Thursday, March 6, 2014

Not So New Comic Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (1991) #25

                 Here we go!  An anniversary issue, from back when that meant something!  Before a time when the comics were just rebooted every  time management wanted a boost in sales.  That being said, in the nineties, when there was an anniversary, or even just some kind of special event, we got not only a double issue, but also a fancy cover of some kind.  This one is odd.  Usually the fancy cover would be some kind of holofoil or embossed, or something.  This cover is kind of holographic, with a little raised ink, but it’s kind of stuck halfway between the two.  Almost like they were trying something new with this cover and it didn’t take.  Regardless of the cover, let’s see what the interiors hold for the Guardians and the Silver Surfer.

                This is the big one, the big showdown between two huge cosmic forces!  But first, loads and loads of exposition.  First, we get a recap of last issue, which takes all of one page, then we get an even more in-depth accounting of what the Silver Surfer has been up to.  Apparently he was stripped of his power cosmic by Galactus but was saved by a Watcher named Aron, who convinced the Surfer that the power cosmic was in him the whole time (how very Walt Disney) which gave the Surfer his power back. 

                To help battle the giant threat that is Galactus, Vance calls up Mainframe and Martinex to see if anyone else is available.  Unfortunately the connection was severed, by what, we won’t know until the second annual (review coming next week).  So the Guardians basically have to go it alone on this one.  Even the Surfer, who dwarfs pretty much everyone with his power is not available to help as he is transporting the people on the planet below out of the way of the planet-eater.  Luckily, the Guardians have Firelord to assist them against Galactus…for all of five minutes… as Galactus makes short work of his former herald. 

                At this, Charlie decides that is up to him, Starhawk and Talon to stop Galactus (much to Talon’s chagrin).  They head outside after suiting up and basically buzz around Galactus like flies while Firelord is being tended to by Nikki.  Outside the ship, Talon pulls out some magic that he learned as an apprentice to Krugarr, the sorcerer supreme and it starts to get out of hand.  Doctor Strange shows up and reverses the spell, saving everyone in the process but confesses that he is too weak to do anything else and leaves.  Doctor Strange is a jerk.  Luckily the loss of Doctor Strange is softened by the return of Firelord.

                While all this is going on, Vance goes to find Yondu, who has been praying this whole time.  Doctor Strange is a jerk, but Yondu is just a shitty teammate.  Apparently the people of Centauri IV that Yondu thought were all extinct were not.  He’s been super emo this whole time for no reason is what that amounts to.  Anyway, he realizes it’s his purpose in life to go be amongst his people.  Unfortunately, Yondu can’t teleport planetside with the power of his Guardian Star alone, so Vance gives him his as well, which gives him enough power to teleport down.  Why Yondu couldn’t have waited until the battle was over, maybe help defeat Galactus first, I have no idea.

                Back outside, Charlie grabs a gun off of the space ship and shoots it at Galactus (nope, not sure how he does this either).  This doesn’t do anything at all to Galactus, who just flicks the air in front of Charlie and Talon and they fly back.  Firelord keeps fighting until the Surfer, fresh from having teleported a whole society off the world below, shows up and is now the size of Galactus.  How?  Again, I have no idea.  Those two go back and forth a bit until the Surfer has the upper hand and is about to deal the killing blow, when Eon, that creepy bastard, pops up and tells the Surfer to spare him.  Instead of killing Galactus, the Surfer actually allows him to eat the now uninhabited planet below.  So, basically, this whole story was unnecessary as Galactus feasted on a planet anyway. 
 
                After Galactus is done, Eon suggests that the Surfer travels with Galactus and helps him find suitable planets to feast on…basically the same thing he was doing as a herald, except now he’s saving the people on the planet below instead of condemning them. 

                To wrap things up, we see Yondu meet his people, Nikki and Firelord have a relationship talk where they decide to just be friends, and Eon tells Firelord he is still the Protector of the Universe because the Surfer has reformed his board and is now a quasi-herald of Galactus again. 

                The end? The end.

                Next Issue: We take a step back and look at the second annual before moving on to issue twenty-six in two weeks.





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