Infinity War

Infinity War #1-6

by Jim Starlin, Ron Lim (Illustrator)

When evil dopplegangers of the Marvel heroes appear, it's all-out war! Why has Magus unleashed them on an unsuspecting world? And is the heroes only hope?Thanos?! Plus, will the Infinity Gauntlet swing the tide of the war?

Collects Infinity War #1-6, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #7-10 & Marvel Comics Presents #108-111.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Fiction, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2006

About the author

James P. "Jim" Starlin is an American comic book writer and artist. With a career dating back to the early 1970s, he is best known for "cosmic" tales and space opera; for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock; and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters Thanos and Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. Death and suicide are recurring themes in Starlin's work: Personifications of Death appeared in his Captain Marvel series and in a fill-in story for Ghost Rider; Warlock commits suicide by killing his future self; and suicide is a theme in a story he plotted and drew for The Rampaging Hulk magazine.

In the mid-1970s, Starlin contributed a cache of stories to the independently published science-fiction anthology Star Reach. Here he developed his ideas of God, death, and infinity, free of the restrictions of mainstream comics publishers' self-censorship arm, the Comics Code Authority. Starlin also drew "The Secret of Skull River", inked by frequent collaborator Al Milgrom, for Savage Tales #5 (July 1974).

When Marvel Comics wished to use the name of Captain Marvel for a new, different character,[citation needed] Starlin was given the rare opportunity to produce a one-shot story in which to kill off a main character. The Death of Captain Marvel became the first graphic novel published by the company itself. (

In the late 1980s, Starlin began working more for DC Comics, writing a number of Batman stories, including the four-issue miniseries Batman: The Cult (Aug.-Nov. 1988), and the storyline "Batman: A Death in the Family", in Batman #426-429 (Dec. 1988 – Jan. 1989), in which Jason Todd, the second of Batman's Robin sidekicks, was killed. The death was decided by fans, as DC Comics set up a hotline for readers to vote on as to whether or not Jason Todd should survive a potentially fatal situation. For DC he created Hardcore Station.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning: for those of you looking for a comic relating to the Infinity War movie, keep on moving. I can't imagine this will have much of anything in common with it other than the name.



Ok. What you need to ask yourself before you dig this up is whether or not you're a big fan of Marvel's cosmic stories. Especially their old cosmic stories.
This is an older comic and it shows. The art, the dialogue, the reasons (or lack of) behind the motivations for both the heroes and villains...? It's crunchy, silly, and a bit cringy.
Still. Me? I personally love Adam Warlock, Moondragon, Gamora, Pip, and a big purple Thanos setting out to save the universe from Adam's evil shadow/doppelganger - The Magus!



It's an overblown, overdramatic, colorful event that includes cameos from almost everyone in the Marvel lineup.
Yes, even Alpha Flight, you crazy Canucks!



It was (to me) really fun to read about all these characters traveling all over the place trying to track down this cackling villain, and fighting off not only their evil twins from another dimension but each other, as well. <--because what's a superhero story without the obligatory Hero vs Hero fight due to misunderstandings?
It's worthless, I tell you!



My biggest problem was with how the book was put together. Now, I read this as a digital book from Hoopla, and not in single issue form on Marvel Unlimited. And the reason I did that was because it's a pain in the ass to find all the issues and then read them in the correct order. This one had all the Infinity War issues, plus Warlock and the Infinity Watch, and some other random issues that supposedly related to the story. I figured it would be much easier to just let the professionals do it.
BUT.
That's not how the book (or at least the digital one) is put together! The Infinity Wars are in there, then it goes to Warlock and the Infinity Watch (which, at the beginning of each of those issues it tells you which issues of Infinity War it's sandwiched between, so THANKS?), then the other randoms are just tacked on at the end.
Hell, I could have bumbled around and put it together better than that.
My point is, those of you who have Marvel Unlimited, just go ahead and grab the issues.



This definitely isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed it.
Also, I'm looking for more stuff with Adam Warlock, so if anybody has any suggestions, feel free to drop me a recommendation. <--she says shamelessly using her Goodreads friends

[Kemper · Rating 3 out of 5]

WAR! What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing except for comic book crossovers and as the climactic film in a cinematic universe.

If you’re one of those folks who like the Marvel movies but haven’t read the comics then you might think that this would be the basis for the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War movie. However, it seems Infinity Gauntlet, the first in this set of big event stories based around the Infinity Stones, will be the template the movie works off of. This is actually the sequel to that.

Confusing, isn’t it?

