Infinity Wars: Fallen Guardian #1
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: Andy MacDonald
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Artists: R.B. Silva, Guru-eFX
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Review by Nico Sprezzatura
(Spoilers for Infinity Wars #6 below)
Gamora’s crusade for the Infinity Stones may finally be over, but not everybody made it out alive. As seen in this week’s Infinity Wars #6, Drax paid the ultimate price to save his own universe and the nascent Warped World. Infinity Wars: Fallen Guardian #1 (also out this week) gives the man formerly known as Arthur Douglas a fitting send-off, but is it worth an extra $4.99?
That depends on how invested you are in either the story or character, I’d say. While Drax is a fairly popular character, especially after Dave Bautista’s portrayal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you could also argue he’s the most expendable of the current Guardians lineup. Star-Lord is the face, Gamora recently underwent a heel turn, Rocket and Groot are the kid-appeal characters, and Adam Warlock has a hard time staying dead in general, which left Drax as the most logical choice for an axing. As we all know, this is comics, so Drax won’t be gone forever. But for now, the Marvel Universe will have a Drax-shaped hole, and it’ll likely affect his surviving comrades moving forward.
If anything, Infinity Wars: Fallen Guardian #1 is a touching tribute to Drax and his weird, convoluted backstory that was (wisely) excised from his movie counterpart. Told primarily in flashback, the issue rehashes Drax’s origin —a human musician killed by Thanos, quickly reborn into a new cosmic body— and utilizes his split nature as a means of explaining how he was the only one who could have saved both Earth-616 and the Warped World. It’s actually pretty clever, all things considered. But for those who aren’t privy to Drax’s history, it could probably come off as a bit confusing.
For the entire Infinity Wars event, lead writer Gerry Duggan has crafted a surprisingly engaging story that kept me hooked throughout, and Fallen Guardian #1 managed to get me to care about a character I didn’t really have any strong opinion about either way. I would’ve liked to get some perspective from Drax’s daughter Moondragon, but I can understand why an overstuffed issue like this one didn’t have room for it.
Andy MacDonald and Chris O’Halloran’s art is also a major draw here, somehow marrying the small-scale Earth scenes of Drax’s past with the cosmic, oversized scale of his later adventures. If anything, a glimpse at angsty Kid Thanos is almost worth the price of admission.
The Verdict: Check it Out.
Infinity Wars: Fallen Guardian #1 is a touching, if not entirely necessary, coda for one of the Galaxy’s most beloved Guardians.
