Empyre #1

The beginning of an Event Crossover, Empyre #1 should be judged for good characterization, enjoyable artwork, and that something actually happened. In addition the foreshadowing, the payoff of actual storytelling, character development, tie-in potential, great cliffhanger, there is so much here that one hopes issue #2 does not drop the ball. Read Full Review

Bottom Line: Beautiful pencils, good old-fashioned ass kicking and a terrific twist ending…this book is off to a great start. This is crossover events done right. Read Full Review

All things considered, this is a pretty rousing start to the Empyre epic. I remember seeing stories of the Kree home planet as a place completely covered with technology, where nothing grows except machinerythe legacy of their ancient hatred and prejudice against the Cotati. Well, their botanical bigotry has come back to bite both them and the Skrulls this time, and it will be up to The Fantastic Four and The Avengerswhom both sides have long hatedto get them out of it. And it serves them right. Read Full Review

This is a book that creeps up on you with its very clever final page. As far as first issues in event comics go this will likely make many who didn't even know who the Skrull or Kree are want to keep reading. The opening salvo for Empyre reminds us superhero comics are fun, stakes are high, and clever ideas prevail.  Read Full Review

It's a strong start, but asalways, the conclusion will decide the thing. Read Full Review

Empyre#1 reads like a summer blockbuster, which might be what we all need right now. Some of the characters aren't quite themselves, but that doesn't stop this from being an explosively fun read. Be sure to check it out. Read Full Review

Empyre begins in solid, unspectacular fashion. Read Full Review

When all is said and done Avengers/Fantastic Four Empyre #1 offers an explosive start to the Empyrestoryline proper. With the field now set it will be interesting to see where the story goes from here. Hopefully it will be able to follow through on the highs of this book, while avoiding its narrative pitfalls. Read Full Review

Empyre is looking to be a summer blockbuster that plays on the strengths of the Marvel Universe, weaving continuity seamlessly into this event series. Read Full Review

I maintain that Al Ewing is the best writer currently working at Marvel and this issue reminds of why, as he and Slott craft a strong, engaging and best of all, SURPRISING issue. Read Full Review

The plants are taking over. Meat is murdered. Who's to blame? Read Full Review

I will say the plotting of this first issue somewhat reiterates the same beats of an Avengers-centric zero issue that was published a few weeks back, but it also gives you enough context through narration and dialogue to jump right into this issue without necessarily having to catch up on anything else. Read Full Review

With both sides of this interstellar conflict upended, Empyre #1 starts off on a strong foot. We will have to wait and see if the event keeps those steady legs, but for now Empyre #1 is good and splashy fun. Read Full Review

"Empyre" #1 is an intriguing but methodical start to an important Marvel storyline. Read Full Review

Empyre #1 kicks off with some solid storytelling work lavished on plot developments that rest on a foundation of profound stupidity. There's exciting action, but it's a hard comic to read if you don't like seeing smart characters do stupid things. There's still room for inventive, exciting developments in this event -- but cleverness is in short supply in this first issue. Read Full Review

Empyre's lead up issues generally have been really solid setting up the situation and catching readers up. Empyre #1 though feels like a letdown in a very basic and silly plot and visuals that aren't up to snuff. Marvel's cosmic side of things have been getting exciting but Empyre #1 feels like it's a step back from all the gains that have been made in recent years. Read Full Review

If issue #1 is any indication it's going to be a very long summer. Read Full Review

Empyre starts off big and crazy and full of superhero space battles, but there's nothing meatier beyond the action. Read Full Review

The Empyre Event kicks off with an issue that had me more confused at points then excited. The art was good (though too close-up at times), and there is a twist at the end that might have some excited, but I needed more to convince me this is a must-read. I would never bail after one issue, but this one is now on a very short leash. Read Full Review

Empyre #1, which kicks off Marvel's new event, is a beautifully drawn disagreement between two geniuses -- Reed Richards and Tony Stark -- that struggles to make either seem worthy of that descriptor. Read Full Review

Empyre #1 was all noise and not much substance. Things definitely take place in this opening issue but none of it is as intriguing as it should be with a lot of poor character development. Add in the fact that Empyre #1 is not at all welcoming to new or casual Marvel readers and you have a start of a big event that just drops the ball. Empyre #1 is definitely only for hardcore Marvel fans who feel like they need to have a complete Avengers and Fantastic Four run. Hopefully the second issue makes vast improvements over what we got with Empyre #1. Read Full Review

EdNothIng

Jul 15, 2020

Much better than I expected

Batmanman

Jul 24, 2020

This whole event is a masterpiece

axdn

Jul 15, 2020

Couldn't expect any less from Al Ewing and Dan Slott!

Wolf Warner

Jul 15, 2020

Good Read! Caught me off guard! Let the Flowering Begin 🌺 🌸

Psycamorean

Jul 16, 2020

If you ever wanted an objective fact check that the professional critics are corrupt, compare the reviews of Death Metal #2 to this issue. This was a really good issue, twist being obvious aside. I want to focus on the twist though. How much of a twist is it actually supposed to be? It was pretty clear by the end of Avengers #0, and everyone remembers "Beware the Trees" from Incoming, right? I wonder what this event will be now that it seems like the conflict being built up has already reached its climax? I'm excited to see. I will say the art leaves a bit to be desired. Everything looks great except for the faces. Those can be rough.

