Review: Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #4

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Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods – Book Four

Writers: G. Willow Wilson, Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, Josie Campbell
Artists: Cian Tormey, Wade Von Grawbadger, Raül Fernandez, Alitha Martinez, Mark Morales, John Livesay, Caitlin Yarsky
Color Artists: Jordie Bellaire, Alex Guimarães
Letterers: Pat Brosseau, Becca Carey, Clayton Cowles

Review by Davydh Tidey

Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #4 closes out the mini crossover event, and brings the larger stories of the Wonder Woman and Lazarus Planet books to an end.

…Everybody, brace yourselves.”
– Mary Marvel

Wonder

Now empowered beyond anywhere she’s been before (yes, including Death Metal), Wonder Woman’s ready to end Hera’s Godly revolution once and for all. With all her allies at her side, Diana can’t lose, right? Well, Hera still has a few tricks up her sleeve, which may stop the Amazon Warrior in her tracks…

G. Willow Wilson has, overall, done a great job with this mini-event. Some of the plot points have been inspired, some of the character changes have been really interesting and cool.

The ending, however, feels a little bit rushed. A lot of what I liked about this saga has either been reversed or not been acknowledged again. The resolution feels slightly flat, and doesn’t really fit with the pace of the rest of the tale. A lot of the ideas incorporated into this finale just don’t work with it. It feels like the event needed to be an issue longer, so all of the ideas could be fully explored and developed.

I’ve really liked what I’ve read from this event as a whole, but, I have to admit, then ending has let me down slightly.

Cian Tormey, Wade Von Grawbadger, Raül Fernandez and Jordie Bellaire do give us some great battle scenes, however. The coloring choices especially are really fun, and the clean linework really adds to the magical atmosphere of the scenes.

Monarch

Looks like the Amazons aren’t as forsaken as you thought, Faruka.”
– Queen Nubia

Hades’ invasion of the Amazon home has been brutal and swift, but the Amazons are holding their own. Following the events of the last issue, Nubia and her forces finally have an edge, but can they exploit it before it’s too late?

I’ve really liked the side stories set on Themyscira, and Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #4 delivers an ending that the Amazons can be happy with, setting up some of what’s to come from Tom King, Daniel Sampere and Tomeu Morey’s Wonder Woman.

Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad, with the ending of this backup story, are signing their name on the Amazons. This new status quo for them is their doing, their decision, and it’s a heck of a send-off for them. It does suffer from the same issues as the ending of the main story, in that it feels slightly rushed and like part of the plot has been skipped over, but overall it sets a pretty positive tone for the future.

Alitha Martinez, Mark Morales, John Livesay, and Alex Guimarães lift the gloomy atmosphere of the previous entires for this finale, and show us the wonder of Themyscira in its full glory. The Amazons future has been laid out in front of them, all they have to do is reach out and take it.

Worthy

I am the one who has acted unworthy.”
– The Wizard Shazam!

Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #4 also sees the saga of Billy and Mary come to an end, but not THE end. SHAZAM! #1 from Mark Waid, Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain is coming, which will see both of their stories continue. Here, the two have it out with the wizard SHAZAM! for siding against them, to see if an amicable solution can be reached. Turns out, it can!

Unfortunately, the problem with this issue continues into this back-up. This feels like too neat a resolution between the Mightiest Mortals and the wizard, and feels very much like there was more story to tell. That being said, Josie Campbell has done a brilliant job with Mary, and the short time she’s written Billy, and I love the new direction for the characters. Hopefully Waid, Mora and Bonvillain pick up the baton and do just as well with Mary in SHAZAM! #1.

The more I see from Caitlin Yarsky and Jordie Bellaire, the more I like their work together. I’d love to see another book from them together in the future (another Mary Marvel book, please?), and their stories in Lazarus Planet have been great to see.

Conclusion

Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #4. So, we reach the end. The Lazarus Planet saga draws to close with the finale to Revenge of the Gods. It’s had it’s highlights, and it’s low points, but overall the event has been a brilliant retooling of the DCU. The Dawn of DC slate has been great so far, and the titles coming after this will be no exception, I’m sure.