The Infinity War

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.

This article is about the 1992 comic book storyline. For other uses, see Infinity War (disambiguation).
"The Infinity War"
Cover of Infinity War 1 (Jun 1992). Art by Ron Lim.
PublisherMarvel Comics
Publication dateJune – November 1992
GenreSuperhero
Main character(s)The Avengers
Avengers West Coast
Fantastic Four
X-Men
X-Factor
New Warriors
Alpha Fight
Infinity Watch
Thanos
Doctor Doom
Kang
Adam Warlock
Galactus
Eternity
Creative team
Writer(s)Jim Starlin
Artist(s)Ron Lim
Infinity WarISBN 0-7851-2105-6

The storyline is a direct sequel to the 1991 The Infinity Gauntlet and was followed by The Infinity Crusade in 1993.

Publication history

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".

Plot summary

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]

Collected editions

The full storyline was published as The Infinity War, a 400-page trade paperback.

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
The 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

In other media

Video games

Capcom adapted the storyline into a video game shortly after its release. Marvel Super Heroes In War of the Gems, was released in 1996 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.[3]

Film

In October 2014, Marvel announced a two-part film titled Avengers: Infinity War[4][5] written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely[6] and directed by the Russo brothers.[7] On August 1, 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.[8] 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.[9] Avengers: Infinity War was released on April 27, 2018.[5]

Video games

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
  1. Jim Starlin (w), Angel Medina (p), Terry Austin (i), Ian Laughlin (col), Jack Morelli (let), Craig Anderson (ed). Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1 (February 10, 1992), Marvel Comics
  2. Infinity War #1 - 6 (July - Nov. 1992)
  3. "Marvel Super Heroes in War of the Gems". AllGame. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2015.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. Lang, Derrik J. (October 28, 2014). "Marvel unveils slate of films through 2019". SFGate. Hearst. AP. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  5. Siegel, Lucas (October 28, 2014). "Marvel Announces Black Panther, Captain Marvel, luis Flores, Inhumans, Avengers: Infinity War Films, Cap & Thor 3 Subtitles". Newsarama. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  6. "Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely to Write Marvel's 2-Part 'Avengers: Infinity War' Event More on Marvel.com". Marvel.com. 2015-05-07. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
  7. Strom, Marc (April 7, 2015). "Joe & Anthony Russo to Direct 2-Part Marvel's 'Avengers: Infinity War' Event". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  8. (August 1, 2016), "Marvel's 'Avengers: Infinity War' Will be One Movie, Not one split into two but there have been many reports suggesting a sequel to the film," Variety. Retrieved August 1, 2016
  9. "Avengers, the makers' story". The Telegraph India. April 10, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
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