Welcome to Wicked Intervention, Multiversity’s monthly annotations for Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson’s “The Wicked + The Divine”. This week… oh god, we’re really doing this? Dammit. Uh, spoiler warning and everything.
Oh, and if you haven’t checked out the NYCC interview with Team WicDiv, check it out. There’s some really cool bits about the future of the series, future artists (and the lack of an artist on a future issue), as well as how Kidz Bop fits into the grand scheme of the Pantheon. Please, validate the three hours I spent transcribing British accents from an iPhone.
Allow Me To Introduce Myself – The Cover Gallery
Fucking Tara. We get to the issue and we have to start talking about Tara.
In Hinduism, Tara is a Great Wisdom goddess or Mahavidya, whose Wikipedia page has this sentence: “As the star is seen as a beautiful but perpetually self-combusting thing, so Tara is perceived at core as the absolute, unquenchable hunger that propels all life.” So if anything, Tara has the best Wiki editors.
She’s also notable for having one of the best first appearances in mythology when she appears out of nowhere to save Shiva from a deadly poison by breastfeeding him. Tara is also related closely to Kali, a Hindu goddess associated with death and destruction. They both continually have their tongue hanging out, wear a necklace of severed heads, and have blood oozing from their mouth. In “The Wicked + The Divine”, Tara seems to have updated her look to something relatively tame.
All we really know of Tara in the comic is from what we’ve heard from characters mentioning her since she’s maintained an off-screen presence. So far we know very little about her, but if she’s anything like her mythological counterpart then she’s bound to be a source of violence. Unlike everyone else in this book, of course.
Speaking of which, let’s dive right into the Funniest Comic of 2014, “The Wicked + The Divine” #5.
But before that, just a brief note: if you’re more familiar with Hindu mythology than I am (which is really likely), feel free to correct or add on to anything I said about Tara. I’d hate to misrepresent any cultures through omission or ignorance. Thank you.
Page 1
Fuckin’ Tara.
Again, we have the visual gag of the cover opening up onto a bastardized version of the cover star’s face. Here we see a poster vandalized by Lucifer featuring everyone’s favorite Hindu goddess. Luci’s comments about her cleavage-deep meat dress suggests that Tara’s barely a modest character (and who is, in this comic?) but it also ties in the idea of Tara wearing severed heads and arms into a contemporary setting by way of Lady Gaga.
Page 2
Since we last saw Luci, she’s walked an entire mile of destruction and coffee from the prison cell she escaped last issue. I like to imagine that the riot cop in the back being hosed down is the same cop who Baphomet set on fire in the third issue. Just the unluckiest cop.
The quote Luci declared through Laura’s Vine (love that millennial touch) is part of “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. Love is the law, love under will.” The quote is a central tenet of Thelema, a religion created by Aleister Crowley who you may know as the man who popularized occult magic for the 20th century and the aesthetic for Satantic cults for the past century. He also kidnapped Neil Gaiman in the first issue of his illustrated memoir.
Page 3
“Loz” is the grossest abbreviation of “Laura” and I’m going to use it all the time in real life.
Page 4
Ammy (now confirmed to go as Ammy by Luci) is throwing some passive aggressive shade at Luci. I know it’s easy to assume she’s the bad guy but the way she’s trying to talk down Luci seems just too condescending. That said, her multi-color nail polish is on-point so I’ll forgive her. Oh hey, what’s that lightning behind her?
Page 5
Well. Looks like we are in full-on superhero mode now. Also, several people have already pointed this out but check out the red bruise across Luci’s eye. Turns out, this arc was “the Rise and (mostly) Fall of Ziggy Stardust.”
Page 6-8
I like how Team WicDiv has gotten to the point where there’s these huge fight scenes. If this were still “Phonogram” everyone would tell Luci to shut the hell up and listen to Los Campesinos! or something.
Page 8
Good job on spoiling your own comic, Laura. What are you, Marvel?
Page 9
Highbury and Islington station is in hella north London and it’s here where Laura’s taking up Morrigan on her offer of help from the third issue.
Page 10
Laura going from fangirl to someone courageous enough to jump into a train to summon a Celtic war goddess is one of the juiciest parts of WicDiv. Also, I’m surprised this isn’t one of the stations in London where the tracks are walled off by a glass wall. Or that Laura didn’t swipe her Oyster card. I went to London for two weeks, look at me.
Page 11
We’re going to take the high road and not many any fan fiction jokes here. Though we do love the “tracks” wordplay.
Page 12
I love the defiant nature of the Pantheon. Even when they’re beating or being beaten, they can’t help but express a little hubris. The lite Glasgow Smile also looks great on Luci.
Page 13
Shoutout to “The Creation of Michael” where the roles of god and man have been switched, or just a really cool panel? It is also rather reminiscent of the scenes in “Scott Pilgrim” where Ramona leads Scott through the subspace doors.