This is fairly decent as Marvel’s big cosmic crossovers go. This time Thanos is kinda sorta a good guy who is helping Adam Warlock and the Infinity Watch try to stop the Magus from essentially becoming god by getting his hands on that bedazzled glove. Earth’s superheroes are also pawns in Magus’ game while Dr. Doom and Kang the Conqueror make for some interesting wildcards.

Overall the story is pretty ambitious with some decent layers to it. However, the superheroes really don’t serve any purpose other than as selling points to put on the covers. That’s the problem when there’s a threat this powerful. What’s Daredevil supposed to do against an enemy that can defeat Galactus without breaking a sweat? So they mostly end up in a side plot where they fight evil versions of themselves created by Magus as a distraction while the real action is centered on characters like Thanos and Adam Warlock.

Unfortunately, giant crossovers that involve every character in the Marvel universe whether it makes story sense or not would become the norm in the 25 years since this came out.

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not going to spend 5,000 words reviewing a nearly 25-year-old major Marvel cosmic crossover (hey, it can almost rent a car—milestone!), but I’ll make a few brief points:

1) I can’t decide if I like this because I snort nostalgia like I think Christian Slater’s character would snort the ashes of a dead hooker in Very Bad Things, or if it’s good, but I’m leaning toward the latter (though the former is undeniably a factor; mmm…melted hooker).

2) Ron Lim is underrated as a big event comic artist (even if his Gambit occasionally looks like a crack-addled Warlock).

3) Thanos as a pseudo-good guy is an interesting twist, sort of like wrapping bacon around a Twizzler (I said it was interesting…I didn’t say it was delicious).

4) A while back, I pitched a Doctor Strange/Doctor Doom sitcom (check it out here); I feel like Doom and Kang could be a nice spinoff from that. Really, the takeaway is that Doom is comedic gold.

5) The 1990s was a carnival of suck in many ways when it came to comics, but this is solid. Worth checking out if you like big Marvel cosmic crossovers.

One bonus takeaway: I love that everyone, including intergalactic entities, feels compelled to listen to noted alt-left Nazi puncher Captain America.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for the story behind Avengers: Infinity War, you're actually looking in the wrong place. You actually want to read Infinity Gauntlet instead. Infinity War is actually the sequel to Infinity Gauntlet in the comics.

When Adam Warlock had Godlike powers in Infinity Gauntlet he split off the evil and good aspects of himself so that he could make decisions based entirely on logic. Now this is coming back to bite the universe in the ass as his evil side, Magus, is trying to take over the universe. Most of the book is the Magus manipulating everyone to get the power he's looking for. Also included are the Infinity Watch issues meant to be read between the Infinity War issues. For some reason though, Marvel printed these after Infinity War instead of between the issues.

Ron Lim's art is good on the cosmic characters. The earth based characters need work though. He's definitely no George Perez either as some of the characters in the double page spreads featuring tons of characters look goofy as hell. Gambit and Speedball particularly have been using some extra product in their hair. I'm just glad our heroes didn't fight Magus in the 70's. I'm not sure they could have beaten that 'fro.


Now on to Infinity Crusade to find out what trouble Adam Warlock's "good" aspect had gotten up to.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Infinity Gauntlet is a classic, but Infinity War (and even moreso it's sequel Infinity Crusade) was an overindulgent bit of fun that just never lived up to Starlin's best cosmic works.

The fun is seeing all those mid-90s characters, especially the X-Men and spinoffs of that day, in their most popular costumes of the era.

The story is just... all over the place. Sure it's interesting to see Magus back, the eternal FOIL to Adam Warlock, but the plot never made any sense.

Lotsa nostalgia tho

[The Lion's Share · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magus, Warlock and Thanos all in one book, what more could you ask for?

As with most of Starlins’ work it stands their test of time as a great cosmic story.

I recently just watched infinity war which was fantastic and you can see that Gamora’s relationship with Thanos is influenced by this book.

