The Infinity Crusade, Vol. 2

Infinity Crusade #4-6

by Jim Starlin, Ron Lim (Contributor), Tom Raney (Contributor)

The Goddess has half of the Marvel Universe on her side, but if she doesn't get her way, she's ready to destroy all of it! The Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the Defenders, the X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, the New Warriors, and more are turned against each other in her cosmic inquisition, and while Adam Warlock seeks answers within, could an even bigger crisis loom if ultimate power is stolen by...Pip the Troll?! Plus, mayhem on Monster Island and a Drax/Thor grudge match - Destroyer against Thunderer! Collects Infinity Crusade #4-6, Warlock Chronicles #4-5, and Warlock and the Infinity Watch #20-22.

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

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

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

[Kemper · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Adam Warlock and Thanos try to stop his good feminine side, the Goddess, from saving the universe by destroying it, a bunch of Marvel superheroes end up fighting their fellow good guys who are in the Goddess’ thrall.

This isn’t bad as far as crossovers went, but as with the The Infinity Gauntlet and The Infinity War this is really a story about Adam Warlock and Thanos with the other folks like Wolverine and Spider-Man just here to sell books so those characters feel kind of shoehorned in. At least this one does a better job of working them into the story and giving them something to do.

Reading these old early ‘90s crossovers is also like a time capsule that reminds you of crazy random things that happened in Marvel’s past like Sue Storm wearing an incredibly skimpy version of her costume. It’s also funny how you’ll see characters that they were desperately trying to turn into the Next Big Thing but who I’d forgotten all about. I don’t think we’ll be seeing MCU films or Netflix shows about Darkhawk, Night Thrasher, or Windshear any time soon.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Marvel universe at large only seems to appear in these comics to sell more copies. They don't do anything of consequence. Like every other Jim Starlin book, this is about Adam Warlock and Thanos. Also like every other Thanos book he writes, the universe is erased and then instantly reverted. Starlin seems to have beats he hits with everyone of these stories. Once you're read Infinity Gauntlet, you've pretty much read every Jim Starlin cosmic story he'll ever write.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The end of the previous volume resulted in the defeat of the Goddess, which was only temporary. Adam Warlock and Thanos continue to work together to stop the Goddess before she can purge the universe of sin in a so-called "rapture" resulting in the annihilation of all life. Meanwhile, the heroes with free will combat the mind-controlled ones on the Goddess's planet as a distraction. Adam tricks the Goddess into believing she is successful, distracting her long enough to access her protective egg and re-absorb her into his Soul Gem. Adam and Thanos leave each other in peace.

Though there are some new aspects, ultimately this story feels like a retread of Infinity War except with the zealous Goddess instead of the calculating Magus. The most enjoyable portions are watching Adam wander through trippy dimensions in search of visual representations of abstract ideas, and seeing Thanos act heroic while still grim and self-serving. Seeing the Silver Surfer break free of the Goddess's control through sheer willpower was probably the most memorable moment. The Goddess's motives are ultimately explained by a vague discussion near the end in which Adam is told that his feminine side had been somehow suppressed for centuries (even though Adam is only several years old at most) and that now she wants revenge on all living things. It still doesn't sound like something the good side of a person would do, especially a hero like Adam, but I suppose it's as good a motive as you're going to find in superhero comics. The final panel confirms what I thought about the primary theme: Thanos notes that salvation comes not from an external source but from within.

I think I'm Infinitied out. Time for something different.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 2 out of 5]

...and this is the 2nd volume in which I've lost all interest and was just reading to read and see what happens even though I already knew what's going to happen.

Sadly, an uninterested, boring story with nothing to catch your eye.

Plus: Artwork sucks. Big time.

The only way of seeing someone reading this, is because that someone read the Infinity War and the ending is basically how Crusade starts so yeah, you kinda wanna know what happens. But you're not missing anything sort of awesome or something.

[gxvault · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ending the 2 volume and I still don't get why there's so much "hate" or " disappointment" about infinity crusade...
We get plenty of Adam Warlock, plenty of Thanos and more threats to the Universe!
One thing's for sure...Adam Warlock is a dark being, he has a very dark inner self, worst than the Titan.

[Malum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it yet another rehash of the Infinity events that Marvel was pumping out at the time? Yes.

Is it still a lot of fun? Yes.

