This is a review of the Ronan miniseries, written by Simon Furman with art by Jorge Lucas, which appears in the Annihilation Omnibus. You can read my reviews of Drax the Destroyer, Nova, The Silver Surfer, and The Super Skrull here, here, here, and here.
Short summary: the Marvel universe is being invaded by The Annihilation Wave, a space armada hailing from the Negative Zone led by Annihilus, a beaucoup powerful bug warlord. Will this be the last time I have to post this summary? Stay tuned!
Ronan the Accuser is a Kree. He’s blue, like a Smurf; unlike a Smurf, he’s built like a pro wrestler and wields an enormous hammer. Ronan is an Accuser, which means he passes summary judgment on, well, just about everybody, but especially the Kree. Think judge, jury, and executioner and you’ll get the idea.
Ronan has been accused of treason! It’s obvious he’s innocent, because people with binary points of view – besides being scary – don’t sell out their ideals, which are baked in. After a rigged trial, Ronan is exiled from Kree Space.
Ronan’s new goal in life is to track down the alien who gave false testimony and make her reveal who betrayed him. This leads him to Godthab Omega, a gritty planet held together by dirt, spit, and barbed wire. Besides the settlers, this world is occupied by a band of women named the Graces. They are led by Gamora, the self-proclaimed Deadliest Woman in the Universe.
But wait, there’s more! A cosmic entity named Glorian manipulates Ronan and Gamora into fighting, and uses the power run-off from their battle to terraform the world into something beautiful. Now Godthab Omega has way more trees, which is so nice! This attracts the attention of the Annihilation Wave, because reasons.
Wow, lots more plot than I expected! Lots of names to look up, too, but that’s my problem not yours. So is this miniseries any good? There is a lot of material crammed into four issues, but if you like space opera set in gritty worlds this is entertaining.
There is also a touch of humor, which may or may not be intentional. Gamora, the most dangerous woman in the universe, goes into combat wearing a thong. If it was me, I’d wear battle armor, but I’m not the most dangerous woman in the universe. Maybe it’s a battle thong?
I will give Ronan this. He might be a big blue goon, but he sure isn’t a chauvinist. He pulls no punches when battling Gamora as they joyously pummel the crap out of each other. The miniseries moves the larger Annihilation plot forward while also changing Ronan as a character.* Since the big galoot is a mover & shaker in the Annihilation miniseries, which I will review next week, this is a must-read!
*Addendum: the next time we see Ronan, he tells a Kree commander he’s relieved of duty right before smashing his skull in with his hammer, so maybe he hasn’t changed all that much.
Abandoned Places 