Defenders: Beyond

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Al, Adam Brashear has been a recurring figure for you through many different books you’ve written—why the affection for the Blue Marvel?

A mystic message for the Blue Marvel reaches the hero as the message relays to Dr. Adam Brashear that. With many loose ends following Doctor Strange's death, he is one of a certain few that can be entrusted with what to finish with Dr. Strange's responsibilities. In his box he finds the Eternity Mask, to which the mystical last will of Dr. Strange confirms that it was previously with Dr. Carlo Zota who was trapped in a time loop trying to prevent his own becoming-- a theory Dwayne Taylor postulated to Adam. Next is a communicator to Taaia of the Sixth Cosmos, better known as Galactus's mother, the humor is not lost on Dr. Brashear. Finally, the mystical Tarot of the Secret Flame, which shows the first card drawn is the Ten of Hands inverted and Adam as the central figure. Given Dr. Brashear's cosmic explorations and travels, and confrontations with presences that would drive others mad from the sight, he is entrusted to lead a group of Defenders best suited to protect reality from what may come to threaten it. However, Adam refuses as he doesn't wish to be herded into something by a "higher power" as it didn't end well the last time. But the mystical head flips the next top card to show him a the Ten Swords of Defeat, telling the Blue Marvel that he cannot allow him to stop, its face changing into something else. As the card symbolizes earth-shattering losses, it is reversed signifying moving on, recognizing the person on the image as Ms. America Chavez, a former teammate, who calls Dr. Brashear to speak with him. Although he claims it is coincidence, the magic will of Dr. Strange denies coincidence as there is only synchronicity. Racing through Kadesh Base, Dr. Brashear reaches the portal room and opens a path for America Chavez. He recalls his being a pioneer in the portal technology field, with portals to spots on and off Earth, but also some going outside reality. One such portal is to the Neutral Zone at the edge of reality, which he habitually inspects that it is sealed. Loki is a character who seemingly changes with each use by a new creative team. What can we expect from this incarnation of the God of Stories? At the end of issue 2, Mor-i-Dun, the sorcerer of the Fifth Cosmos who briefly menaced the A.I.M.vengers team, makes a return. During issue 2, the Surfer brings up how thanks to one thing and another thing, he's actually twice as old as the universe (due in part to events in Dan Slott's run on Silver Surfer).The Celestials observed from within the new cosmos...while we continued maintanence from here. Nothing dies, while we remain--here in the remnants of the Second Cosmos, outside all that is known...and beyond it. — The Beyonder Appearing in "Yesod: The Second Cosmos" In New Avengers (Vol. 3) #33 and Secret Wars #5, the Molecule Man explains that the Beyonders conducted their experiment because they got bored of "life"; here, the Beyonders claim that they destroyed the Multiverse to prevent the coming Dominion.

Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Zota angrily rants at the inhabitants of the Fourth Cosmos that he "gave [them] conflict" and meaning. As per Marvel Comics #1000, Zota was one of the Scientists' Guild from the Human Torch story in Marvel Comics #1; in other words, Zota did cause the conflict of the first story set in the Marvel Universe. Interspecies Romance: Taaia, an extraterrestrial from the Sixth Cosmos and the mother of Galactus, develops a thing for Doctor Strange, to Harpy's disgust. Since Cloud is a being of science, their very nature is out of place in the Fifth Cosmos, rendering them powerless.

Iconic series ‘Battle Chasers’ returns with issue #10 this June

The Masked Raider knows he can't actually talk Zota out of his insane decisions, but still feels he has to try. He knows it'll get him killed, but this just means Zota will try the exact same thing, convinced he can break the time loop.

Hoist by Their Own Petard: Mor-i-Dun is the Sorcerer Supreme of the Fifth Cosmos, meaning he's made the rules for magic. As Strange notes, this means he's bound by them as well. The unidentified mark on the Beyonder's chest from Avengers #261 and Fantastic Four Annual #27 is now clearly shown to be an omega symbol. Omega Council": The Omega Council is from Defenders (Vol. 4) #10– 11. The Beyonders in this issue are based off them.

Ewing’s artful weaving and referencing of previous bits of continuity, whether directly connected or disparately scattered, is in full effect here. This is all the more apparent due to the scale of the series, which sees our group facing down conceptual entities from across the universes; without giving the bigger reveals away, the likes of Galactus makes a brief appearance, though his presence is far from the most exciting scene (though it is exciting, more on that later). In a follow-up issue, that Loki encounters Taaia in Taa and opens a "NEXT" portal in Thor (Vol. 6) #24, which leads to this issue. After the Beyonder not-so-subtly directs their path to stop them, Blue Marvel gives America Chavez the Eternity Mask to fight an even footing the Beyonder, inflicting pain on him across several realities and him gleeful for the fun fight. As the head of the Omega Council is confounded by the idea America can fight evenly with Beyonder, Loki distracts him by entrapping him in confined space before he gets free and hunts her down. When hiding for a moment, Tigra notes to Taaia that when Beyonder was confined was when he got mad, as the Omega Councilman defines "mad" and grants violence upon them. Taaia shoves Loki and Tigra out of the way, taking the blast head on while Blue Marvel flies through his head and kills him. Blue Marvel explains to Loki that his being an Anti-Matter reactor killed them because they were wrapped in matter to interface with them. While Taaia feels herself dying, she demands her friends learn what the "Dominion" actually is, and they see a possible way out with Blue Marvel recalling how the Concordance Engines drew power from a "higher" dimension. As Taaia refuses to flee, Blue Marvel signals America they're moving out, but the Beyonder doesn't want them to leave, so Taaia invites him to follow if he chooses. As one of the Omega Council members sees the Beyonder follow and asks if they should follow, another member tells him not to succumb to 'narrative' forces and to let them take the path they chose, leading to the trial by fire. In a white hot space, Taaia flies and a voice speaks life as she nears death. A glowing white figure appeared as Taaia called out in defiance of death, and as the Defenders looked to Taaia, they heard another voice. They see Taaia merge with the Phoenix Force and become its newest host.