One of the great things about this title is how the various premises Winick comes up with are unencumbered by Marvel continuity, allowing him to do extreme things with familiar characters. But the real heart of the title is the constancy of the title characters, and that's what lacking here. Instead, we're left with nothing but the general premise, and it's ultimately lacking all by itself. The fill-in art suits the tone of the story quite well, though, and it's still fun to explore alternate versions of Marvel mainstays.
In another universe, on another planet Earth, Tony Stark is more than just a technological tycoon. He's used resources, savvy and science to do more than just dominate the business world... he's set his sights on the entire planet. And he's succeeded. Every shred of metahuman opposition has been wiped out, every living being on the planet is under his control... save for the residents of a hidden city. A conflict is brewing, the outcome of which will affect not only Earth, but the entire galaxy, and a group of strangers from the other-dimensional beyond is on the way to intervene.
Walker's artwork here reminds me of the styles of such artists as Jose (Hip Flask) Ladronn and Jae (Inhumans) Lee. The dark, gritty quality of the visuals suit the grave, downtrodden atmosphere established in the script. His more exaggerated interpretation of the Inhumans reinforces their... well, inhuman qualities in an interesting, off-kilter way.
One of the main problems with this issue is just how inaccessible it is. The reader really needs to not only be familiar with a certain story arc from earlier in this series, but a familiarity with a few details of past Marvel continuity is really called for in order to appreciate the plot twists. Sure, the notion of Iron Man turning bad is easy to wrap one's head around, and one can assume a passing knowledge of mutants, good and evil, on the part of the reader. But the Inhumans? And a footnote from one of Galactus's visits to Earth? These are far more obscure and could really do with a bit more context.
Ultimately, though, what didn't sit well with me was that the new setting -- which normally takes a page or two of exposition to establish in other story arcs -- fills an entire issue. And it's a familiar setup, so filling more than 20 pages makes it seem like the writer is just padding things out a bit. I want the strong characterization that makes this such a good series overall, not a focus on the more fantastic elements.