Put a bunch of heroes in space, toss in some infinity gems or cosmic cubes, add a few cosmic beings like Eternity or Galactus, and have galactic level dangers and I'm probably going to be pretty happy with it.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Infinity Crusade ist einer der drei Comics (neben The Infinity Gauntlet und The Infinity War), die im Zuge des Filmstarts neu veröffenbtlicht wurdne. Auch hier müssen sich die Avenger – allerdings aufgeteilt in zwei Gruppen – einem göttlichen Feind stellen. Der in den 90ern zum ersten Mal veröffentlichte Comic konnte bei mir mit dem schönen Retrozeichenstil punkten. Überhaupt nicht gefallen hat mir die Vielzahl der Helden. Es handelte sich bei allem um eine große Schlacht und Entwicklungen und Schicksale von Einzelnen kamen leider nicht wirklich hervor. Wer allerdings Infinity War mochte, wird hieran seinen Spaß haben.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these comics when they originally came out as a mini series and they were excellent. Exceptional art and story. Very recommended

[Schuyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

The worst of Starlin's original Infinity "trilogy", this one suffers from weaknesses carried over from the first two, while adding its own. Paper-thin characters are nothing new in the comics world, particularly before the new millenium ushered in the new breed of brooding, complicated heroes. However, Starlin's characters are particularly devoid of any rational basis for their actions, even his star players, Adam Warlock and Thanos. While the first two series managed to eke out a kind of marginal sense of peril, by the third book, there is little to give a sense of dire peril. Part of this is due to the "ultimate" nature of the infinity gems themselves, which have already been dealt with and rendered powerless as a collective weapon. When Warlock has conquered Thanos and the gems, what threat can Magus or The Goddess really pose with an incomplete set of the less-powerful containment cubes? The other reason there is a lack of a sense of peril is the repeat of the formula from the second book. Here we have the "good" version of the Magus, using the same weapons to achieve similar goals

Meanwhile, characters from the rest of the Marvel universe are included in the story through overwrought contrivance, with no real need for their inclusion other than the sale of crossover-related material, even as the key characters in the narrative barely register any actions of import for more than a page in each episode.

It's sad that there was obviously such economic pressure to repeat the success of the original Infinity Gauntlet twice in two years. If Starlin had been given time to develop a better story for parts two and three of this epic, it might have turned out better. When given the cosmic realm to write about, the sky is not the limit. There is no limit, and so much more could have been achieved. As it stands, the strength of these is only in their foundational status for later books.

[Brandt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jim Starlin has been behind some of the more cosmic events in both the Marvel and DC universes, introducing readers to both the The Infinity Gauntlet and Darkseid's Anti-Life equation in the pages of Cosmic Odyssey. For someone who acknowledges he's a bigger Star Wars fan than of either DC or Marvel, these are the sorts of stories I really want to get behind, pitting someone with god-like powers, like Thanos or Darkseid against less powerful heroes that are out of their element, only to see the heroes win with their wits instead of their powers. While this works with the core Infinity Gauntlet series, The Infinity Crusade is a step too far. Is there really a reason to do this story after the Marvel Universe defeats Thanos in The Infinity Gauntlet? No, and the real reason this probably exists was from Marvel editorial trying to capitalize on the success of The Infinity Gauntlet. "Come on Jim," they said. "Just one more Infinity Gauntlet story." This is how you get shit like Pip the Troll being the most powerful being in the universe for thirty wasted pages.

Also, when looking at the price on this collection and you see they are charging $30 per collection for this garbage when you could probably find the original issues in 50 cent bins is just a slap in the face.

[Derek · Rating 1 out of 5]

Infinity Crusade, the final entry in Marvel's lauded early-1990s Infinity trilogy, concludes with this distinctly underwhelming and mostly confusing entry and that easily places Crusade as the worst of the three stories. Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity War had clear villains with clear motives; Infinity Crusade has The Goddess who is trying to purify the universe by destroying it entirely...or something like that. It's a bit of a mess, and most of this particular collection seemed to be esoteric or superfluous stories meant to sell comics. There are a couple of interesting points here, but, like most final entries in a series of sequels, this final part of the story is a letdown.

Now that I have read the whole series, I will be interested to see how the Marvel Cinematic Universe deals with this storyline and which parts from Gauntlet, War, and Crusade they use, but I hope they mostly avoid this part of the story.

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume collects The Infinity Crusade #4–6, Warlock Chronicles #4–5 and Warlock and the Infinity Watch #20–22, and consequently constitute the second half of the concluding part in Starlin's Infinity trilogy ( The Infinity Gauntlet , The Infinity War and this) from the early 90s.

For a brief introduction to the story and my general thoughts on its merits and problems, please see my review of volume 1.

All in all, not bad, but certainly something of a let-down as endings go.

[Devero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Facendo seguito a Infinity Gautlet e a Infinity War ecco questa terza parte nella saga che coinvolge tutti gli eroi Marvel contro Thanos, e con Adam Warlock che non si sa mai da che parte stia.
Se il Guanto presentava la minaccia assoluta e invincibile e la Guerra era la scusa per motivare una serie infinita di scontri, la premessa di questa Crociata è effettivamente più debole. Eppure l'idea era decisamente buona: dividere gli eroi tra quelli che hanno una fede e quelli più pragmatici, agnostici, atei. Ovvio che io, come Starlin, stia con questi ultimi. Purtroppo questo aspetto non è per nulla approfondito nella miniserie, e avrebbe dovuto esserlo sui tie-in che però hanno interessato solo serie marginali.
Disegni di un buon Ron Lim.