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked Starlin's other big, cosmic crossovers, but this one just didn't do it for me. There are some golden moments (Doom and Kang working together while both plot betraying the other is brilliant and dead on) but overall it had the effect of trying too hard. And the central idea that drives much of the storyline (superheroes fighting their evil twins oh no!) just isn't compelling. I also didn't like how Marvel collected the involved issues. This trade has Infinity War #1-6, plus Warlock and the Infinity Watch #7-10 (and a few other things, but these are the important bits). This is good, because the story weaves through both books, so what happens in Infinity War #1 is concluded in Infinity Watch #7, etc. But instead of alternating, and presenting the story in order, editorial chose to print all of the Infinity War issues, then all of the Infinity Watch issues. If you don't know that's going to happen, you'll read the first half wondering if you missed a scene, then get annoyed that you have to go back and read the whole book again, flipping back and forth to get the story in order. Really a lazy way to do things, Marvel.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the end of The Infinity Gauntlet, Adam Warlock had taken control of the Gauntlet and essentially became a (or maybe the) god. In order to rule emotionlessly he divested himself of good and evil, which unbeknownst to him became the respective personifications known as the Goddess and the Magus. After giving up godhood, Adam ensured the Gauntlet's Gems were removed and could never be used in conjunction again; the Gems were split among his friends, now known as the Infinity Watch. Infinity War focuses on the mechanations of the evil Magus and his attempt to re-form the Gauntlet and become all-powerful. Adam, his friends, and Thanos (!) team up in a desperate attempt to shut down the Magus. Adam is able to grapple the Magus for control of the Gauntlet, setting free a celestial being which defeats the Magus. The Gauntlet again has the Gems removed and is deactivated for all time.

As other reviewers have noted, if Infinity Gauntlet is about abuse of power, then this is about duality, as the Magus is Adam's dark self and his tactic for distracting Earth's superheroes is to create evil clones of each of them. The chess-like game the Magus plays is laid out well and works (for the most part) and Thanos again gets center stage as a character who actually has had some real development since his last appearance. This event could have easily earned another star had it not been so convoluted, but the involvement of every major Marvel hero of the time, their clones, and the added schemes of Doctor Doom and Kang the Conqueror seemed to add a lot of fuzz to an otherwise clear plot. A few of the side issues, while interesting and giving some quality backstory to characters like Thanos and Gamora, also seemed largely unnecessary and just pulled the focus away from the central conflict at odd times.

It's hard to picture this being the basis for the upcoming Infinity War films, considering how much is going on here with so many characters. More likely they will contain a pared-down version of The Infinity Gauntlet story.

[Alazzar · Rating 4 out of 5]

EDIT: I just finished writing this review, but realized I neglected to mention one thing: the issues in this book are not arranged in chronological order, which is kind of ridiculous. If you'd like to read them in approximate order (I say "approximate" because some of the issues overlap, and it's hard to pick which to read first), I'd recommend going like so:

1. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #7.
2. Infinity War #1-3.
3. Marvel Comics Presents #108-111. (These short installments don't have cover art and aren't labeled with anything other than "I, Thanos"; you can find them toward the back of the book. Make sure to start with Part One, obviously.)
4. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #8.
5. Infinity War #4-5.
6. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #9-10.
7. Infinity War #6.

I recommend writing out the reading order on a slip of paper and using it for your bookmark. It's the only way to successfully navigate this poorly arranged collection.

With all that being said, on to the review:

***

I enjoyed this much more than the more popular The Infinity Gauntlet , and I think the reason for that is that I didn't just dive directly into this volume. By the time I got around to reading Infinity War, I'd already read the aforementioned Gauntlet and the first 6 issues of Warlock and the Infinity Watch; having some background before the big "Oh-my-god-the-universe-is-gonna-end" arc was nice.

(On that note, I think I'd have liked Infinity Gauntlet much more if I'd read The Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos first. This is what I get for picking up my books out of chronological order!)

Anyway, good stuff: the Magus was an interesting enough villain; it was nice to see some background on the Infinity Watch members I'd recently been reading about (particularly Gamora); and Thanos--well, Thanos is Thanos. He's always a treat to read.

For whatever reason (maybe because I'd been reading background issues, like I said earlier), I felt more invested in what was happening here than in Infinity Gauntlet. With Gauntlet, there never seemed to be any sense of urgency or fear, because I knew the Marvel Universe as we knew it wasn't just going to come to an end. And yet, even though I knew the same thing here, I found myself zipping through the pages, wanting to know how it would all unfold. So, if you can get your hands on Warlock and the Infinity Watch issues 1-6 (I got a lot of 1-8 on Ebay for something like $5, total) before diving into this volume, I'd highly recommend it--it's fun to see how the Watch comes together, and it makes you care more about what's happening in this particular storyline.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite bearing the same title, this book wasn't the basis for the movie of the same name.

The story follows Magus, an evil counterpart of Adam Warlock who has gained unimaginable power and now seeks to rule the universe while the heroes of Marvel universe seek to stop him with aid of some unlikely heroes like Thanos and Galactus.

