|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 28, 2018 17:43:35 GMT -5
Silver Surfer #45 With that cover, there is only one song that could be the soundtrack for this review... Creative Team: Like David Lee Roth, Ken Bruzenak is back with the band. Synopsis: Drax and the Surfer were sucked into the Soul gem, leaving their bodies behind. Thanos heads off to Sanctuary III... Thanos' ship. He receives reports from his first mate, Styx... that every bad guy and ne'er-do-well in the galaxy has flocked to his service and have massed a giant fleet. Though, with the power of the Infinity Stones, what Thanos needs with them is unclear. He discovers the secreting of the burned body of Nebula and saves her from demise, locking her in a state of near death. What a Richard!!! Mephisto shows up and tells Thanos of how the Infinite Being created him and his demon kind, to dispel his loneliness. However, he didn't give them a capacity for good, so they turned evil. They rebelled and were destroyed; but, they were reborn when the Being committed Cosmic Suicide and the new reality was born. Mephisto then offers his service as Thanos Neophyte. Thanos asks why he needs him and Mephisto replies that he can show him undreamt of uses of the stones. He entices Thanos to reach out to every mind in the universe and he does. While he is distracted, Mephisto tries to steal the Infinity Gauntlet. He puts it on, then proceeds to throttle himself. Thanos reappears and tells the silly demon that tricks are for mad Titans. Mephisto bluffs his way into living as Thanos' servant, for his amusement, though he schemes, knowing tha thanos' finite body will prove his undoing, when faced with infinite power. He eyes the husks of the Surfer and Drax. Thoughts: All very metaphysical. Mephisto seems to tempt Thanos, only to learn he is more formidable than he seemed. However, Mephisto isn't done. he will be the fly in the ointment on this one, rather like Loki's role in the films. Interesting; but it seems like wheel spinning, while they get the rest of the line's plates clear for the big crossover.
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 28, 2018 18:01:25 GMT -5
Silver Surfer #46 Well, it was only a matter of time..... Creative Team: Same band, new gig. Synopsis: Surfer and Drax awaken to find Judge Kray-tor and Drax attacks him. Surfer realizes they are in the Soul World, inside the Soul Gem. He tries to explain to Drax but Draxxy is in a smashing mood and is going to destroy Soul World, so he can get to Thanos. Surfer meets Gamora (whose bodystocking must be drying in the shower), who explains that Surfer's spirit is out of sync with his existence, which makes him odd and unable to totalls know all that exists in Soul World, like they do. Pip shows up to add insult to injury. They tell him that there is one guy who can help stop Drax; but, he is at the top of a huge peak. They start climbing and Pip and Autolycus fill in Surfer on the guy, Adam Warlock. Meanwhile, Gamora goes to thank Drax for destroying her ship, previously and they fight. While Gamra distracts Drax, the guys find Warlock and he says he knows and will stop Drax. He also tells Surfer his soul has been tampered with, possibly when he gained the Power Cosmic. So, Galactus. Warlock jumps off the peak and the others said they thought he couldn't fly anymore. He doesn't so much fly as plummet, as the issue ends. Thoughts: Okay, the gang is all here, except Mar-Vell, ; but, it is not quite what the cover had you thinking. The old comic cover bait and switch! Apart from the fact that Surfer's soul has been tampered with, possibly by Galactus, there isn't much here, except reunions and mindless fights. Again, it feels like we are spinning our wheels, while Starlin gets the band back together.
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 28, 2018 18:27:26 GMT -5
Silver Surfer #47 Creative Team: Ditto Synopsis: Warlock and Drax go at it and it looks rather like this... Warlock chokes out Drax, then tells Surfer he is one with the Soul World and Thanos is a threat to it. he will aid the Surfer. he sends Surfer and Drax back to their bodies, where Mephisto appears to warn them of Thanos' location. Thanos catches this and Mephisto weasels that he was just putting anxiety into Surfer. Thanos decides Surfer must be wiped out; but, not by him directly. Thoughts: About 3-4 pages of this are important and the rest seems to be kind of pointless. It does telegraph that the whole Soul World gang will probably come back into the fight, down the road, especially Warlock. The end card says Galactus, so get your helmet fins shiny.
