"The Infinity War" | |||
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Publisher | Marvel Comics | ||
Publication date | June – November 1992 | ||
Genre | Superhero | ||
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Main character(s) | The Avengers Avengers West Coast Fantastic Four X-Men X-Factor New Warriors Alpha Flight Infinity Watch Doctor Doom Kang Adam Warlock Galactus Eternity | ||
Creative team | |||
Writer(s) | Jim Starlin | ||
Artist(s) | Ron Lim | ||
Infinity War | ISBN 0-7851-2105-6 |
The Infinity War is a six-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in 1992. The series was written by Jim Starlin and penciled by Ron Lim, Ian Laughlin, Al Milgrom, Jack Morelli and Christie Scheele.
The storyline is a direct sequel to the 1991 The Infinity Gauntlet and was followed by The Infinity Crusade in 1993.
The story had additional tie-ins including Alpha Flight #110-112, Captain America #408, Daredevil #310, Deathlok #16, Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #42-47, Fantastic Four #366-370, Guardians of the Galaxy vol 1 #27-29, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #41-44, Marvel Comics Presents #108-111, The New Warriors #27, Nomad vol. 2, #7, Quasar #38-40, Silver Sable and The Wild Pack #4-5, Silver Surfer vol. 3, #67-69, Sleepwalker #18, Spider-Man #24, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #7-10, and Wonder Man #13-14. All of these were published between July and November 1992. What The--?! #20 featured a parody story about various comedic superheroes struggle against the "Infinity Wart".
When hero Adam Warlock takes possession of the artifact known as the Infinity Gauntlet, he expels the good and evil aspects of his being to become a totally logical being, who can therefore use the Gauntlet wisely. This act recreates his "evil" persona and old foe the Magus, who desires universal conquest and revenge against Warlock and the Titan Thanos. Meanwhile, the effectively emotionless Adam is brought before a "jury" of the cosmic powers and voluntarily surrenders his godhood once he is found to be "guilty" of being unworthy. [1] The Magus collects five cosmic containment units (another name for the Cosmic Cubes), and with the power gained incapacitates the cosmic entity Eternity; creates an interdimensional realm and an army of doppelgängers—evil "mirror" images of Earth's superheroes.
After investigating the energy of the containment units, Thanos discovers the Magus and retreats to warn Warlock. Galactus and several of Earth's heroes also investigate and then attempt to revive Eternity, as the entity will be required to petition the Living Tribunal, who has decreed that the Infinity Gems can no longer be used in unison in the Earth-616 universe. The rationale is that if the Gauntlet can be reactivated, then the Magus can be removed from existence. The Magus sends the doppelgängers to Earth to distract the heroes, and the evil version of Mister Fantastic detonates a gamma bomb when the heroes assemble at Four Freedoms Plaza. However, the Invisible Woman contains the blast while Thunder God Thor directs the radiation into space, and a surprise attack by the Magus and the doppelgänger of Thanos has the heroes believing the two characters are now allied.
The story climaxes at the Magus' base: a group of heroes free those who were replaced by doppelgängers; cosmic adventurer Quasar arrives with the Ultimate Nullifier (with Thanos goading Quasar to use it against the Magus knowing that Quasar would also be destroyed) and villains Kang the Conqueror and Doctor Doom appear, hoping to harness the source of the powerful energies detected.
Warlock and the still inactive Gauntlet are captured by the Magus, and both attacked by Doom and Kang. Warlock is defeated and the Magus is severely weakened in the battle and attempts to use the containment units but discovers they have been stolen. Doom betrays and stops Kang, and then demands the Gauntlet from the Magus. Eternity, however, has just been revived and has requested the Gauntlet be reactivated, which the Living Tribunal agrees to. An apparently omnipotent Magus easily defeats Doom and dissolves Quasar, who arrives with the Ultimate Nullifier. Thanos defeats his doppelgänger and distracts the Magus, allowing Warlock to grapple with the villain for the Gauntlet. Warlock releases from the Gauntlet a being that is a composite of the entity Eternity and his twin, Infinity. The being incapacitates the Magus, allowing Warlock to absorb the Magus into the Soul Gem. The experience places Warlock in a coma.