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• Gizmo
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Liem Duong - Jul 17, 2020

Uhhhh, the guys who ranked both issues ranked kinda similar scores. Graphic Policy 6/6 But Why Tho? 9/8 AIPT- 9.5/8.5 Newsarama- 5/7 Monkeys Fighting Robots; 8.8/8.0 Everything else was Either people who read DM really liking Metal or people reading Empyre going eh.

Psycamorean - Jul 17, 2020

Overall, I see that critics would rather go for a Death Metal than an Empyre. That shows, to me, that critics aren't up to snuff and their opinions aren't any better than the rest of ours. Therefore, they can't be used as a gauge after all. Also, we see that overall, users are in disagreement with the critics regarding these two events. That's what I was getting at.

Psycamorean - Jul 17, 2020

I did go through each of the reviews you listed and I have gripes with all of them. Even some contradictions, in my opinion. If you want me to go into that, I can, but ultimately that isn't the point I was trying to make.

Liem Duong - Jul 17, 2020

Eh, fair enough

Gizmo - Jul 17, 2020

I've long found the user review average more reliable than the critic review average. Might as well ignore the critics at this point.

Psycamorean - Jul 18, 2020

Same. Critics still hold clout for some people, though, and that's why I like pointing out their flaws. And if I were much more inclined, I could probably do it for everything I review.

Valiant Son - Jul 23, 2020

I largely ignore the critic reviews and look at user reviews. I've frequently criticised nonsense from the critics in my own reviews.

Swanktub

Jul 15, 2020

I would love to see Al Ewing takeover the Fantastic Four ongoing book. He really knows how to balance cosmic adventures with grounded storytelling. I also was surprised with how much I liked Schiti's art.

allenquanobi

Jul 15, 2020

Considering that the first two set-up issues weren't that good, I surprisingly enjoyed this more than I expected. The interactions between all the heroes are great, the plot moves quickly, there isn't a lot of decompression, and overall it felt like a good start to a Marvel event. My big gripe with this story so far is that Tony is a complete idiot, he trusts some random person on the moon over his old allies and it does lead to an interesting twist, but feels a little unearned and sudden. The standout positive for this issue is the art, it is amazing. Schiti provides some of the best art I've seen in a Marvel book yet, and it really provides the book with an epic feel to it. I'll continue reading the main event, and hope that the tie- ins don't sour that experience. more

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Psycamorean - Jul 15, 2020

It's implied that Tony is under the influence of the Cotati through pheromones or something.

allenquanobi - Jul 15, 2020

That's what I figured but it is still jarring especially after all Tony's been through it just feels a little sudden

Super-Adaptoid

Jul 15, 2020

I sat down and read everything from Road To...all the way thru issue 1. Considering I’ve been reading comics for 48 years and have been mostly very down on Marvel for the last several years, I’m kind of enjoying this. It helps that Al is basing his story in some of my favorite past storylines (Englehart’s Celestial Madonna story is near or at the top of my all-time favorites), and I have to say that I’m impressed.

Prodigalson16

Jul 18, 2020

A decent little event comic.

Liem Duong

Jul 15, 2020

I thought this was going to be a snooze fest. Marvel has shown time and again that they can't write cross-over events to save their lives, Evident with Forceworks and Outlawed. And Empyre was beginning to look like that too. But I got a smack in the face after reading Issue 1. If this is any indication of how Empyre is going to be, than I am so glad I held this event out. The art, very Marvel-like. Idk, DC and Marvel have artists that kind of represent how Marvel and DC as companies approach their art, and Schiti captures that Marvel feel. That aside, its still good. The Paneling is very well done, especially its two page panel work. Marvel has a habit of using really intricate panel work that can be downright confusing, but Empyre man ages to utilizes it in a way that is very easy to follow along with. The story itself was mildly interesting for majority of the book. It picks up from both the FF and the Avengers Issue 0's. Slott and Ewing does a good job recapping what has happened and what exactly leads up to this issue. The Kree and Skrull join together for this mysterious reason, and we get surprise appearances of Hulking which was awesome. Some cool action scenes in the latter half, but mainly alot of talking from both the FF and Avengers side, some of it was unnecessary. A pretty standard story for Marvel, nothing special like the previous issues. But the last four pages is what made this book grab my attention. Now its getting exciting. I probably should have seen that twist earlier, but how Slott and Ewing executed that twist was very well done. I am surprised at how good this 1st issue turned out. more

Jacks Comics

Jul 17, 2020

Art 4/5 Story 4/5

huz

Jul 15, 2020

Art looked good.

jbong

Jul 17, 2020

Pretty slow to start, especially if you read #0. Otherwise it does pick up significantly towards the end of this issue and shows some promise.

Spacey Medicine

Jul 29, 2020

This was a little explain-y and repetitious to start. I remember the story about the moon fight from the last eight times we were told it! Please stop telling it to me! After that, I don’t know how I feel about this whole “I could explain the plot to you but I won’t, let’s do an action scene instead” thing. Like... wow the evil plants were evil. You coulda just said it my guy.

Hislight

Dec 02, 2020

It was a good read with great art. I didnt love this but didnt hate it either. Good Dialogue and enough Moments to catch your attention and leave you wanting to pick up the next issue. For me the best part was Hulkling..He was written very well and felt like he truly had a voice of his own.

CrazyforRAMU

Dec 17, 2020

The big ole action scenes look very good, but it's a classic misunderstanding brawl. The plot skewed a little too dumb for me. Franklin's objection to getting sidelined was all too right. And I hold it against both the characters and the writers that the Kree/Skrull side neglected to take the 10 seconds required to school the Avengers. This whole battle could have been avoided if they said, "Your tree-buddies want to wipe out all animal life, BTW."