Imperial is everything a reader could want from a comic. It has high stakes, deft character beats, and a mystery that, effective issue three, goes deeper than anyone would have thought possible. Do yourself a favor and read it today. Read Full Review

Imperial #3 is a testament to the power of well-crafted cosmic storytelling. Hickman's signature style of plotting is on full display, with schemes layered upon schemes and plot twist after plot twist. Every detail matters, and the result is a rich, rewarding experience for fans of the Marvel Cosmic universe. Read Full Review

As the penultimate chapter of this four-part event, Imperial #3 accomplishes exactly what it needs to: it delivers revelations, escalates the stakes, and pushes the narrative momentum forward toward what promises to be an explosive finale. If earlier issues were about establishing the rules of the cosmic game, this is where the pieces start toppling across the board. Imperial #3 successfully marries political intrigue with cosmic spectacle, offering readers a layered, gripping entry in the event. While it saves some answers for the final act, it sets the stage for what could be a truly memorable conclusion to Marvels latest cosmic epic. Read Full Review

After years of stumbling, the “Marvel Event” is back with both Imperial and One World Under Doom delivering two epic stories that promise to shake up the Marvel Universe going forward, and delivering. Imperial #3 was full of surprises and where those might lead has us excited for what comes next in this series and when everything is settled. Read Full Review

Imperial Issue 3 is rich with revelations. Every page feels like it's submerged in epicness, placing the history and potential futures of several galactic empires in the hands of a mere few. Read Full Review

The first 17 pages and the last four pages ofImperial#3 are excellent, and would have made for a lovely 21 page comic. However, there is another 20 pages shoved in there that could have been dedicated to way more interesting stuff. There were parts of this issue I really enjoyed, mainly Coello's art and Hickman's characterization of both Maximus and Black Bolt (that page of Blackagar blasting the Grandmaster is truly iconic). Unfortunately, this issue overall did not live up to the hype, and makes me worried about how this event will sucessfully wrap up with only one issue left. Read Full Review

Nova makes a desperate gamble, and manages to reveal the real players behind the 'Imperial' gambit. including the one nobody saw coming. Read Full Review

When it comes to major decisions and revelations, Imperial #3 more than delivers on that. Nova, Maximus, Grandmaster, and the big surprise character make game changing choices. But even for the wow moments this comic book delivers it does not mask the recap nature of this penultimate chapter. How Jonathan Hickman and company wrap things up in the fourth and final issue will be interesting to see. Read Full Review

Imperial #3 looks great, but its a slog to get through. The art is an absolute home run, but the story moves like a glacier in slow motion. It's a textbook example of style over substance, proving that a pretty face can only get you so far when there is nothing to say. If you're a fan of art, pick it up; if you're looking for a good story, you might want to wait for the next issue. Read Full Review

The issue is a flashback full of exposition but even then Hickman still grabs your attention with the number of reveals and surprises he introduces in a single book. The finale should be explosive.

Plot
Peter/Star-Lord, Nova, and Shuri go to investigate who is behind this conspiracy to destroy the galactic unity. To do so, they go to Xandar, which, although in ruins, Nova manages to activate the Global Consciousness of the Nova Corps to discover who is behind it all.

The comic explains that Maximus, the terrible trickster of the Inhumans, offers Grandmaster a bet: if he loses, he will grant him the secrets of Terrigenesis. Otherwise, Grandmaster must do him a favor: create a war between the cosmic realms.

Grandmaster accepts and explains the game they are going to play, called SHARRAT, which is a strategy game where they play with other people's lives. This game lasts twelve months and ends up becoming reality. They alter the destinies of the pieces, which are real people, and create this war where the Skrulls stage a coup d'état, Wakanda is the scapegoat, and six council leaders die.

Grandmaster wins the game and unleashes the war Maximus needed. Maximus offers the Inhumans Terrigenesis, and Grandmaster rejects it. He considers it nonsense beneath his powers and tries to humiliate Maximus by saying he's using him as a puppet. But in reality, Maximus wins because there's a King they never controlled, Black Bolt, who appears and eliminates Grandmaster. This entire plan of Maximus's was in collaboration with Black Bolt to make the Inhumans leaders of the galaxy.

A spectacular story that continues to shake the status quo of the Marvel cosmic universe through a powerful conspiracy. This installment explains the origin of the conspiracy and offers powerful revelations.

Art
FEDERICO VICENTINI and IBAN COELLO offer mesmerizing art, with brilliant textures and details, while creating a brilliant tone of suspense and terror around all these different versions of the empires and their technologies.

Summary
The conspiracy is revealed, and who is behind it all will shock you.
Shocking penultimate chapter more

I enjoyed the overall story, enjoyed the art and I like where things are headed. However, I've got a few gripes that keep it from being a 10.

World mind... last we saw worldmind was after it was infected and seemingly destroyed in the cancerverse. Did I miss something else? There's just a backup on the ruins of xandar waiting there? I like having nova and worldmind back together, no complaints, it just feels like choppy continuity. Sort of like why is Ronan alive?

The chat between grand master and and maximus went on far too long. Its nice to see how he pulled the strings and all, it just could have been summed up a little quicker. The dialogue got boring.

Nice entrance by blackbolt. That was fun. Always nice seeing grandmaster get his butt handed to him. Explanations on his voice returning can come later... but maybe it won't. That might be another continuity skip. Like skull queen verenke being resurrected. Did I miss that also or was that really just a panel on one page here because... because.

I like it. 8 is a good score. Maybe Hickman could have use some of the boring pages to explain a few other more interesting things a bit more.

Side note... Sam Alexander needs to return. I know there's a Nova series spinning out of this and I'm all on board for it, but it better have Sam involved. 10 years still waiting to find out where his dad is. more

The art is just not a good fit for the story being told.
And I just don’t like the art.

Interesting new developments. It’s starting to feel like a Hickman book.

Summary:
Nova gets a new helmet.
Maximus betrays the Grandmaster.
And a whole lot of blah blah blah yakkity yak.
The art gets more cartoony too.

A total snoozer.

+ Like • Comments (1)

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Outerflame - Aug 22, 2025

Bro is cranky

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