For The Infinity Gauntlet they turned to writer Jim Starlin, who has few peers when it comes to cosmic epics. He resurrected his formerly-dead villain Thanos and gave him a weapon even more formidable than the Cosmic Cube (with which he almost destroyed the Earth, a fate averted by the space-born Captain Marvel).
Reborn in the Silver Surfer's comic, Thanos then starred in a series of Prestige Books leading into this series. He gathered the Infinity Gems - power gems created by Starlin - each of which was in the possession of a cosmic being, including the Soul Gem once carried by the now-dead (or was he?) Adam Warlock.
Thanos embedded the gems in a glove and created The Infinity Gauntlet, a source of power that made him a god, whose every thought became reality. In other words, an impossible challenge for the heroes of the Marvel Universe - and he strikes before they even know what they're up against.
I remember being delighted to see the artist chosen to draw the series - it marked the return of George Perez, one of my favorite artists, to Marvel's hallowed halls.
He actually started his career at Marvel in the '70s and, after a long run on books like The Avengers and the Fantastic Four, moved over to DC where he spent years working on the New Teen Titans.
This was a book tailor made for his strengths - imaginative layouts, heroic figures, larger-than-life panoramas and stories that include every character ever created.
The only disappointment would happen months later, when he was unable to finish the last couple of issues of the series (though Ron Lim ably filled in) - but he got the event off to a great start!
The series didn't disappoint, as it featured lots of surprises, a seemingly unbeatable opponent and the gathering of every major character into a single story. It was big, bold and brash - and lots of fun.
It's a series that continues to echo, as it set a mark future events would try to live up to. Very few have succeeded.
Grade: A
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2 comments:
The first mini series was pretty good, but Marvel quickly ran the concept into the ground with the sequels.
No argument there!
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