INFINITY # 1 Thoughts and Some Spoilers

Marvel Comics' INFINITY # 1 by Jonathan Hickman together with Jim Cheung is finally out and it's impressive. The book is thicker thanks to the additional pages from the FCBD issue but it's oh-so-good.

The portrayal of THANOS here is something fresh. He's more of the guy in the comfortable throne with his elite and his soldiers willing to literally die in order to serve him. You could say that THANOS has rebuilt himself as the classic Godfather archetype.

It's refreshing to see some bits and pieces (literally and figuratively) of the Spaceknights. That girl from ANNIHILATORS is back and she's not alone. Sadly, Hickman uses the return of the Spaceknights as a means to show just how powerful these "Builders" are. That one female Builder alone was really powerful. The threat presented here is no pushover but something that is really scary.

The outrider scenes and panels were bland in my opinion. The only thing that revved up those sequences were the appearances of Black Bolt himself and boy were those scenes majestic. I shudder to think what will happen to people who piss off Black Bolt outside of his brother Maximus the Mad. Oh and I almost forgot that Black Bolt and the rest of the Inhumans will be playing a really huge part in Marvel's INHUMANITY.

I foresee people scratching their heads due to the complexity of the thread. INFINITY has this complexity that I haven't seen in a Marvel Comics event book in years now. Other event books would probably reference a couple of books but this one takes the cake by making references to various events. However if you really want to stay 'in touch' with the book's context, I suggest you pick up Hickman's run on the current AVENGERS and NEW AVENGERS books. 

I don't feel the appearance of Thanos' new posse worked here. Corvus Glaive and the rest of his team might seem like strong opponents but it feels like they were just set pieces as opposed to characters (antagonists) that needs more breathing room to grow. Remember how in Superman, there were tiny tidbits of Doomsday at the end of every issue until the damned thing finally broke free, that for me works. And I think if could have been executed flawlessly with Hickman at the helm. 

One thing I find stupid really. If Thanos had the capability of acquiring these individuals and raising an army, why didn't he do it then? It seemed rather contrived that out of half a dozen or so times that he tried to conquer Earth, it's only now that he had the brains to start slow and keep in the dark. 

Another stupid Thanos moment is the idea of getting scared of the Avengers and seeing the opportunity to strike now that the Avengers are leaving Earth to join the universal fight against the Builders. Didn't he think about getting resistance from the same people that was mentioned, namely the Inhumans and the X-Men. Don't forget there's also the Fantastic Four and the other heroes who made it to "Reservist Avengers". 

Still, INFINITY # 1 is worth picking up. It's the perfect super burn heal...

... for those that got burned by the last event which was AGE OF ULTRON (although that book had some merits to it). 

Pre-order you copies of INFINITY # 1 from CASTLE GEEK and COMICX HUB