[Pranta Dastider · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is rather boring compared to the other Arcs. But, enemies were taken down, and the day was saved, so there is that.

[Gary Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great Marvel Readthrough, pt 11

Ugh. So much filler.

[Roman Colombo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started a bit stronger than it ended--Vol. 1 had a lot more promise while Vol 2. seemed a bit padded. Some plotlines weren't even needed, like Pip's, or an entire issue of Drax fighting Thor (maybe it would have been if the art was good, but it wasn't.
again, though, the developments of Adam Warlock and Thanos are worth the read, and they both feature prominently. Thanos doesn't have as hard a time embracing his the heroic side as he did in Infinity War. And Warlock, of course, goes on trippy self-discovery journeys. These are the kind of stories Starlin shines in. He actually tells a story about gender fluidity in a cosmic space opera. It's great.
The end was a little too forced, but the commentary on religion was worth it.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit better than War simply because it starts with a somewhat interesting concept and unfolds over something like 16 issues instead of 6 (it also helps that these volumes don't contain tie-ins). Starlin can't figure out how to do anything interesting in it either because his brain's not big enough or he's brushing up against the superhero format - both of these are likely. Still, even when his ideas are stale, he remains a champion of genre craft, bolstered by several very solid art teams.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before this I read "Infinity Gauntlet" and "Infinity War," but I didn't read any of the "Aftermath" material or any "Infinity Watch." Because of that, I sometimes felt like I was missing some things, but I still enjoyed this more than I expected. I've head some people be down on this, but like with "Infinity War," I found myself enjoying this cosmic story. Of the original three "Infinity Saga" stories, I'd say this is the weakest, but I'm still intrigued by the premise.

[Esteban Guerrero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Si ya habían acomodado los tie-in en el primer volumen ¿por qué no continuar así? ughhhh.
No más por eso les bajo una estrella, porque la verdad se me hizo mejor que el evento anterior, alargado si, pero más entretenido, además de que la mayoría de los tie-in escritos por Starlin aportán más a la historia que los pasados.

[James Zanghi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a half bad second half to an semi-interesting story. Thor getting his butt whooped by Drax was almost like Batman beating Superman, only much more satisfying. Also, the scene with Thanos and Mephisto at the end is rather amusing and oddly satisfying. At any rate, much better than volume one of the Infinity Crusade.

[Alexander Rivas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is #9 of 18 books in the "Infinity Gauntlet" series, and it brings the fight between Adam Warlock and his female side to an end. It continues to amaze me the deeply religious, psychological, and spiritual concepts touched on the last two books. It seems to me like comic book writers know a lot about mysticism and psychology, which for me is why I am enjoying this series so much.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanos has a plan to follow to destroy the Goddess. Silver Surfer has to risk his life for this plan.

There is a lot of fighting in this volume, hero against hero, I suppose thats what people expected them. There's some fun character moments with Pip, and the Silver Surfer is always good when he is naval gazing. I particularly liked how it was all about Thanos being a hero. A good read.

[Erik J · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun! I really enjoyed part 2 and loved that Goddess got developed a bit more before the finale.

So cool to see all the cameos from a variety of characters too.

Sad that this is the end of the Infinity Trilogy and won't pick up again on some of these story beats for some years.

Overall - 5/5

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, but not amazing. It Starts off better than vol 1 with More appearances from popular characters (Avengers, Spider-Man, X-Men etc.). However it eventually goes back to Adam Warlock and I got bored again and started flicking through pages. However, it does have a pretty strong and satisfying ending.
Not much in the book got me excited, but it was decent enough.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Infinity Crusade #5 is one of the best and most formative single issues I’ve ever read, one of the first comics I ever owned, and still an all-time favorite today. Much of my superhero aesthetic is based on that issue, and it’s the highlight of this volume. Such a great story.

[Jason Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic story. I think I enjoyed this one more than the other infinity stories. It had the same tone and same galactic feel, but the play between characters was just awesome, I thought. I may have to go back and read this one again.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starlin's books are usually about sort of supergods.

This one all seemed to be a setup for some brief and powerful (but maybe too simple?) comment on sexism. Seems like a lot of work to make that setup but it's a memorable piece.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

the weakest of the infinity trilogy, very weird.

[Frans Kempe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last stand on the planet Omega against the Godess.

[Greg Callahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, kind of underwhelming end to the story laid out before. Still, fun matchups, interesting story and concept.