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 28, 2018 18:54:46 GMT -5
Silver Surfer #48 Creative Team: This is getting old. Whatever happened to the old days of revolving creative personnel, like in the 70s? Even the letterer and colorist has remained the same. We haven't had 12 Editors-in-Chief, Starlin hasn't quit, in a huff. Did Shooter actually make Marvel......professional? Naaaaahhhhhhh................................... Synopsis: Surfer and Drax are speeding across the cosmos, when Surfer stops. he tells Drax he must warn Earth's heroes and he will meet Drax on Titan, then speeds off. Drax notes that he isn't headed in the direction of Earth. Nope. Surfer is going to see Dad...  Surfer confronts him about their original bargain: to spare Zenn-La and make Surfer his herald. Surfer speaks of meeting a mass murderer who told Surfer he had no right to judge him, after aiding Galactus in destroying millions of lives. He speaks of meeting Warlock, who saw the tampering in Surfer's soul. he asks Galactus if that was his work and he replies............yes. Surfer demands he return his soul and Galactus does, after cautioning him. Surfer still demands and it is done. Then, he is quickly overwhelmed by guilt and drowns in a river of blood, until the illusion is gone, with the intervention of Galactus. He offers to undo the deed; but, Surfer wishes to keep the knowledge and learn to live with it. he goes off to warn others of Thanos and tells Galactus that he might even surpass his power and flies away. Galactus boasts he is above that, until Thanos appears. Thanos delivers a warning to Galactus, all but openly challenging him, threatening the very fabric of his reality. Nothing comes of it, yet. Meanwhile, in the Soul World, Warlock rallies the beings within. He tells them that Thanos' schemes affect them and to turn a blind eye is to empower evil. he will go to aid in the fight, as Thanos does not perceive him and he may prove a wild card. Thoughts: Well, Surfer is now wracked with guilt, Galactus has been poked by Thanos and Warlock has strapped his guns back on.
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 28, 2018 19:11:43 GMT -5
Silver Surfer #49 Creative Team: Ask and ye shall receive....Ron Marza takes over as writer, while Starlin heads off to get ready for the big show. The rest remain. So, if Starlin is David Lee Roth, I guess that makes Marz Sammy Hagar... Synopsis: On Titan, Eros berates Lenny, I mean Drax, for being an idiot, since he can't remember what Surfer told him about Thanos. Mentor tries to calm his son and Drax asks him to tell him about the rabbits again. Or not. Surfer speeds to warn Earth and Thanos observes him; but isn't ready to crush him. he decides to F@#$ with him; but, it requires style and panache and tells Mephisto that ain't him (poor devil!) Thanos takes Mephisto to an alien world and catches a monkey and turns him into his servant, by adding wings... Surfer spots a beacon of flames on a world and investigate. he finds the ruins of a Kree base and then the flying monkey. Surfer fights and then runs away, hiding in a hole. It turns out to be a ruse to draw the monkey into a confined area, so he can kidney punch him. It doesn't work and the monkey gets the upper hand and is about to bite the Surfer's head off, when he transforms back to his old self. Surfer heads back on course, while Thanos and Mephisto watch. They leave the dying corpse of the monkey as they head off to execute their plans. On Titan, we see the stone form of Thanos' previous existence. It's eyes glow red! Thoughts: More wheel spinning. I have only one answer...
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 28, 2018 20:09:00 GMT -5
Silver Surfer #50 Ugh, foil!!!!! This is why I hate the 90s editorial mentality. Razzafrazzin speculators!!! Creative Team: Starlin's back!!!! Synopsis: Surfer is near Earth and is blasted off his board.... He wakes up on Zenn-La, as his father, Jartan Radd, comes into his room, telling him he mustn't waste time. He is further awakened by the voice of Thanos, in stone form. Thanos has reanimated the stone husk of his old body. He verbally jousts with the Surfer about their pasts and the similarities and touches a nerve when he speaks of forgiveness. Surfer blasts him and Thanos says "Thank you, sir; may I have another?" Surfer blasts him again and we and the Surfer are then transported to the past, on Zenn-La. Shalla Bal interrupts Norrin Radd at his studies and tells him he lives in an advanced paradise and there are joys to experience. Norrin repeats what his father has said, as he joins them. Surfer fights back against Thanos, trying to stop the visions. Thanos whoops him and returns. We see Zenn-La, as a utopia only on the surface, as Starlin and lim channel Logan's Run and THX 1138, to show us a world of hedonism and escapist use of mind-altering drugs. (Something Starlin had some experience with...) He says they will one day need creative minds again. Thanos speaks and remarks how it seems to always come back to Norrin's father. We see