What Is A. X. E.: Judgement Day? A Look Into Marvels Latest Crossover Event

Marvel

Dec 22

Since 2020 Marvel has published three huge crossover events that have changed Marvel stories forever, Empyre (2020), X of Swords (2020), the Hellfire Gala (2021), and the latest giant crossover event called A.X.E.: Judgement Day (2022). The previous three crossover events incorporated well-known teams such as the Avengers and the X-Men. A.X.E.: Judgement Day is the culmination of all those events, but now, the Eternals have stepped in and upped the ante.

A.X.E.: Judgment Day was written by Kieron Gillen with art by Valerio Schiti. The event involves discovering the mutant resurrection protocols and the subsequent conflict between the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Eternals. The main storyline consisted of six issues which ran from July to November 2022. Alongside the main story were several tie-ins comics from Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Iron Fist, Starfox, and other X-Men, all written and illustrated by the immense talents at Marvel Comics.

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How Did It All Get Started?

It’s not an understatement to say that the path to A.X.E.: Judgement Day was paved with good intentions. But, of course, the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Eternals didn’t mean to place humanity before an angry Celestial judge whose impulses could destroy them. Regardless, their actions set these events in motion, and not even their incredible combined powers are enough to prohibit the Celestial from deciding whether Earth lives or dies.

Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Doctor Strange, and Ghost Rider joined just in time as the Dark Celestials descended upon the Earth. Subsequently, the Avengers discovered that the Eternals had all died mysteriously. The Eternals either murdered each other or committed suicide, leaving the Avengers to deal with the Dark Celestials alone. But, again, the Avengers triumphed, as they always have before. Victorious, the Avengers made their new headquarters inside the remains of The Progenitor, the Celestial, who was the first Celestial to visit Earth. Thus, Avengers Mountain became their latest home and the future body of a mad Celestial god.

The Eternals returned thanks to their “Resurrection Machines.” But, unfortunately, those machines also revived Thanos back to life, and as a cousin of the Eternals, Thanos was soon installed as the Prime Eternal leader. Phastos learned that the Eternals’ resurrection cycle came at a high cost. For an Eternal to be revived, an average human life must be sacrificed. That led Ikaris, Sersi, and a small group of Eternals to leave their people behind to live among the Deviants as mortals.

Ikaris and Sersi’s plans to halt Thanos led the defecting Eternals to attack the Avengers in Avengers Mountain. Thanos was finally dethroned as the Prime Eternal. Taking his place, Druig assumed the role and searched for a way to maintain a firm grip as the Eternals’ new leader. Druig decided he needed to start a war. What better place to look than the mutants of Krakoa and Arrako? Because Deviant genes had mixed with humans, Druig decided the mutants to be examples of “excess deviation” and ordered them destroyed, setting off the Eternals’ Prime Directive, leading them to attack Krakoa. This action prompted the Avengers to intervene, as they worked alongside a group of rogue Eternals and Mister Sinister.

Enter The X-Men

With help from Eros, the Eternals joined the Avengers and X-Men to fight the Progenitor. The “Resurrection Protocols” freed the mutants of Krakoa from death’s icy grip ever since. Another of Druig’s reasons for justifying war against the mutants was that they had terraformed Mars into Arakko, the new solar system capital. Magneto and Storm attempted to earn their place among the Arakki by forming their own Brotherhood of Arakko with Sunspot and the mysterious “Fisher King.” While the damage to Krakoa has been repaired, the secrets of mutant resurrection are now known to the public. As a result, Jean Grey created the Phoenix Foundation to give the downtrodden and oppressed a second chance at life.

Meanwhile, Arrako, the mutant’s Martian world, endured massive changes. The Eternals sent Uranos, Thanos’ powerful great-uncle, to Arrako for a brief visit. While there, Uranos killed many key characters, including Magneto. The Avengers played a crucial role in Judgement Day. Those who died during the battle against the Progenitor have returned. And the Avengers will need all the help they can get for their next fight against the Council of Red, a clan of Mephistos from across the Multiverse.

The Eternals are particularly roughed up after the end of Judgement Day. In the aftermath of their war with the X-Men, the Eternals pledged an alliance with the mutants. But, unfortunately, on the character level, Sersi is dead, and there is no way for the Eternals to bring her back to life. So the Eternals must make every day matter and do what is right. And if they rehabilitate their image with humanity after the events of Judgement Day, the Eternals will undoubtedly need to do a lot of good.