The book is a decent read. The grand scope of the premise is evident, but the writing itself doesn't lift to that high level of standard. It was funny to read alien/cosmic beings quoting Nietzsche though.

[David Dalton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of milking the whole Infinity Gauntlet thing. Thought it was too long and bloated. No real surprises. Not too impressed.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An almost 4 star book. Doppelgangers,Magus going from afro to man bun....and epic fights through out.

[Magnus Meling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, it truly was an infinite war reading this one.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I'm not going to lie to you. I really liked that shit.

Besides the artwork not being my favourite half the time throughout this whole story, everything else was really captivating. Really interesting as to where it's going to lead and all.

Mainly, I was reading this because of (duh) Thanos.. and that's what I'm binge-reading nowadays just before the movie, so yeah, I remember reading this back in the 90s, I remember NOT finishing reading this, I think I missed issues or something and I wasn't too much into it or something. Stupid kid and everything. I blame not being into cosmic stuff from Marvel back then. Oh well...

If you want some Thanos and some Warlock and some Infinity Gauntlet Aftermath, this is your jam.

This is your jam and your jelly.

I liked it. Maybe even too much than I should have.

Highly recommended for Thanos stuff.

[Ryan Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 infinity gems. This is fine, really good in parts and really weak in others, but still a solid arc. Not as good as Infinity Gauntlet, but certainly worth the read.

[L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the previous story, The Infinity Gauntlet, the universe was hot pink. Apparently that issue depleted the world's reserves of hot pink as now the predominate color scheme is yellow.

Adam Warlock, along with the unlikely ally of Thanos, must confront Adam's evil opposite self known as The Magus. Minus his 'fro, though. C'mon, man, your power originates from the afro. That samurai ponytail thing you've got going on doesn't work.

Speaking of opposites, this book is like the opposite of World War Hulk. In Hulk it was all punching and very little talking, unless the talking had to do with threatening to punch someone. In War it's all talk, talk, talk and very little punching.

There's also some odd loose ends. For instance there's one hero who is secretly replaced with Folger's crystals an evil double. The evil double is discovered and disappears. Then at nearly the very end, during the big boss battle, the real hero just suddenly appears with no explanation of where the hero has been or how they got to the battlefield.

[Steven Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was... OK. Unfortunately it has less of what was good about Infinity Gauntlet and more of what was boring about about Infinity Gauntlet. The art was also really hit or miss. Lots of bad 90s anatomical proportions.

I did like seeing Thanos as more of an anti-hero and appreciate that he didn't just become a villain again. And it was good seeing the Fantastic Four and X-Men having larger roles. But the whole thing was weighed down in self-importance and stuff too big and cosmic to have emotional resonance and once again far too much focus on Adam Warlock.

This book isn't bad. It has moments of entertainment but ultimately it feels hollow. The sort of thing that might've appealed to me at age 10 but not at age 35.

[Bobby · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know, it's not awful. It hovers in the neighborhood, but never quite lands. Unlike it's predecessor, The Infinity Gauntlet, this really doesn't age well at all.

It suffers from a lot of the same symptoms of many sequels. It feels like it tries to go larger in scope, and while it does, it doesn't have the same effect. Basically, another being, this time The Magus, wants ultimate power of being GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!

The plot is convoluted and the art is very 90's stylized, so there's a lot of cringe to be had here.

It drags in the middle, and would have been a solid 4-issue tale.

I did enjoy the Kang / Dr. Doom subplot. Very Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

[Pranta Dastider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad at all. I do disagree with the choice of stone protectors, but, everything else went good. I wish there were less dialogues overall. Thanos proved to be valuable, Hulk went sober and Dear Adam Warlock is the middle of all. Galactus felt mighty as ever.

Now to aftermaths.

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Infinity Gauntlet was better. This dragged a little to long and as much as I love the design of the Magus, I feel like the character wasn’t really used all that well. Really like the design though

[danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

the only reason this is getting three stars is bc black widow and black cat together <3

but also the beast ordering pizza in the middle of all the chaos

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it but I found it lesser compared to the Infinity Gauntlet in many aspects, mainly the main villain. Still it's enjoyable with a good plot twist at the end.

[John Wiswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

As 90s as cosmic comics get! An evil alien sends copies of all earths heroes to assassinate them, but the copies have more spikes! And fangs! And claws! The old Mad God is on the run, trying to evade an even more diabolical successor. The Baxter Building gets gamma bombed! Wolverine blows smoke in Iron Man's face! Planets vaporize!

