There came a day like no other.
When the foe would prove too much for one hero to stand against.
And on this day Earth's Mightiest Heroes united, and so The Avengers were born.
For Earth was an Avengers World, and it would be the first of many.
Welcome to part three of our leisurely stroll through Jonathan Hickman's Avengers. I won't be doing any Bon Jovi references about how we're halfway there.
Oops. I did it again. See? Where else will you find Avengers plus Bon Jovi and Britney references? I am waffling, although if you're reading these blogs I suppose you might think "when doesn't he?"
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| Library Copy Of The Avengers |
When talking about Hickman's run on The Avengers it's fair to say it can be broken down into three acts, and this is certainly the end of Act 1. It's the end of what was, and the start of something new. So let's get right into.... Infinity.
Now even though this collection does collect the main Infinity series written by Hickman himself, as well as his Avengers & New Avengers tie-ins this is all part of the same story. You could read infinity on its own, sure. It's still a great read, but if you want to do it properly then the complete collection is the way to do it.
This is going to be laid out slightly differently to the previous two instalments. Why? Because rather than focus on the two halves of the same story as I usually would I am going to look at the whole shebang.
We start by following an Outrider, a genetically engineered scout in the service of Thanos, The Mad Titan, and previous wielder of The Infinity Gauntlet. He travels through the void with a specific mission. Heading to some little mud ball three planets from its sun. Heading to Attilan, the capital of the Inhuman, he has a mission.
To acquire a specific piece of intel from the king of the Inhumans, Black Bolt.
Meanwhile one of Thanos's elite generals, Corvus Glaive, who make up The Cull Obsidian/The Black Order (The former is Thanos's name of choice, which quite frankly sounds badass, the latter being Cull Obsidian's 'less foreboding' choice) to a random alien planet. The purpose of this is to collect a pittance for Thanos. A portion. A Tribute. Taken from all of this planet's inhabitants aged between 16-22. All Thanos asks is their heads, or suffer the consequences of denying The Mad Titan.
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| Entry for Why The Comics Still Pack A Punch in Times Digital Archive |
Thanos now turns his focus to Earth, the perennial fly in his ointment. Yet having been burned multiple times by the humans he seems almost hesitant, up until he hears the words he has longed for. "Earth, she has no Avengers". Well. In that case..... I mean, if you're an intergalactic genocidal tyrant then it would be rude not to invade an Avenger-less world, wouldn't it?
And where are Earth's Mightiest? For the most part off planet. That signal sent out across the stars I mentioned in the last part? Oh boy, well it wasn't a good thing, let me tell you that. Something big is heading through the cosmos.
Destroying any opposition in its way. The fleet follows a Linear Path. The terminus is Earth. So most of the team are led by Captain America into space. A proactive 18 ready to fight alongside great interstellar empires to protect their world.
Meanwhile Iron Man stays on earth. Officially this is to coordinate a defence should Steve's team fail to hold back the tide. Unofficially he might be sticking around in case there's another Incursion. I mean it would put a damper on things if The Avengers save the day in space only for an Incursion to wipe out the universe. With that in mind please read coordinating the defence of earth as assembling The Illuminati.
The fleet that's crushing anyone and everyone in its path is a fleet belonging to The Builders. Who are The Builders? The oldest race in the universe. The creators of structure and systems. The custodians of life and evolution. They are the alpha and the omega. Supported by Ex-Nihli (oh there's more, and they are called Gardeners), the robotic Alephs, judging what should live or die. They possess World Killers and a fleet unlike anything seen before. They have one very simple aim. Destroy the Earth and save the universe.
Back on Earth Black Bolt summons his fellow Illuminati after receiving Glaive's request for tribute. After taking them to a pocket universe where all sound is reduced to a single pitch (thus nullifying his super powered voice) he reveals grave news.
Y'see Black Bolt knows why Thanos has come to Earth. He knows why Thanos asks for the tribute. To ensure none of The Mad Titan's children grow to be a threat to him. And Thanos has a child on Earth. Half Inhuman. Half Titan. The Illuminati's mission becomes clear. Find the child of Thanos. Naturally this means splitting up to search the lost Inhuman tribes. Nice. Simple. Run the mission. Save the day. Back for dinner. But if you think that's what's going to happen you haven't been paying attention. Here comes an incursion.
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| Library Copy of The Avengers |
Back in deep space things aren't exactly going swimmingly. After the Skrulls inflict a surprise defeat on The Builders early on The Galactic Council decides to initiate another trap. Lure The Builder fleet to The Corridor (an asteroid belt that is near an event horizon), drop the net. Bish bash bosh, jobs a good 'un. It certainly seems that way at first. Builders take the bait, their fleet sustains heavy damage. Victory assured. Right up until the rest of The Builder fleet de-cloaks. Then the bad things happen.
The Galactic Council loses a third of their fleet rapidly and retreat. Defeat snatched from seeming victory. But in retreat there is no respite. As the king of Spartax tries to secretly entreat with The Builders, the Galactic Council work out their next move. This stunningly stupid act of duplicity gives away their current location however. The Builders are merciless .You may run but you can't hide. They send two suicide drones careening into the planet’s surface. The Superstructure breaks.
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| Library Copy of The Avengers |
Both home and away all seems lost. The Earth faces Incursion while The Galactic Council faces annihilation. Luckily both sides get a break. While Cap comes up with a sneaky stroke of genius to take on The Builders, an alternate reality Builder blows up the Earth hanging in the sky much to the relief of The Illuminati. Yet even in victory there's defeat. Attilan and The Inhumans fall, Wakanda is decimated. Thanos now controls the planet. As the threads of farthest space and Terra Firma entwine, Hickman builds up to a climax worthy of such an epic event.
Infinity/this volume of Avengers is the perfect example of Hickman's storytelling genius in a microcosm.
Sure, you could just read the main Infinity series, like you could just read the Avengers and New Avengers tie-ins without reading Infinity. They're all still enjoyable in their own way. But combined you come to appreciate the scope of this event. If Infinity is the snapshot of the event then Avengers and New Avengers are the meat on the bones. They provide the wider context. Hickman in essence successfully manages to tell two different stories, one of the conquest of earth and one of the fight for survival against The Builders.
Yet they lead to the same conclusion. It's fitting that this ends in such a positive tone (for the most part) as this is the final part of the first act.
The Avengers save the day.
The cosmos is full of Avenger's World's.
And from the highest of heights the fall will break everything we have come to know.
The time of Secrets and Lies is coming to an end.
Because everything dies.
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