Norrin's coming of age, as his hair is lasered off. His father is presented with an award and Norrin is proud, though Jartan says it was a minor accomplishment. He misses Norrin's mother and there are hints she took her own life, as Jartan remarks he is surprised the suicide rate isn't higher than it is. Back in the present we get more blasting. We jump ahead to Norrin's physical manhood, Jartan has been accused of plagerizing other work in his psi-sonics development, which led to his award. Norrin confronts him and he admits that he used a minor piece and forgot to credit it. Norrin walks away, in disgust. Jartan calls after Norrin; but, he won't listen. Surfer attacks Thanos again. Thanos stops him again and forces the memories. We see later and Shalla Bal informs Norrin of his father's suicide. He says he will be along later, when he finishes his work. She quietly leaves and tears stream down his face. We cut ahead to the arrival of Galactus and Norrin's bargain to save his world. Thanos berates him for the hypocrisy of his sacrifice when he couldn't find the nobility to forgive his own father...  Surfer thinks this was more of Galactus' tinkering, to forget this; but Thanos says he did not see that. Surfer gets close and blasts the stone form to dust. Thanos announces the delay is over and bids Surfer to warn the Earth; but, that he knows the truth....  Surfer disintegrates what remains of Thanos' old form and departs. However, the reality of what he has seen dogs him. He has trouble balancing on his board and, as he arrives on Earth, he crashes through a familiar skylight...  Thoughts: Well, that was interesting. I'm still wanting to get the story in gear; but, this was interesting insight into Norrin Radd and Zenn-La. When he faced Galactus, we learned that the Surfer form came from Radd's subconscious, as Galactus saw it and used it to reshape him into the Silver Surfer. In the first flashback, we see the surfing images. We learn what esteem Jartan Radd was held, by his son and how a chink in his character crushed Norrin's spirit. There is a hint, though not a direct statement, that his mother also met her end that way. Perhaps Norrin sought his own end, when he bargained with Galactus. The question is, did it alter the destiny of Zenn-La? Did it shake the world awake? Regardless, Norrin Radd is now fully awake. His soul was restored by Galactus and he is drowned in guilt. Thanos has now revealed a deeper truth, that his father's transgression and his lack of forgiveness is his deepest guilt. Could it be that the Surfer's true challenge is to face this guilt and let it go, to become all he could be and defeat Thanos? We are teased that the Surfer is the key to defeating Thanos, this time around. Time will tell. Prelude is now over. It is time for the Infinity Gauntlet! 
|
|
|
|
Post by chaykinstevens on Jun 30, 2018 16:30:20 GMT -5
Silver Surfer #45With that cover, there is only one song that could be the soundtrack for this review... I was expecting this: |
|
|
|
Post by chaykinstevens on Jun 30, 2018 16:35:40 GMT -5
Prelude is now over. It is time for the Infinity Gauntlet! Who is the green-faced character in the triangle below the Surfer? |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 30, 2018 21:51:28 GMT -5
Prelude is now over. It is time for the Infinity Gauntlet! Who is the green-faced character in the triangle below the Surfer? I believe that is Empress S'byll, of the Skrulls. She turns up later in the issue, declaring war on the Kree, believeing they are responsible for the big event that occurs in issue 1, which I will be getting to , here, soon. |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jul 3, 2018 14:00:21 GMT -5
Time for...........THE REALLY LONG KID GLOVE!!!!!! ......er........The Infinity Gauntlet Infinity Gauntlet #1 Creative Team: Jim Starlin-writer, George Perez-pencils, Josef Rubinstein & Tom Christopher-inks, Jack Morelli-letters, Max Scheele and Ian Laughlin-colors, Craig Anderson-editor, Tom DeFalco-along for the ride. Synopsis: Mephisto is busy sucking up to Thanos, while he is peppering the cosmos with graffitti. Back on Earth, Dr Strange is contemplating his golf game and reading a medical journal, when he hears a noise inside the Sanctum. He goes to investigate and finds that the Surfer has wiped out and taken his nifty skylight with him. He and Wong move the surfer to a bed, for him to mutter Thanos is coming, dude! He relates how Death brought Thanos back to life and tasked him to wipe out half the population of the Universe. They have a Crisis on their hands! While the Surfer recaps the Thanos Quest, the Anti-Monitor....er, Thanos is is yakking to the Psycho Pirate.....Mephisto about how he can do anything...blah, blah, blah.......most powerful being, blah, blah blah; oh, and he makes Mephisto wet himself, periodically. When the Surfer finishes, Strange says, "We're f@#$ed!" We cut to a trio of petty crooks (well, 2 crooks and a moll), who decide to drink and drive and run off a cliff. The next thing you know, some kind of energy hits the corpses and they are reborn, with the blond female starting to turn green; and, no, it wasn't from the 6 Kamikazes she drank! Thanos takes Mephisto to meet his girl and she is all pouty. Thanos begs for forgiveness (dude is seriously whipped!). Death ain't havin' it and Thanos builds her a shrine, for all to worship her...  