Also, Luci’s saying “No matter what, don’t stop filming. That would be the worst thing” is the most Any Jessica Lange Character in American Horror Story thing she’s ever said. It’s sad. really; this rampage is the most attention she’s received in, what, a week? If any moment counts as Luci’s “breaking point”, it’s definitely this.
Page 14
Completely missed that Luci was gender-shaming Cassandra before. I thought that had more to do with Cass taking the name of the Greek prophet and less to do with being transgender. Still, it’s interesting why Cassandra would choose that name, assuming she knew full well of its implications.
A six-feet underground artist, am I right?
Page 15-16 AKA “THAT PART”
And now, your obligatory deployment of “No Children” by The Mountain Goats.
After deciding that she was too good for this world and the mortals that inhabited it, Lucifer was struck down by the being that created her. Kind of an old story, and one that came at us from miles away. What else could Lucifer do but fall?
Ananke saying “I love you, Lucifer.” is a callback to Lucifer’s origin in issue #2 and another reason to listen to “No Children” for a second time. She’s not maliciously cutting down Lucifer, but her child’s rebellion prompted her to strike her down.
Yeah, this is a really painful issue. On a scale of “Young Avengers” to “Journey into Mystery”, it falls right before “Journey into Mystery” #645 on the Gillen Tragedy System™.
Page 17
Team WicDiv are masters at using minimal space for impact. The wall of black following Luci’s death hits us like the wave of shock currently hitting Laura.
Page 18
Sakhmet’s in the back licking her claws (of Luci’s blood) because at least one person in every Team Phonogram comic has to be deliciously apathetic. Also, this first panel looks like it has the composition of a Renaissance painting.
It’s arguable whether Annie can’t revive Luci because she was killed by one of her own or because she literally does not have a head. It’s likely the latter.
Page 19
Ananke’s speech is a very New World Order establishment of how the Gods work. There is now undeniable proof these are the real deal beyond teenagers cumming on themselves during concerts and a judge’s death. Cass’s camera crew caught Lucifer exploding on camera (even though Ananke was out of the shot) and are now getting a speech from not just a member of the Pantheon but one whose existence was unheard of and doesn’t make sense (aren’t these gods supposed to be teens?).
Continued belowAlso, those two panels pretty much lay out exactly what the gods dynamic with the world at large is pretty cleanly.
Page 20
Great aerial shot of the scene. Luci ascending to Heaven? The reader leaving Lucifer’s story for the next arc? Just a really cool visual?
Page 21
From what we gleaned from the NYCC interview, the second act of “Fandemonium” is going to focus a lot on media so expect a lot more scenes like this. Maybe less blood-soaked, but with a wider scope on the relationship between The Pantheon and mere mortals who aren’t Laura.
Also, all the love to Laura’s parents for getting her out of that interview.
Laura stating getting her face on the news is what she’s always wanted is pretty funny. In this issue, she really gets all she ever wanted.
Page 22
Complete disillusionment of what the Pantheon stand for? The loss of one of your biggest idols/only thing close to a friend? Literally being soaked in blood and having Wolf Blitzer talk about you? We think you’re a little depressed too, dude.
Page 23
Loz is stil hanging on to the idea the judge was murdered by someone other than Luci. Whether Laura is in denial is up to you.
Page 24
Laura got everything she wanted but, at the risk of sounding cliche, at what cost?
Aside from the overtly WTF-ness of this moment, it’s intriguing to note that Laura has fire powers like Luci’s. Whether this is her inheriting Luci’s powers or a new fire god crawling through the gap left in the Pantheon is up in the air for the moment. Hell (heh), Laura could even be taking new aspects of Lucifer. Maybe even Satan, if we want to get extreme. Either way, the red light in her eyes suggest this power might have something demonic. Maybe Luci did grant her a portion of her powers, a horcrux that would allow Laura to become the new Lucifer?
Either way, as Laura notes, it’s not over. The story of the Pantheon still has two years left within itself and for Laura, her story has just started.
Page 25
In the 2019 HBO adaptation of “The Wicked + The Divine” that I star in, the midseason finale concludes with a smash cut to black and “Sympathy for the Devil” leading into the credits.
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
Cause I’m in need of some restraint
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I’ll lay your soul to waste, um yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
Bye Lucifer. Wish someone showed you more sympathy.
As for Laura, she’s taken up Luci’s spot on the circle with a skull symbol not unlike the one from the very first page. It’s almost as if this book is built on cycles.
Correction: As lovely commentator Dominik pointed out, skulls were used in the very first issue to signify the dead gods in the 1920’s cycle. That said, the skull symbols in that era and ours are sort of different, so there might be the small chance the skull symbolizes Laura to some extent.
Either way, pleased to meet you whoever the hell is possessing, Laura. Can’t wait to guess your name. (Ooh ooh! Ooh ooh!)
And with that, we’re done with the first arc of “The Wicked + The Divine”. It’s only been a few weeks in-story so we can’t imagine the next two years of the cycle are going to be any more tame than these few short days. Be sure to keep checking out “The Wicked + The Divine” and Wicked Intervention when we both return in two months.