Thanos reveals to the assembled heroes that the Magus was tricked and never gained omnipotence as the Reality Gem on the Gauntlet—which Thanos is revealed to be the secret guardian of—was a convincing fake. The heroes return to Earth and the final page of the last issue reveals that the containment units have been stolen by Warlock's "good" persona, the Goddess. In addition to these developments, Eternity—who is apparently 'deputized' by the Living Tribunal to make such a decree—thereafter declares that the Gems on the Gauntlet will never be able to be used again as a single unit, no matter what future crisis befalls the universe. [2]
Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|
Infinity War | The Infinity War #1-6, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #7-10, Marvel Comics Presents #108-111 | April 2006 | 0-7851-2105-6 |
Infinity War Aftermath | Warlock & The Infinity Watch #11-17, Silver Surfer/Warlock: Resurrection #1-4, Quasar #41-43, material from Marvel Comics Presents #112, Marvel Holiday Special #2, Marvel Swimsuit Special #2 | October 2015 | 978-0785198147 |
Infinity War Omnibus | Infinity War #1-6; Fantastic Four #366-370; Spider-Man #24; Deathlok (vol. 2) #16; Daredevil #310; Warlock And The Infinity Watch #7-10; Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #42-47; Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #67-69; Wonder Man (vol. 2) #13-15; Alpha Flight #110-112; Silver Sable & The Wild Pack #4-5; Guardians Of The Galaxy #27-29; Quasar #37-40; New Warriors #27; Marc Spector: Moon Knight #41-44; Nomad (vol. 2) #7; Sleepwalker #18; material from Captain America #408; Alpha Flight #109; Marvel Comics Presents #108-112 | April 2019 | 978-1302915964 |
In October 2014, Marvel announced a two-part film titled Avengers: Infinity War [3] [4] written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely [5] and directed by the Russo brothers. [6] In August 2016, Marvel made an interim announcement that Infinity War might be one film, which it later dropped in preference to its original two-part film plans, Part 2 being renamed Avengers: Endgame . [7] The Russos also explained that despite its title, the film wasn't an adaptation of this storyline, rather primarily based on its predecessor The Infinity Gauntlet. [8] Avengers: Infinity War was released on April 27, 2018. [4]
James P. Starlin is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters Thanos, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Nebula, and Shang-Chi, as well as writing the acclaimed miniseries The Infinity Gauntlet and its many sequels including The Infinity War and The Infinity Crusade, all detailing Thanos' pursuit of the Infinity Gems to court Mistress Death by annihilating half of all life in the cosmos, before coming into conflict with the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and the Elders of the Universe, joined by the Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange, Gamora, Nebula, and Drax.
Eternity is a fictional cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by scripter-editor Stan Lee and artist-plotter Steve Ditko, the character is first mentioned in Strange Tales #134 and first appears in Strange Tales #138.
Adam Warlock is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #66–67 created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, originally named Him. The character would later be significantly developed by Roy Thomas and Jim Starlin. Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character has appeared over several decades of Marvel publications, and starred in the titles Marvel Premiere and Strange Tales as well as five eponymous volumes and several related limited series.
The Infinity Gauntlet is an American comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. In addition to an eponymous, six-issue limited series written by Jim Starlin and pencilled by George Pérez and Ron Lim, crossover chapters appeared in related comic books. Since its initial serialization from July to December 1991, the series has been reprinted in various formats and editions.
The Infinity Gems are six fictional gems appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, named after and embodying various aspects of existence. The gems can grant whoever wields them various powers in accordance to the aspect of existence they represent, and have the potential of turning the wielder into a god-like being when the main six are held together. Thus, they are among the most powerful and sought-after items in the Marvel Universe; playing important roles in several storylines, in which they were wielded by characters such as Thanos and Adam Warlock. Some of these stories depict additional Infinity Gems or similar objects. Although, the Infinity Gems altogether give its user nigh-omnipotence, the Gems only function on the universe they belong to and not on alternate realities.
