PopCultHQ

PopCultHQ’s Comic Book Review:
Infinity Wars #1

With all the movie action happening with the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos and the Infinity Gems..err pardon me, they use to be called Gems until the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now they are Infinity Stones. I stand corrected, moving along. With all that media attention, it was bound to become the focus in the comic books and boy has it ever! We have been privy to a summer of countless series and one-shots all with the precusor “Infinity.” This week’s Infinity Wars #1 is no exception! And let me warn you, it packs a punch!

A little bit of what’s happened first. Back during Wolveirne’s mysterious resurrection, he came into contact with the Space Stone which he passed onto Black Widow. Star-Lord is in possession of the Power Stone, Doctor Strange is in possession of the Time Stone (real shocker!), Captain Marvel is keeper of the Reality Stone, while Adam Warlock is once more in charge of the Soul Stone. That just leaves the Mind Stone in the possession of one Turk Barrett. Yeah…Turk. The thug Daredevil beats up for information. That Turk. Eh, I was a bit perplexed by this as well but it’s been interesting.

As the heroes gather to form a new Infinity Watch, we see Earth’s heroes become jittery just waiting for Thanos to show up but here’s the kicker…someone has beheaded Thanos, removing him from the board but the question is who is the new myserious power player named Requiem?

Writing:

Gerry Duggan, aside from some work for DC’s Batman, has written a load of titles for Marvel. So many to name, but from Deadpool to Hulk, having taken over for Mark Waid’s departure on the book, as far as Guardians of the Galaxy and just so many more to name. The point is, he is familar with the Marvel Universe.

What we have in the Infinity Wars debut issue is a Gamora who begins to question herself based on the events in the preceeding Infinity Countdown and Guardians of the Galaxy comics. The Guardians are no more and we have a Peter Quill who has lost his own direction and more concered with his relationship with Gamora. Gamora is pleading with Quill that she hasn’t felt herself, as if part of her is missing. They part with a deep kiss which Quill reads entirely wrong and only makes sense if you have seen the Godfather II and watched Michael kiss Fredo.

Everyone is preparing for Doctor Strange’s meeting of a new Infinity Watch in Central Park. The Infinity Stones have never been gathered so close together in one place, especially on Earth. As those who possess the stones arrive, Turk shows up with his own crew: Tombstone, Typhoid Mary, Bullseye, Sandman, and Spot. As Strange pleads that the stones need to be scattered thorughout space far away from Earth, Turk isn’t about that life.

As the new ‘Watch’ bicker, Loki is off across the universe soul searching with Flowa. Together, they encounter a Loki from another universe who not only wields the mighty Mjölnir, but also possesses all six Infinity Stones embedded in his armor. This Loki is obviously a better man than the one from his dimension and they watch as he joins his Avengers in a battle to the death against a huge soul eater.

As Loki sees the scope of his lack of potential, things are breaking down in Central Park as the new Infinity Watch go to war with one another. In the midst of this fight, it’s shown to them that Thanos of Titan is…dead! Having been beheaded by a mysterious adversary, this new power player shows up and is revealed to be Gamora, who in turn kills Star-Lord. Thus making it a “to be continued” story.

When it comes down to it, this issue has some great interactuon between characters. This is what Duggan excels at. The banter in Central Park is hilarious and fantastic. When Black Widow makes herself known, it’s great seeing Bullseye’s response. The relationship between Gamora and Peter Quill in the opening scene, which lays out what is to come between lines as she is saying good-bye for all intents and purposes. What can seem like a marketing cash grab is very well-written!

Art: 

Mike Deodato Jr. has been drawing for Marvel since the late 1990s. He has done everything from Thor to Hulk and the Avengers and even Spider-Man for some time. Needless to say, there isn’t a Marvel character he hasn’t drawn by this point! I love him and cannot find anything negative  to say or even critique his work. It’s simply stellar!

PopCultHQ’s overall assessment:

For a starting series it quasi-lends itself well. I’ve been following all this Infinity Stone build up since the Marvel Legacy One-Shot a year ago, so it’s been fairly easy to understand what’s happening. But aside from Gamora’s backstory and just how everyone ended up with an Infinity Stone…Turk? Again, really? You may want to go back into the back issue bins before picking this book up.

PopCultHQ’s Rating:

4 out of 5 Stars

INFINITY WARS #1 can be purchased on ComiXology and available
at your local comic shop and online retailers on Wednesday, August 1st!

Be sure to follow the series’ creative team!

Writer – Gerry Duggan

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Letterer – Cory Petit

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Publisher – Marvel Comics

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