Thanos offers her a seat at his side and she silently tells him, "It's all about you; what about my needs?" Mephisto whispers in his ear (guy has a history as a sh@#-stirrer) and Thanos seeks to prove the depravity of his heart by trotting out Nebula and her eternal torment of being near-death (and, ironically, near Death!) Death thinks he's an immature doofus and turns her back on Thanos. He whines about, "What did I do?" (and blasts Death's mouthpiece into 5 billion and 7 pieces)and Mephisto tells him it's what he hasn't done. Thanos remembers his promise and...  OH,SNAP!!!!!!!!!!!! We get a sequence of pages where Spider-Man, Captain America, Nick Fury, and the Hulk are facing and dealing with the disappearance of half the population (along with Sersi, Hawkeye, Mary Jane and Rick Jones). Deep in the Skrull Empire, Empress S'byll believes the Kree are responsible and declares war! We come full circle to Strange and Pariah....Surfer, when Wong bugs out. Surfer is losin it...  On Titan, Eros has recruited Fire Lord to help fight Thanos (bad move; he has a pretty low batting average, after being beaten by Thor and Phoenix) and introduces him to Mentor, who then goes bye-bye and ISAAC tells Eros that half of Titan's population is gone. Eros knows that his bratty brother is at the heart of it. We end with two of our re-animated trio, as the short fat guy smokes a stogie and the green chick is sewing a new outfit. She vanishes and he heads into the other room to tell the third member, and finds a cocoon, instead...  Gee, I wonder who these three people are? Thoughts: Did I mention it is all very Crisis on Infinite Earths? No? Well, it is. Part of that is Perez's visuals, which is all dark and crackly; but, even Starlin's script reeks of Crisis. That said, it was a big step up from Marvel's previous events and crossovers. Starlin has set the stakes high, as Thanos can bend reality to his will, including by removing half the universe. This isn't a bad way to include everyone, while still letting regular series have their own plots. Lot of recapping here, for those who weren't buying Silver Surfer or missed the Thanos Quest (too busy reading Alf and Atlantis Chronicles, no doubt). This was also Marvel's first real return salvo, to DC's onslaught, letting them know that they began the epic cosmic saga. Out of necessity, the story hops around a bit, to give us a sense of the scope of things. One thing is clear, Thanos need to please Death will probably be his undoing. He has the power to bend the universe to his will and he is still busy trying to impress his girl. Dude is really insecure. And, for being omnipotent, he certainly isn't omniscient. Otherwise, he would have snapped Mephisto out of existence. Only a fool lets the devil get close enough to stir the pot. Just a general note, I will probably skip most of the side stories in the regular series. Most had little to do with the overall saga and were just moments in time, between panels of the IG issues. I may comment on some of the events within them, where they overlap significantly. |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jul 4, 2018 14:08:37 GMT -5
Infinity Gauntlet #2 Little too on the nose there, on the cover. Then again, Marvel was never subtle about Warlock. Interesting that Cap gets more butt cleavage than She-Hulk. I would have expected the other way around, from Perez. Maybe if she was catfighting Gamora or Nebula. Creative Team: Starlin-writer, Perez-pencils, Rubinstein -inks, Morelli-letters, Scheele-colors, Anderson-edits, DeFalco-big office Synopsis: The Avengers are attending to a plane that crashed, after the pilot disappeared...  Thor, at this point, has a beard and a little helmet mask/visor, Vision had an accident with a bottle of bleach, and She-Hulk is She-Hulk. Meanwhile, Wendell Vaughn has a visit from Epoch, since Eon is gone, and Vaughn suits up in his very Captain Marvel new uniform and go off to be Protector of the Universe. (I know Mar-Vell, Mar-Vell is a friend of mine; and, you, sir, are no Mar-Vell). Out in space, the Kree are dealing with the loss of half of their population and come to the same conclusion as the Skrulls: the other side did it! So, they are headed to war. Cue Edwin Starr! Hank Pym is at Dr Strange's pad and checks out the Surfer, who is recovering. he leaves and Strange finds himself contacted by some glowy dude, that only he can see...  He heads off to contact the Avengers and rally the remaining heroes. Dr Doom has monitored the energy readings, coming from a small upstate NY town, directed at the Sanctum. he has matched it with energies from space and goes to investigate why half his people are gone. On Titan, Eros is investigating things, when he pops out of sight. However, he is not among those taken out of reality. Thanos has nabbed him to torment his brother.Eros gets the 50 Shades treatment, while Thanos crows about getting rid of Mentor specifically and Eros tries to use his emotion-altering powers on Thanos. Thanos turns all Charlie X on him...   