Suddenly I had this urge to share this preview for Marvel Comics' INHUMANITY # 1 written by Matt Fraction with beautiful art by Olivier Coipel.
I wonder why the Avengers would send in Bruce Banner first to talk to the inhuman Karnak whose power is to see his target's weakness. Beats me. Still much appreciated that they posted the unlettered version. This'd really spoil the ending of Infinity if this had letters on it. Source: Den of Geeks
Coming clean, I'm an addict for Playdom's Marvel Avengers Alliance and I swear I can effing play this Facebook game for a whole day. That being said, the game just launched it's big "Infinity" tie-in with Special Operations (Spec Ops) # 13 which features Thanos and his Black Order together with Inhuman king Black Bolt and a new hero Thane.
So if you want to get either one of the two, I suggest you start playing the game (which is very INFINITY-spoiler heavy mind you) and hope for the best. I would like to cite The Marvel Avengers Alliance [Philippines] group particularly James Noele Vasquez who created the document.
1. A.I.M.-less
Defeat 5 A.I.M. Soldiers Remove A.I.M. from this equation. A.I.M. Soldiers can be found in Mission 1: Tribute or Gauntlet. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 100 XP for the Agent
2. Mean Green
Defeat a Mini-Boss in Mission 1 Defeat either Abomination or Green Goblin in Mission 1: Tribute or Gauntlet. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 1000
3. Strength in Numbers
Use 2 Distress Calls You can only receive Distress Calls by visiting allies. Add allies to help you win more battles. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 200 XP for the Agent
4. Keep the Peace
Complete a Deploy More help is needed on the ground to get the civilians clear of the area. Complete a Deploy in Mission 1: Tribute or Gauntlet. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 1
5. Darkest Before Dawn
Defeat Proxima Midnight The first confrontation with the Black Order is against their greatest warrior. Proxima Midnight is the Boss of Mission 1: Tribute or Gauntlet. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 1000
6. Always Watching
Research the Vigil of Attilan in the Lab Research the Vigil of Attilan to complete this task. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: Vigil of Attilan
7. The Mad Titan
Complete a Battle with Thanos Fight Thanos either on your own map or on your friends' maps for free. Thanos respawns every 72 hours. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 1
8. Demonic Diversion
Defeat 6 Demons Demons can be found in Mission 2: A Strange Twist Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 100 XP for the Agent
9. Mission Accomplished
Get 2 Stars of Mastery in Mission 1 Complete missions to add points to your cumulative score. Achieve a high enough score to earn a new Mastery Star! Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 100 XP for the Agent
10. Bolt From The Blue
Use Black Bolt's Royal Flight 3 Times Royal Flight is Black Bolt's second ability. Black Bolt is a Team-Up in Spec Op 13 Mission 2 and 3. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 1000
11. Hammer out Danger
Create the Attilan Cudgel in the Lab The Attilan Cudgel can be researched after acquiring the Blueprint: Attilan Cudgel Requires 20 to auto-finish Reward: 1000
12. Versus
Fight 5 PVP Battles Compete in PVP to test your skills against other players. Hint: Practice matches count as battles. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 100 XP for the Agent
13. Curbing Corvus
Defeat Corvus Glaive The second confrontation with the Black Order is with the cruel and cunning Corvus Glaive. He is the Boss of Mission 2: A Strange Twist. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 2000
14. Sibilant Strike
Use Black Bolt's Whisper 2 Times Whisper is Black Bolt's third ability. Black Bolt is a Team-Up in Spec Op 13 Mission 2 and 3. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 100 XP for the Agent
15. Instability
Collect 20 Unstable Iso-8 Unstable Isotope-8 can be found in normal combat, as well as rewards from deploys and boss fights. You can also get some from your friends! Requires 20 to auto-finish Reward: 2000
16. Hammer out a Warning
Upgrade the Attilan Cudgel to the Attilan Mace in the Lab The Attilan Mace can be researched after acquiring the Attilan Cudgel. Requires 20 to auto-finish Reward: 100 XP for the Agent
17. Eternal Struggle
Fight Thanos 3 Times Fight Thanos either on your own map or on your friends' maps for free. Thanos respawns every 72 hours. Requires 30 to auto-finish Reward: 100 XP for the Agent
18. Binary System
Get 2 Stars of Mastery in Mission 2 Complete missions to add points to your cumulative score. Achieve a high enough score to earn a new Mastery Star! Requires 20 to auto-finish Reward: 200 XP for the Agent
19. Righting the Wrongs
Use Dr. Strange's Teresing Boost 2 Times Teresing Boost is Dr. Strange's second ability. Dr. Strange is a Team-Up for the Epic Boss of Mission 2: A Strange Twist. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 1
20. Victory
Win 3 PVP Battles Compete in PVP to test your skills against other players. PVP requires completing Chapter 1 Mission 4 of Story Mode. Requires 30 to auto-finish Reward: 100 XP for the Agent
21. Voxquake
Use Black Bolt's Power Word in Combat Power Word is Black Bolt's fourth ability. Black Bolt is a Team-Up in Spec Op 13 Mission 2 and 3. Requires 30 to auto-finish Reward: 100 XP for the Agent
22. What's in the Box
Collect 5 Inhuman Lockboxes Collect lockboxes to unlock Thane as a playable hero. They can be earned from fighting Thanos or lockbox sidequests. Requires 20 to auto-finish Reward: 3000
23. Running the Gauntlet
Defeat Thanos Thanos is the Boss in Mission 3: In Search of Thane. Requires 10 to auto-finish Reward: 1
24. Mission Accomplished
Complete 3 Stars of Mastery in all Spec Op 12 Missions Complete missions to add points to your cumulative score. Achieve a high enough score to earn a new Mastery Star! Requires 25 to auto-finish Reward: 5000
25. Dark Dread
Defeat Dormammu Dormammu is an Epic Boss in Mission 2: A Strange Twist. HINT: Participate in Deploys as soon as they appear. Requires 25 to auto-finish Reward: 1 , Black Bolt.
