The Wicked+The Divine gets “heady” in the final arc.
Sometimes a comic comes along that really means a lot to the reader. Whether it’s about superheroes, monsters, magic, or music, those certain comics reach inside of us and make the story real, relateable, and humanizing. Without a doubt, The Wicked+The Divine is certainly one of those comics.
Nominally about musical gods reborn about once a century, this opus is really about truth, and normalizing normalcy, in this author’s eyes. Writer Kieron Gillen, artist Jamie McKelvie, colorist Matthew Wilson, letterer Clayton Cowles, and flatter Dee Cunniffe have brought forth unto our reality a deeply moving and, at times, hilarious story about nothing less than the human condition, cleverly analogized in a tale about godlings. In this issue, the gang gets back together, and it’s bad news for the bad guys.
Image Comics
Break-ins and gatherings occur in The Wicked+The Divine
Last issue, Baal was going to sacrifice 20,000 Brits, plus his mom, to get enough energy to destroy The Great Darkness. Laura, who we thought had no powers, turned up in time to, yes, use her powers to save everyone. Jinkies. This issue starts out with Woden confronting Baal about his murderous choice. Deflecting that point of contention, Baal’s little sister reminds him that his mother was in the crowd he just tried to kill. Baal orders Woden to gather his Valkyries and to hunt down Laura.
Meanwhile, Laura busts into where the Norns are being held and, after using her not-quite-perfect powers to get past some guards, frees the three journalists/gods. The next step is for them to get the severed heads of the four gods that Minerva/Ananke is keeping for nefarious purposes, and after divining their location, the gang heads to Woden’s control room. Removing the heads from the strange devices Woden constructed several issues ago, Laura and company also free Mimir’s head, which was enslaved by Woden to do all the actual constructing just as the Valkryies show up.
Image Comics
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Matching heads to bodies in The Wicked+The Divine
After blowing up the compound and the Valkyries, Laura, the Norns, and the heads all escape to the London Underground, where information is exchanged, and sorrow is felt. Laura drops the bomb that she can get three of the four decapitated heads new bodies, and Tara nominates herself to remain without. The posse rolls up to Nergal’s temple, where he keeps the three bodies of the Morrigan, and after some deliberation about moving on from the past and letting go of toxic relationships, Nergal snaps his fingers thrice, and Inanna, Lucifer, and Mimir all have new forms. The Wicked+The Divine knew just what their readers wanted, apparently, because this is a fantastic development that made this author vocalize out loud, happily. Laura claims she knows how to finally end the cycle, but to do so the gang will need to get Baal on their side, which seems unlikely. The main Norn says she’ll simply scry out the truth of The Great Darkness, now that she knows the correct thing to ask, and there the issue ends.
Fabulous. Seeing the three gods get their heads back is a huge game-changer. Ananke/Minerva is totally screwed. At least, it seems that way, but this just might be another wicked twist, since there’s only a few issues left before the series concludes. The Wicked+The Divine never fails to deliver the cliffhangers and twists, so we’ll see whats in store next month. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.