Captain America gives us a rundown of all of the missing heroes...  Sucks to be Alpha Flight! Thor is actually Eric Masterson, who replaced the Asgardian Thor (and would later become Thunderstrike). He's hiding that fact from the Avengers. The X-Men and Excalibur aren't around, possibly off planet (or, actually, off limits to Starlin). Odin is having a conference with the heads of other pantheons. The top gods all agree to team up and face Thanos. Quasar is led 2000 light years from space, by Epoch (Eon's daughter and Eternity's granddaughter. No relation to Eeyore) and told to wait. Sounds like the military, to me. In upstate New York, the fat dude has finished becoming the reborn Pip the Troll and the cocooen has exploded in light and a voice tells Pip they are going after Thanos. Dr Doom turns up at the Sanctum and Doombots have Dr Strange under control (somehow). Surfer wakes up and is about to attack, when Doom gets all blasty. He's interrupted by the arrival of our glowing man...  Bet you didn't see that coming! Warlock catches up everyone and says he has to be the leader and Doom ain't having it. He goes and sulks in a corner. Meanwhile, Thanos tortures Eros and Nebula and Death isn't overly pleased and the purple dud loses hi sh@#. A wave of force spreads across the galaxy, thanks to his little tantrum and wipes our a star and consumes a planet before Galactus could. He's not happy about losing a second meal because of Thanos. he sees the wave is headed for Earth. The wave starts hitting the planet, witnessed by Cloak and Wolverine, as buildings start falling, including a foreshadowing of real events of 10 years in the future...  Iron Man is in space, studying energy reading from the disappearance, when he witnesses the wave strike. He is knocked into freefall, before back-up systems kick in. He sees California fall into the ocean, as do the West Coast Avengers. They were helpless. The Asgard Hilton, where Odin was having his God Conference, is also affected and Bifrost is destroyed, conveniently cutting the gods off from the other plane of existence. Namor and Namorita witness upheavals in the Atlantic, which sends tidal waves to the East Coast; but, some good does come of it...  Thor confirms that the Japanese home islands are gone, swallowed by the sea. Avengers HQ is now being turned into a command center for all paranormals who are coming to help, including Spidey, Black Knight and the Inhumans. In Greenwich, Dr Strange's guests witness things and Warlock informs them that Thanos was the cause...... Thoughts: We have moved from exposition to rising action, in the plot structure. First, we just had half the population disappear. Now, Thanos throws a hissy fit and the universe suffers. It is literally nature reflecting the mood of god. We get the full reveal that the three crooks were in fact inhabited by the spirits of Warlock, Pip and Gamora, though Gamora was one of the disappeared. Starlin wasn't overly subtle in that and the woman turning green pretty much telegraphed it, while the cocoon confirmed it. Warlock is back, so death means little to Starlin. At this point, many wondered if Mar-Vell would return. That was not to be and Quasar was being turned into Captain Marvel, minus the name. This was in part due to lukewarm reception to Monica Rambeau, the new Captain Marvel. It wasn't her fault, as no one really seemed to care about the character, beyond keeping the trademark going. So, Quasar ended up inheriting the Protector of the Universe role, in his series, which came with a costume change that reflected Mar-Vell (plus a cape). It didn't really help boost Quasar's popularity; but, his series continued for about another 4 years. The stuff with Eros is pretty darn creepy and Perez handles it beautifully, given that Eros can only express his horror with his eyes. That's a real challenge for any artist. I wasn't kidding when I said the X-Men were forbidden to Starlin. He remarked in the interview he did with SyFy Wire that the editors of some books wouldn't let him use certain characters and the X-Men editor cut him off almost completely. Wolverine is there because Wolverine was in everything, at that point. I would assume that many of the characters you see on Cap's list of the disappeared were blocked by editors, especially since the X-men and Alpha Flight are almost entirely represented. Imagine if DC had allowed that with Crisis? That was a problem at Marvel. For all of the talk of a shared universe, they could be just as compartmentalized as DC, if not more so. By this point, the X-books were their own fiefdom. It got worse as the 90s progressed and Marvel's editorial guidance fell apart (for various reasons). It is something that undermines the series, as a company-wide event.
