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AXE: Judgment Day is 2022's epic Marvel event, featuring the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Eternals - here's a reading list of every issue fans need to follow the story. Every year, Marvel Comics tends to release a major summer event intended to drive the narrative of certain franchises forward for years to come. 2022's summer event is the biggest in a long time; an explosive story that brings not one but three franchises into head-on collision.
In 2019, Marvel Comics relaunched the X-Men by assembling the entire mutant race on the living island of Krakoa. But this newfound unity was not the only dramatic change in the mutant status quo; readers learned the X-Men had conquered death, with the Resurrection Protocols allowing mutants to be raised from the dead. The X-Men have managed to keep this a secret for quite some time, but now the truth is out. Unfortunately, the revelation has earned the X-Men new enemies - the Eternals, whose new leaders have concluded mutants qualify as "excess deviation." And the Eternals are sworn to destroy excess deviation.
Often, summer events feel like an uncomfortable interruption in the current story of individual series. AXE: Judgment Day feels different, however, because it's been meticulously planned to fit in with the latest X-Men and Eternals plots (with the Avengers acting as newcomers to familiarize new readers). That does, however, mean it's not entirely new-reader-friendly - and, given the event will run until November, it's easy to imagine readers missing an issue or getting overwhelmed. Here's a complete guide.
AXE: Judgment Day Is Coming
The Eternals' war with the X-Men has been coming for some time now, but the last three issues of Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribic's Eternals serve as particularly important setup (they're marked "Judgment Day Is Coming" as a hint of their importance.)
From there, readers will really want to read a number of key issues that run into AXE: Judgment Day, with some of these kicking off sub-plots that are directly continued in the event. The most important of these issues are the Hellfire Gala one-shot and the Eve of Judgment one-shot, with the latter attempting to get readers up to speed on all the lore involved in this clash. Here are the important issues to read ahead of AXE: Judgment Day.
- Eternals #10
- Eternals #11
- Eternals #12
- Free Comic Book Day: Avengers/X-Men #1
- Immortal X-Men #3
- Hellfire Gala
- Immortal X-Men #4
- AXE: Eve of Judgment
AXE: Judgment Day - July & August 2022
The main story kicks off in AXE: Judgment Day #1, in which the Eternals declare war on the mutant race. Marvel's Judgment Day event follows the pattern of the Marvel classic Civil War, in that the main story takes place in the event miniseries, with each issue launching several subplots that will be explored in tie-ins. As an example, AXE: Judgment Day #1 features a major Eternal attack on the mutant world of Arakko (Mars), which is then detailed in tie-ins such as X-Men Red #5 and Legion of X #6 (the latter due out in October).
Readers will be able to follow the narrative purely by reading the main series - but they'll miss the details and the character growth. Here are the AXE: Judgment Day issues due out in July and August 2022.
- AXE: Judgment Day #1
- Immortal X-Men #5
- X-Men Red #5
- AXE: Judgment Day #2
- AXE: Death to the Mutants #1
- X-Force #30
- X-Men #13
- AXE: Judgment Day #3
- Wolverine #24
- X-Force #31
- X-Men #14
AXE: Judgment Day - September 2022
The story continues in September, beginning to spin out of the main titles and into a wider range of tie-ins - including the likes of Fantastic Four #47 and Amazing Spider-Man #10. Marvel appears to be trying to draw the Amazing Spider-Man and X-Men franchises closer together, with Mary Jane Watson's aunt using Krakoan medicine - leading MJ to become a public champion of mutant rights.
Marvel has teased that many of these books will be part of a second chapter called "The Progenitor," as the various inhabitants of Earth attempt to justify their existence to the cosmic beings known as the Celestials. The Celestials - creators of the Eternals and the Deviants - have always been positioned as gods of judgment, who decide whether entire worlds are fit to survive. Unfortunately, in this case the conflict between the Eternals and the mutants will trigger an act of cosmic judgment - explaining the title of the main event. Curiously, in interviews writers have suggested all this will lead up into a third act. Marvel is keeping quiet about the third act, but the December 2021 Timeless one-shot hinted AXE: Judgment Day will have repercussions on the entire timeline. Here are all the confirmed releases in September 2022.
- AXE: Death to the Mutants #2
- Immortal X-Men #6
- Marauders #6
- Wolverine #25
- AXE: Judgment Day #4
- X-Force #32
- X-Men Red #6
- AXE: Judgment Day #5
- Fantastic Four #47
- Avengers #60
- AXE: Avengers #1
- Amazing Spider-Man #10
AXE: Judgment Day - October & November 2022
Phase 3 of AXE: Judgment Day continues in October 2022, with a number of one-shots focusing on individual characters (including one exploring Jean Grey's relationship with the Phoenix, AXE: X-Men #1). Meanwhile, the story continues to ripple out into the wider Marvel Universe, including into Captain Marvel #42, where Carol Danvers will encounter her resurrected mother. The story wraps up in AXE: Judgment Day #6, with an epilogue "Omega" issue released in early November exploring the repercussions. These "Omega" issues typically serve to allow writers to tie up any loose ends, while also serving as launchpads for the changed status quos, meaning it will be a must-read for lovers of the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Eternals.
- AXE: Death to the Mutants #3
- AXE: X-Men #1
- AXE: Iron Fist #1
- AXE: Starfox #1
- Captain Marvel #42
- Fantastic Four #48
- Immortal X-Men #7
- X-Force #33
- X-Men Red #7
- AXE: Eternals #1
- Legion of X #6
- AXE: Judgment Day #6
- Judgment Day Omega #1
That's the essential reading order for Marvel's blockbuster event - one likely to define its stories for years to come. However, it seems that phase 2 of AXE: Judgment Day will tap into Marvel history, as different heroes answer for their darkest acts. This means while old stories certainly won't be vital reading, the event may offer fans new inroads into Marvel's vast back catalog, making some older issues more rewarding as the event unfolds.
Fans looking forward to AXE: Judgment Day can stay up to date with the full reading list above, but should also be able to enjoy the story just by reading the main series and any tie-ins that involve characters they're already following.