Then there's also Thane. To get the supposed and rumored 'Son of Thanos' you have to gain themed lockboxes. Here's Thane's bio (special thanks to Bleedingcool):
Additional story for Thane: "I used to be just a man. Just another healer, nobody of consequence, plying my trade among my people. And then Thanos arrived. How did I get these horrible powers? Why? Did they come from him? All I know is that just as he came to Earth, I… changed. Suddenly I had the power of life and death in my hands. But I could not control it, and the people around me paid the price. Everyone that I had once healed, everyone I knew… dead. I ran before I could kill again, only to find an even greater murderer in my path. Thanos and his lieutenants were coming… for me. This Thanos creature… what does he want from me? If I give myself up to him, will he stop killing people? Or will he just use my powers to kill even more? I need someone to help me understand what I am… what I’ve become. Is that you, Agent? Do you think you can control death itself? I doubt it. But the truth is, I have no other choice. I cannot go back to the way I was, and I cannot go to Thanos. That leaves me with you. But I warn you. Try to use my powers for evil, and I’ll show you what they can do… in abundance."
Marvel Comics has just released their opening salvo for the second wave of Marvel Now titles coming our way starting December. These include familiar faces with new creative teams.
So yes, James Robinson has jumped aboard the Marvel ship and I'm really hoping he kicks ass with this new title featuring unlikely allies Captain America, the Original Human Torch (Jim Hammond), Bucky Barnes aka Winter Soldier and Namor. Then there's also AVENGERS # 24 which kicks off a brand new story arc entitled ROGUE PLANET which sees Cap and Iron Man creating a new Avengers team to stop a runaway train-esque planet from colliding with Earth. Even awesome is the fact that they have Esad Ribic as artist.
Finally, the most obvious title that will be coming out for the second wave of Marvel Now titles, INHUMANS by Matt Fraction and Joe Madureira. Guess we have to track down INFINITY closely to understand the story.
Oh and let's not forget about the in-betweener book INHUMANITY which just had it's first cover revealed a few days ago.
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
Marvel teases us with the cover for Matt Fraction's "Inhuman" done by Joe Madureira.
Meanwhile, here's the entire cover for the said art:
Accompanying text for the art: "It’s a chance to spray everybody with supersoldier serum and see what happens," Fraction told PopWatch of the premise, which finds the entire planet somehow exposed to the Inhumans' powers-granting Terrigen Mists. "Did you know that you had a king? Did you know that you had a secret genetic lineage? Oh, and by the way, now you have horns, and someone’s coming to kill you!"
... and this movie poster features important key figures like main villain Thanos plus Inhuman leader Black Bolt together with heavy hitters from Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers.
The Inhumans have always been one of Marvel’s most enduring oddities. A race of genetic outsiders, they live secluded in their island kingdom of Attilan, preferring not to mix with the outside world. Even stranger, their genetic mutations are self-endowed; each Inhuman, as a coming-of-age ritual, endures exposure to the Terrigen Mists, a strange substance that imparts unearthly powers — some extraordinary, some monstrous.
But now the kingdom of Attilan is under attack from without and within. Can the Royal Family, led by Black Bolt, repel the foreign invaders who blast at their outer defense, as well as the internal threat of Black Bolt’s insane brother, Maximus the Mad?
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