The last 2 issues have led to this….the Ultron Perfection has come to tear down the Shield, the wall that protects Battleworld from the zombies and robots that want to lay waste to the planet.  And leading the charge against Abigail Brand is her old colleague, now part of the Perfection himself…Nick the Fury.

We open to a chaotic scene as the forces of the Shield rush headlong into battle to protect the wall from Ultron’s forces, and The Fury leading the attack.  The Endless Summers are having little effect against the horde, and Abigail pulls them back as Kang tells her that he is not able to access the timestream to help in the battle.  Abigail goes back to the robots she is holding prisoner, who warned of the coming battle, to see if they have any information to help in the battle.  It is revealed that the ‘prisoners’ actually enjoy being together in their cell, as they are in love and get to spend every day together.  Abigail is happy for them, but points out they are now going to die together, when the robots reveal they have a hidden ability…they are able to talk to robots; technohacking they call it.  They are willing to risk their lives to save the peace they have found together.

Nick the Fury is easily taking down the meager forces of the Shield, Ms. America and Katherine Bishop giving all they can, but to little effect.  One of the robots arrives on the scene, and “tells” The Fury to aim his gun at his head and shoot…which he does, seemingly taking him down.  Much to everyone’s disappointment, The Fury gets up and destroys the robot.  The second one goes out, now prepared for a suicide run after losing their love, and instructs The Fury to hold Kangs hand, who appears behind him and pulls the Fury into the timestream.  While there, Kang directs the Fury to hit the chronomines that are set up throughout the timestream, making it extremely difficult to navigate time travel.  Given this chance, Abigail does her best to rally the troops she has left…when suddenly help arrives in the form of Magik and her lover, Leah of Hel, riding the back of a giant Colossus and leading a demon horde into battle against the Perfection.  This quickly turns the tide and the invading forces are defeated.  Abigail welcomes Magik and Leah back to the Shield, but the two of them inform her they only returned to help her out…and leave once again, back to their place in the badlands.  Kang emerges from the timestream, with a now destroyed Nick the Fury…and both receive applause from a newly arrived guest….Thanos.  He tells them he has arrived to talk, and surrenders.

This was a really fun issue, finally seeing the battle that has been threatened to come since issue 1.  Everything happens fast, and the battle scenes are really great to see (especially the splash page of a pride of “kitties” attacking, along with a giant Lockheed).  What I really enjoyed the most about this issue was seeing this group of characters come together and work as a team.  Kang, who has hinted at having his own agenda, steps up and is integral to the defeat of The Fury; the robots, now revealing their true intentions, sacrificing their love to see it possible to continue; and the Endless Summers are treated more then just cannon fodder, but as valued members of the Shield.  Kieron Gillen has definitely kept the momentum of this book going, bringing us a great story of battle and, for the day at least, a victory.  He’s shown that these characters really are more then prisoners assigned to protect the Shield, but a team that have come to rely on each other.  Filipe Andrade’s art is still on point in this book, conveying the franticness of the battle and the elation of the victory.  Also, the double page spreads of the battle really bring the heat of battle to life, thanks to Julian Totino Tedesco, Juan Jose Ryp, Andy Troy, Michael Wm. Kaluta and Rachelle Rosenberg.

Overall, I have really enjoyed this Secret Wars tie in, and this issue did not disappoint. This is still very much an Abigail Brand book, but I really liked seeing more of the other characters and how they all came together to defend the Shield.  And now that Thanos has arrived, as foretold from the beginning, I can’t wait to see what this means for Abigail and the wall.

Story: Kieron Gillen Art: Filipe Andrade
Story: 8 Art: 9 Overall: 8.5  Recommendation: Buy