It's dorky in such a throwback way. And for a giant crossover, it's impressive how many characters get at least one cool moment. Wolverine being the first to kill his doppleganger, and Spider-Man sitting out the distress call, and when the world seems like it's ending, Reed and Sue Richards have a quiet panel to whisper goodbye. It has plenty of big brawls, but also manages to structure a plot well to incorporate so many cameos. Even Black Cat gets to play Captain America's spy.

This is one of those big crossover events from my childhood that I never got to read. This is the sequel to Starlin's classic Infinity Gauntlet, in which Thanos assembled the six Infinity Gems and became the God of the Marvel Universe. That story had him at the center of the universe the entire time, and the combined surviving heroes of the universe had to stand against him: the X-Men, Avengers, Namor, Spider-Man, you name them. Back then, Thanos was narrowly thwarted by the spiritualist Adam Warlock, who divided the gems between other worthy protectors. Now, Warlock's dark side surfaces and wants to reassemble the gauntlet and overthrow the other gods of the universe.

In short: it's freaking cheesy and fun. Magus is such a chatty, self-absorbed villain, constantly narrating how he's manipulating the heroes or cosmic entities. His plotting is made better by a pact between Dr. Doom and Kang the Conqueror, the big super-genius enemies of the Fantastic Four and Avengers, who cooperate just long enough to rob Magus and screw each other over. Together the trio are a testament to genius villains who trip all over themselves, so well-suited to a giant crossover with universe-breaking stakes.

If you fell in love with Thanos in Infinity Gauntlet, then Starlin grabs you by making him on the run this time. He's trying to out-think Magus and has to beg Warlock for help. It's a great sequel that doesn't replicate the original, but shows the consequences of Thanos's old plot, and forces him to live with them. It also means X-Factor beating up an evil Hulk clone, which is fun in its own way.

The only complaint I have is the lazy way the contents are ordered. This volume collects both the main series and a few tie-ins, but doesn't order them chronologically. You'll finish the story, and then have another hundred-or-so pages of what Infinity Watch, Mole Man, and Thanos were up to in-between earlier chapters. They easily could have been folded together to make one linear narrative, in the same fashion as people would have read them back in 1992.

[Marc Pastor · Rating 2 out of 5]

No he sigut mai un entusiasta dels superherois més clàssics. De petit era molt de Spiderman i Batman, però també de Mortadelo i Zipi y Zape. Els enmascarats m'agraden com a concepte, m'agrada l'estètica, però moltes de les històries se'm cauen de les mans.
Després de veure la darrera meravella de Marvel al cinema, Infinity War, he rescatat aquesta col·lecció de la biblioteca. Sé que la pel·li n'adapta una altra, El Guantelete del Infinito, però no hi era.
Bé, el resultat ha estat una mica soporífer. El malvat més malvat, Magus, és ridícul. Thanos sembla un personatge de Barri Sèsam. Els superherois es dediquen a anar a dimensió en dimensió sense solta ni volta. Tot plegat, una mica castanya.
Però vaja, és el que em venia de gust, més enllà d'Ultimates i reversions actualitzades (que n'he llegit unes quantes força bones), un còmic de grapa on tothom és molt intens.

[C. Varn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starlin, Raney, and Lim add a worthy successor to the Infinity Gaunlet that encorporates more of the classic Silver Age Warlock plots as well as Warlock and the Infinity watch. The confrontation with Magus and use of the powers is interesting, but it doesn't have the same weight as the The Infinity Gaunlet. Instead of merely Warlock dealing with his shadow nature, even Thanos is forced to deal with his dual self. The plot twists here are compelling, although the Warlock and the Infinity Watch issues as well as the Marvel presents issues are not quite as interesting as the The Infinity War six issue run. Recommended.

[Anthony Salazar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would easily be five stars if the issues were woven chronologically. By doing so, there wouldn't be awkward gaps in the story. And though they're explained later on, their significance dwindles as the climax already passed.

[Etienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5. Old classic that is definitely very epic and had some influence on the actual MCU, but maybe too classic for me to fully enjoy it. I recognize the importance of it, even if I wasn't totally able to enjoy it. Mixed feeling with this one!

[Hassan Hamdan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,25

[Ginger Wolverine · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read infinity gauntlet you HAVE to read this one

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent crossover. For once Thanos is a good guy, trying to stop someone else destroying the universe. Not many believe him, and few want to help him. This is an epic story with some really good character moments. It is well thought out, and doesn't feel like its a crossover just for the sake of selling comics. I like the cosmic scale, and Thanos trying to do good. A very good read.