AXE: Judgment Day #3 begins the judging of the world, starting with the Avengers, Eternals, and X-Men themselves. And things are not looking great, given how it all starts.
But there may be hope in the form of a returning hero who makes a surprise entrance as part of a plan to prevent the world from being judged too harshly - though the plan itself isn't entirely without some moral quandaries. Read on to find out all about it.
Spoilers ahead for AXE: Judgment Day #3.
As the newly minted Celestial begins to judge the world to decide whether the entire planet and its population will live or die, Tony Stark laments giving the Celestial his own neurology when they built it. But things quickly escalate as the Celestial's judging starts with none other than Steve Rogers - who the Celestial judges as a failure, because he has not ensured world peace, as is his mission.
With even Captain America getting a thumbs down, the Avengers and the rest of the world start to panic. Tony Stark and Phastos discover a weak point in the Celestial's physiology which, if attacked, could destroy it - but it could also cause massive destruction.
Seeing an opportunity, Mister Sinister psychically contacts Destiny, who looks into the future and sees the destruction Phastos warned of will not occur if the mutants attack, so the forces of Krakoa strike. However, the Celestial rebuffs the attack and warns them not to try again by giving the world a vision of the destruction that could come from another attack on it.
People across the world begin to panic, even as the Avengers try to calm everyone down. Sensing that people may react with escalating angst or even violence to being judged, the Eternals hatch a plan to sow harmony across the world by making everyone love each other.
But to do so, they need the help of one of their number who has been imprisoned in a cosmic jail cell - none other than Eros, the former Avenger known as Starfox, whose powers allow him to control the emotions of others (and who made his MCU debut played by Harry Styles in 2021's The Eternals).
Eros' return has been foreshadowed as part of AXE, though his actual involvement in the story has only just been revealed.
What comes next for Eros will likely be shown in October 5's AXE: Starfox #1.
Here's all you need to know about the history of Eros/Starfox in the Marvel Universe.