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in The Invincible Iron Man #55. An Eternal–Deviant warlord from the moon Titan, Thanos is regarded as one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. He has clashed with many heroes including the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Fantastic Four, the Eternals, and the X-Men.
The Living Tribunal is a cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Strange Tales #157 and was created by Stan Lee, Marie Severin, and Herb Trimpe.
Gamora is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in Strange Tales #180. Gamora is the adopted daughter of Thanos, and the last of her species. Her powers include superhuman strength and agility and an accelerated healing factor. She also is an elite combatant, being able to beat most of the opponents in the galaxy. She is a member of the superhero group known as the Infinity Watch. The character played a role in the 2007 crossover storyline "Annihilation: Conquest", becoming a member of the titular team in its spin-off comic, Guardians of the Galaxy, before becoming the supervillain Requiem in the 2018 crossover storylines "Infinity Countdown" and "Infinity Wars".
Drax the Destroyer is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in The Invincible Iron Man #55.
Pip the Troll is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Death is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Mike Friedrich and Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in Captain Marvel #26. Death is a cosmic entity based on the personification of death. The character has also been known as Lady Death and Mistress Death at various points in her history.
The Infinity Crusade is a six-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in 1993. The series was written by Jim Starlin and penciled by Ron Lim, Ian Laughlin, Al Milgrom and Jack Morelli and also the third and final chapter of the Infinity Saga.
The In-Betweener is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Quasar is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is one of Marvel's cosmic heroes, a character whose adventures frequently take him into outer space or other dimensions. However, Quasar deviates from the archetype of the noble, dauntless alien set by such Silver Age cosmic heroes as the Silver Surfer, Adam Warlock and Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) in that he is an everyman. He starred in an eponymous monthly ongoing series written by Mark Gruenwald that ran for sixty issues beginning in 1989 and has served as a member of The Avengers.
Lord Chaos is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2 ( 1977). Lord Chaos is an abstract entity. It is the cosmic counterpart of Master Order and serves as the embodiment of chaos.
The Doppelganger, also called the Spider-Doppelganger, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a near-mindless duplicate of Spider-Man with a vicious, animal-like mind who primarily acts as a servant to other villains rather than having a full will of its own. Along with Peter Parker's agility, speed, and power to cling to walls, the Spider-Doppelganger possesses greater strength, six arms, talons, and organic web-spinnerets on each forearm that fire "razor-sharp" webbing.
The Cosmic Cube is a fictional object appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. There are multiple Cubes in the Marvel Universe, all of which are depicted as containment devices that can empower whoever wields them. Although the first version, introduced in Tales of Suspense #79 and created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, originated on Earth as a weapon built by Advanced Idea Mechanics, most are of alien origins.
The Ultimate Nullifier is a fictional device of immense power appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The device made its first appearance in Fantastic Four volume 1, issue #50, in which Johnny Storm retrieves it from the home of Galactus to employ against Galactus himself. The Nullifier appears as a small, hand-held metallic device with no apparent functionality. When first introduced in 1966, it was described as the only known weapon in the universe capable of inspiring fear in Galactus.
Soul World is a fictional place appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, and created by writer/illustrator, Jim Starlin. Soul World was first alluded to in-story in Strange Tales #179 (1975), and first depicted on-the-page in Warlock Vol 2 #6 (1983). Soul World is described as a “pocket dimension” contained within the plot-motivating Soul Gem, and is depicted as an idyllic alien landscape inhabited by the souls of characters most commonly associated with Starlin's recurrent fictional protagonist, Adam Warlock. Soul World serves the narrative as a place of purgatory for souls "captured" by Warlock.
Master Order is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2 (1977). Master Order is an abstract entity. It is the cosmic counterpart of Lord Chaos and serves as the embodiment of order.
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