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jul 4, 2018 16:13:18 GMT -5
Infinity Gauntlet #3 Creative Team: Same bunch, though Laughlin is back, helping with the colors. Synopsis: Thanos has been writing his name in space, using planets....  He is still busy torturing poor Eros. Mephisto sucks up; but, continues to stir things by pointing Thanos' attention to Death's displeasure. On Earth, a SHIELD scientist gives Nick Fury the news that the planet's orbit has been disrupted and Earth is drifting away from the sun. Dress warm, y'all. Warlock tells Dr Strange they have to enact the next phase of his plan and the dematerialize, eventually turning up at Avengers HQ, where they are having trouble calling in the reserves. We see Black Widow (in her Frank Miller-modified costume and overly butch haircut) try to rescue people from a burning building. She fails to save one woman. Dr Strange summons heroes and we get Wolverine (by virtue of the "has to appear in every comic" clause of his contract), Spidey, Iron Man, Drax ('cause, Starlin), Fire Lord ('cause he wasn't real busy), Nova, Namor, Cloak, Cyclops, and Scarlet Witch; but, the Hulk refuses to join in the fun. Cap eventually gets him to come over. Doom still wants to leave and Cap has a face off and gets him to back down...  Warlock and Surfer head out across the galaxy to gather some other allies. Moon Knight watches some oil tanks burn, while Spidey consoles Cloak that he will do just fine, in the coming battle. Warlock and Surfer meet up with Quasar and Epoch, then the rest of the cosmic gang arrives: Eternity, the Watcher, Galactus, the Living Tribunal, Lord Order and Master Chaos, the Stranger, Love & Hate, Kronos and two Celestials (One Above All and Ziran the Tester). Eternity and the Living Tribunal are a surprise. Eternity asks for a judgement, based on his case that he is the reality Thanos seeks to destroy. LT says, no, he just wants your job ; so, suck it up and deal with it, buster. Then he buggers off. Doug Llewellyn comes in for the follow up. Eternity storms off and the Watcher begs off, since all he can do is watch. (Wuss!). Galactus challenges Warlock's right to lead, Warlock argues and Galactus flamesprays him, only to find him standing on top of his helmet, telling him to get his forks in gear. Order and Chaos agree to the plan, as do Love & hate, Kronos, the Stranger and the Celestials. It's then put to Galactus. Back at Avengers HQ, She-Hulk asks Vision the odds and he says not good.  He points out that they only defeated Thanos before because he wanted it that way, either consciously or subconsciously. They wonder if they can tap that. Dr Doom and Iron Man play Alpha Male and Cap has to cool them down, when Warlock shows up to tell them the fight is about to begin. he asks for Wolverine and is told he went up to the roof. Cap says the Hulk is up there and everyone hot-foots it to the roof, before it comes crashing down. Meanwhile, Thanos sees the Watcher hovering over the Death Shrine. He says it is about to kick off. Back at Avengers HQ, Wolverine and Hulk meet up...  And that's....one to grow on! Warlock tells them that he knows they aren't above killing; so, he is depending on them to kill Thanos, if they have a chance. Meanwhile, Thanos has had enough of Death not putting out, so he tries to make her jealous with Terraxia the Terrible, a sort of cosmic living blow up doll, who is all over Thanos. Death just walks away. Warlock gives a last minute pep talk and he and the Surfer head through a portal, created by Dr Strange. They stop a light year away from the shrine and Warlock tells him they are the reserves; everyone else is a sacrificial lamb, to distract Thanos. This rest of the group hits the silk...  Thoughts: Well, we have a lot of pages telling is it is hopeless, a lot of false hopes that don't turn out as planned and Hulk and Wolverine bond. The center bit is Death's spurning Thanos' affections, while Thanos grows more irrational trying to win her over. You know this is going to be a factor in his downfall. Starlin makes the point,via Vision, that Thanos has always been too powerful to defeat and that he has always set up his own downfall. Could it be that this god of death knows that for death to exist, there must be life? Meanwhile, terraxia is basically a slutty female version of Thanos, which is more than a little icky, since he creates her out of nothing. