The Infinity War
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''The Infinity War'' is a six-issue
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
in 1992. The series was written by
Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) 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 ...
and penciled by
Ron Lim Ronald Lim (born 1965) is an American comic book artist living in Sacramento, California. He is best known for his work for Marvel Comics on their various "cosmic" titles, most particularly the ''Silver Surfer'' (vol. 3) series. Biography Lim's ...
, Ian Laughlin,
Al Milgrom Allen L. Milgrom (born March 6, 1950) is an American comic book writer, penciller, inker and editor, primarily for Marvel Comics. He is known for his 10-year run as editor of ''Marvel Fanfare''; his long involvement as writer, penciler, and inker ...
,
Jack Morelli Jack Morelli (born October 26, 1962) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', June 10, 2005. Accessed April 18, 2011. . is an American comic book letterer and author, also credited under the name John Morelli. He h ...
and Christie Scheele. The storyline is a direct sequel to the 1991 ''
The Infinity Gauntlet ''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 ...
'' and was followed by ''
The Infinity Crusade ''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 o ...
'' in 1993.


Publication history

The story had additional tie-ins including ''
Alpha Flight Alpha Flight is a fictional team of Canadian superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters premiered in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #120 (April 1979), and were created to serve as part of the X-Men member Wo ...
'' #110-112, ''
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
'' #408, '' Daredevil'' #310, ''
Deathlok Deathlok (also referred to as Deathlok the Demolisher) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Astonishing Tales'' #25 (Aug. 1974), created by Rich Buckler. At least three subs ...
'' #16, ''
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme ''Doctor Strange'' is a series of several comic book volumes featuring the character Doctor Strange and published by Marvel Comics, beginning with the original ''Doctor Strange'' comic book series that debuted in 1968. Publication history Docto ...
'' #42-47, ''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
'' #366-370, ''
Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...
'' vol 1 #27-29, '' Marc Spector: Moon Knight'' #41-44, ''
Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995. It returned for a second volume in 2007–2008, and a third volume that started in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume ...
'' #108-111, ''
The New Warriors The New Warriors is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics), ...
'' #27, ''
Nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
'' vol. 2, #7, ''
Quasar A quasar is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a m ...
'' #38-40, ''
Silver Sable and The Wild Pack Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical cond ...
'' #4-5, ''
Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...
'' vol. 3, #67-69, '' Sleepwalker'' #18, ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
'' #24, ''
Warlock and the Infinity Watch The Infinity Watch is the name of three fictional organizations appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of Infinity Watch was gathered in ''Warlock and the Infinity Watch'' #1, and starred in that series u ...
'' #7-10, and ''
Wonder Man Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The c ...
'' #13-14. All of these were published between July and November 1992. ''
What The--?! ''What The--?!'' is a Marvel Comics comic book series self-parodying the Marvel Universe, similar in vein to the 1960s series '' Not Brand Echh''. It was billed as "The Marvel mag of mirth and mayhem!" The series ran for 26 issues, from August 19 ...
'' #20 featured a parody story about various comedic superheroes struggle against the "Infinity Wart".


Plot summary

When hero
Adam Warlock Adam Warlock (also known as simply Warlock) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character would first appear in ''Fantastic Four'' #66–67 (cover-dates September 1967 and October 1967) cr ...
takes possession of the artifact known as the
Infinity Gauntlet ''The Infinity Gauntlet'' is an American comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. In addition to an eponymous, six-issue limited series (comics), limited series written by Jim Starlin and Penciller, pencilled by George Pérez and Ron ...
, 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 Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin ''magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the ...
, who desires universal conquest and revenge against Warlock and the Titan
Thanos Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
. 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. The Magus collects five cosmic containment units (another name for the
Cosmic Cube 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 th ...
s), and with the power gained incapacitates the cosmic entity
Eternity Eternity, in common parlance, means Infinity, infinite time that never ends or the quality, condition, or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside time, whereas ...
; creates an interdimensional realm and an army of
doppelgänger A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...
s—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 Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, Galactus is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of ...
and several of Earth's heroes also investigate and then attempt to revive Eternity, as the entity will be required to
petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...
the
Living Tribunal The Living Tribunal is a fictional cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Strange Tales'' #157 (June 1967) and was created by Stan Lee, Marie Severin, and Herb Trimpe. The ...
, who has decreed that the
Infinity Gems The Infinity Gems (originally referred to as Soul Gems and later as Infinity Stones) are six fictional gems appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, named after and embodying various aspects of existence. The gems (Mind, Pow ...
can no longer be used in unison in the
Earth-616 In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. History of the term The term was first used in "Rough Justice", a story credited to both Alan Moore and Alan Davis p ...
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 Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace a ...
detonates a gamma bomb when the heroes assemble at
Four Freedoms Plaza Four Freedoms Plaza is a fictional structure appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is depicted as being located in the Manhattan of the Marvel Universe; it served as the replacement headquarters for the Fantastic Four ...
. However, the
Invisible Woman The Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four and was the first female superhero created by Marvel during ...
contains the blast while Thunder God
Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
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 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 (May 1966), in which Johnny Storm retrieve ...
(with Thanos goading Quasar to use it against the Magus knowing that Quasar would also be destroyed) and villains
Kang the Conqueror Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is most frequently depicted as an opponent of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. A time-traveling entity, seve ...
and
Doctor Doom Doctor Victor Von Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #5 in July 1962. The monarch of the fi ...
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 Omnipotence is the quality of having unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence only to the deity of their faith. In the monotheistic religious philosophy of Abrahamic religions, omnipotence is often listed as one of ...
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 Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...
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 A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
. Thanos reveals to the assembled heroes that the Magus was tricked and never gained omnipotence as the
Reality Gem The Infinity Gems (originally referred to as Soul Gems and later as Infinity Stones) are six fictional Gemstone, gems appearing in American comic book, American comic books published by Marvel Comics, named after and embodying various aspects of ...
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 A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
. 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.


Collected editions


In other media


Film

In October 2014, Marvel announced a two-part film titled '' Avengers: Infinity War'' written by
Christopher Markus Christopher Markus (born January 2, 1970) and Stephen McFeely (born February 24, 1970) are American screenwriters and producers. McFeely and Markus were the second and the third most successful screenwriters of all time in terms of U.S. box offi ...
and Stephen McFeely and directed by the
Russo brothers Anthony Russo (born February 3, 1970) and Joseph Russo (born July 18, 1971), collectively known as the Russo brothers (), are American directors, producers, and screenwriters. They direct most of their work together. They are best known for dir ...
. 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''. 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''. ''Avengers: Infinity War'' was released on April 27, 2018.


Video games

*
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
adapted the storyline into a
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
shortly after its release. '' Marvel Super Heroes In War of the Gems'', was released in 1996 for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...
. * The 2019 video game '' Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order'', a reboot to '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'' and '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2'' takes elements from ''The Infinity War'' storyline and incorporates into its own story.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Infinity War, The Comics by Jim Starlin Crossover comics