This issue was a mostly disappointing ending to what I hoped was a series that would satiate my hunger for the cosmic universe and Abnett and Lanning's writing. The only saving grace for this issue, and the series in general, was Rocket and Groot's story.

At first, The Annihilators seemed like a beautiful idea, and I had the utmost confidence in DnA to deliver another great cosmic, team-up series of comics. Unfortunately, the conclusion in this issue was way too messy and failed to deliver that epic and enjoyable story that I expect from DnA. Events sprang up and ended way too quickly in this issue, and it made me wonder if DnA didn't have enough space to tell the story they wanted, or if they just simply tried to fit too much into one conclusion. Granted, in the cosmic universe, a lot of crap happens at once, but in this issue, it felt very unnatural and had no flow whatsoever. The conflict jumped from Immortus to Dredd to the suns and finally ending with a black hoIe threat, feeling a bit unorganized. I also think there was too much unnecessary exposition in this issue, coming from Quasar as the narrator. During battles, Quasar's thoughts took away from the visuals of these six powerhouse characters beating people up. And continuing what went on in previous issues, Quasar's introspection felt heavy-handed and too explicit again. I get what DnA wanted to do in trying to give Quasar this overarching character growth, but it felt forced, and again unnatural. And I know for sure based on their previous work that DnA can write an epic space opera mixed with awesome character interaction and development without the heavy-handed exposition. These characters might not be as fun as the Guardians, but I was hoping that DnA could still make me care about them and give them the personality they deserve. But again possibly due to the constraint in space, this story has failed to provide that.

The conclusion to Rocket and Groot's story was much more satisfying. This issue's installment, and the overall story in general, had a lot more of the humor, action, and character showcasing that I expect from the writing team. I loved seeing that in this last battle, we saw Rocket teaming up and using his wits more than his usual strategy of just carrying the biggest gun. The plan that led up to Rocket dressing up in a dog costume was hilarious, and the perfect ending to a storyline that has joked about the adorableness of these anthropomorphous animals. And while the ending lines from Rocket were to be expected, it was still great to see this journey take Rocket and Groot back to their galaxy-saving roots. I am definitely looking forward to more of their adventures.

Without Rocket and Groot, this issue would be very, very average (2 rating). While The Annihilators might be returning, as advertised with Annihilators: Earthfall after the main storyline, it pains me to say that I'm not too excited to see more of this new team in action. I'm still willing to give my favorite pair of writers a chance, but only if DnA's work with the Guardians translates more into this team.