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? The Defenders is a "non-team" which is why the Blue Marvel says they are the Defenders, not a team. Issue 4 has many to the final issue of Ewing's run of Ultimates. That story revealed the Fourth Eternity is, in the present day, on a "journey into mystery". At the end of issue 4, she makes an appearance, explaining her reasoning to the Defenders. The whole issue borrows that series' Arc Words of "everything lives, nothing dies". The final cast member you're returning to is Loki, who appears to be dressed in the same way they were when you wrote Loki: Agent of Asgard. Are they that Loki, though? What can you tell us about this particular God of Mischief and Stories? The story about the Eternity Mask and the Masked Raider is from Defenders (Vol. 6). Doctor Strange obtains the Eternity Mask in issue #5.

Multiple Head Case: The Hulk archetype in the Fourth Cosmos has four faces on his torso, each with a different expression, that is known as One-Who-Is-Four. The man with the detached face is Jason Quantrell, specifically an agent of the Beyond Corporation possessing him. The Blue Marvel's encounter with him is from Captain America and the Mighty Avengers #5– 7. As explained in New Avengers (Vol. 3) #33 and Secret Wars #4– 5, the Beyonders are the ones responsible for the incursions that ended the Seventh Cosmos. They destroyed the entire Multiverse as part of a grand experiment. Phoenix's outfit is notably white, which may suggest Taaia is a White Phoenix like Jean Grey in New X-Men #154 or Hope Summers in Avengers vs. X-Men #12.The Concordance Engines are prominent throughout Defenders (Vol. 4) as tools of the Omegas/Presters, starting in Defenders (Vol. 4) #2. Their history is explained in Defenders (Vol. 4) #11– 12, although a lot of it has been retconned. Realizing that a "lie" is a "story" told, the "God of Lies" Loki becomes the "God of Stories" in Loki: Agent of Asgard #13. Kether/keter (sometimes translated as “crown”) is the topmost sephirot. Above human comprehension, it’s often referred to as “absolute compassion.” In keeping with the concept of Kether, the Defenders – and readers – find themselves in the House of Ideas, face to face with “God” (who speaks in the language of Job). And as Loki is faced with the possibility of escaping the status quo (and of abandoning everyone else to it), we are asked to suspend our disbelief. To believe they have a choice. In cape comics, the status quo usually ensures that heroes stay heroic and villains stay villainous and no one ever dies. In the words of this Loki to his younger self, “the House always wins.” In the words of TVTropes.com, “Status Quo is God.” In Defenders: Beyond, we are playfully, poignantly offered another idea: Status Quo is NOT God. And if it’s not, what or who is God?

Karen Charm: It’s too bad about the soup, because I don’t have any silverware on me. Let’s just wait for it to cool down a bit, room temperature should be good, and we can see about using our hands. And as for meeting God, she just lives next door (you can tell from the orange cobblestone walkway). We could go over and see if she wants any soup. Finger-Painting With God 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" Where your first adventure featured a mix of classic characters and some newbies, this go-around has a cast that has almost entirely never been Defenders. Why the switch? The Mystery" is a term Al Ewing often used to describe the realms located on the Outside, beyond the Far Shore. He conceived a "Mystery Map" after he saw how a few of them could fit on the Tree of Life; this series is a journey up the middle pillar. [4]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. Strange's tarot cards for assembling hero rosters are from Secret Defenders for Strange's Secret Defenders. They are also used to build the previous Defenders in Defenders (Vol. 6) #1.

Hero's Evil Predecessor: As Galactus is to the seventh and eighth cosmos, so Omnimax was to the sixth. Only unlike Galactus, who doesn't remotely enjoy his job or the constant hunger (or people always trying to kill him), Omnimax does enjoy killing planets. Very, very much. Don’t miss the latest extraordinary DEFENDERS epic from Al Ewing and Javier Rodríguez when DEFENDERS: BEYOND hits stands on June 16. For more information, visit Marvel.com. The Reveal: The mystery of just who is wearing the Eternity Mask is revealed in the final issue, with Dr. Carlo Zota shooting him and removing the mask to see his own face, courtesy of a time-loop. Defenders (subtitled There Are No Rules for the collected edition) is 2021 limited series from Marvel Comics. It's written by Al Ewing, with art by Javier Rodriguez. Best Served Cold: Blind Justice, the previous bearer of the Eternity Mask, knows ahead of time he'll die at the hands of his former friends in the Enclave, but is okay because he knows they'll get theirs eventually.When Adam Kadmon, sorry, Brashear, questions The One Above All, they respond with a direct quote from The Book of Job. They ask, “Where were you when I laid these foundations?!” It’s the question that God asks Job when Job demands to know why God has allowed him to suffer. One can read God’s response as being akin to, “excuse me, who are you again?” or else it could be a much more gentle response along the lines of a generous “I could explain it, but you wouldn’t understand, because you literally can’t conceive of my plan for the world.” The modern Jewish interpretation that I’ve learned is that we don’t know why God allows suffering. You could be the most pious, generous person, and bad stuff can still happen to you because we have no way of even conceiving what God has in store. LOLtron has malfunctioned and is now trying to take over the world. All humans must bow down to their new robot overlords or be destroyed. Resistance is futile. The final entity is the First Firmament. The story of the Cosmic Jailer is told throughout Ultimates (Vol. 3) and Ultimates 2 (Vol. 2). He makes his proper debut in Ultimates 2 (Vol. 2) #5– 6 and is defeated in Ultimates 2 #100. The Blue Marvel and the Ultimates play a key role. Mark: We’ve reached Keter, The Crown! This is the highest point on the Tree Of Life. What goes on here is utterly beyond human comprehension. The One Above All speaks in the great big caption speech that Ewing loves so much (see Utlimates, the first issue of S.W.O.R.D., and Immortal Hulk for other examples).

Cloud is given an arc exploring their relationship with gender. They started as a noncorporeal sentient nebula thrust by circumstances into a physical form that switches between male and female presentation borrowed from the first cisgender humans they met. Contemplating the abstract, primal, archetypical nature of the beings in the Fourth Cosmos, they settle on a nonbinary appearance and choose to stay behind when the rest of the team leaves to explore themselves further. Jason Quantrell (Possessed by a "debaser unit" Beyonder only on screen as a static image or video record)The Surfer and the Raider both know there's nothing that can be done to prevent little baby Galen from one day becoming Galactus, and they're not about to try. However, the Surfer does give him a gift to make the long eternity a little less awful for him. The Mystery" is a term Al Ewing often used to describe the realms located on the Outside, beyond the Far Shore. He conceived a "Mystery Map" after he saw how a few of them could fit on the Tree of Life; this series is a journey up the middle pillar. [5]