I have complicated feelings towards Secret Empire as a series, but there was an intent with the story which Spencer sought to tell. If you'd asked me before reading this I would have said the point hadn't been made properly, now it has. On balance, I would rate the series as a whole at 7.5 out of 10, starting close to 10 but moving down to maybe a 6.5. I would have liked to have seen a more optimistic note struck for the other characters than Cap with all this coming to an end as the series does have a fairly downer ending, that isn't to say it's bad though. This issue really helped make the ending much more satisfying for me. Read Full Review

This issue was enjoyable on many levels, especially in the confrontation between Steve and Hydra Steve over who's ideals are the most resilient. It would have been nice to see some of this internal conflict play out over the previous series, but this issue is well done in telling a compelling story of dual ideologies. Read Full Review

A good look at a few characters with some interesting ideas, but Hydra Cap and good Cap will leave you wanting more. Read Full Review

Secret Empire started strong but turned out to be a dud. This issue can't redeem that disappointing event, but it can at least wrap things up on a slightly more satisfying note. While this issue undoes one of the few developments of lasting consequence from the main series, it also complicates Steve Rogers' return and ensures that he won't be making a clean and easy return to the superhero game. If you've made it this far into the event, you might as well complete the journey. Read Full Review

Some truly stunning page layouts cannot hide an ultimately unfulfilling conclusion. Read Full Review

Hopefully this is the end of Spencer's guiding hand and we can see other writers pick up the themes and concept he's laid out and run with them in a way that does them justice. The damage has been done and Secret Empire: Omega shifts things towards the healing but in the end gives us a story that's "sound and fury signifying nothing." Read Full Review

Any lasting effect of Secret Empire is wiped out until an infuriating cliffhanger that anyone with a brain saw coming. There's no redeeming value in this book, this is an exercise in pointless event excess to the highest degree, even the artists are bored. Read Full Review

Almost feels like the writer taking an extra issue to explain what he was getting at -- the point of the story that got buried under questionable marketing, pointless controversy, and a grueling slog through a story that simultaneously felt overstuffed and underdeveloped. The conversation between the Caps in this issue doesn't redeem the flaws of the series, but it's interesting on its own merits. Some reviewers said that the surprise election of Trump made this storyline inappropriate, but (possibly allowing for some course correction on Spencer's part) it may have just made the message even more relevant.

Backup Good Steve and Stevil finally chat. While there are considerable philosophical refinements, the chat basically boils down to Stevil saying, "You know, people aren't going to forget this," and Good Steve saying, "Good." Andrea Sorrentino contributes some stellar design work to the layouts to keep it lively.

The book also has trailers for three coming attractions: Bucky, Hawkeye, and the search for Black Widow; the Punisher's self-initiated Hydra-stomping quest for redemption (with Nick Fury Jr.?); and some pages of … something with Emma Frost, suggesting that the mutants deserve a realpolitik story devoted to nation-building. Reading through Marvel Unlimited makes it clear that that last story never materialized, and this teaser is doubly disappointing because it reminds us that the mutants suffered a shortage of attention in Secret Empire, too.

As to Stevil, this nice conversation with him is just enough to make up for the disappointing realization that yeah, Nick Spencer is sticking him on ice so that some other writer can use him in some later, dumber event/story. more

Thought it would be a 5 but turned out to be an 8. Well written and leaves the reader curious about the future.

걍 닥치고 저 새끼좀 죽여 나둬받자 또 좆같은 이벤트에 억지 등장 시키고 흐지부지한 앤딩으로 끝나겟지

This was an ok issue. I thought the point was really good, the two caps expressing their ideologies. It just could have been used to wrap more points up. I did enjoy the art. Some of those layouts were really well done. Honestly, I am giving it a 7 because, we never found out who the Kraken was.

I really liked the series as a whole, even if the "moral of the story" was only skin deep. It clearly parallels current life in America, and I think it was told well. What I did not like about this issue is that there is still no clear resolution, and it's really just a set-up for there to be more stories told in the saga of Cap vs. Evil Cap. Also, I am not a fan - at all - of Andrea Sorrentino's art. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the story as a whole, the art really brought it down, in my opinion. Expressionless faces, weird angles, and ridiculous color schemes abound. I would have much preferred illustration for the series to have been done by Daniel Acuña (issue #0).