the ninth cosmos, a work in progress at One Above All’s hands. More than Ewing, it is Rodríguez’s pictorial depictions of the symbolism that are enchanting. The complementary colors scream for attention as the individual realities come asunder and break up into smaller panels, yet there is a self-awareness in the art that comes hand in hand with the script, fan servicing with some parody covers.
Defenders: Beyond #5 deals with some heavy themes about spirituality without crossing over into the planes of religious discourse. From references to the Tree of Life, springing a discussion on the crown that each of the Defenders sees upon their head, to an old Buddhist tale that talks about the freedom of the species versus the individual, the philosophical rhetoric works well within the cosmic nature of the book. As for the meta-commentary, Defenders: Beyond #5 gives Ewing a chance to say goodbye to his Loki run while opening doors for future stories, whoever is at its helm — a moment of catharsis that brings his Eugene Debs quote at the start of the book to a full circle.
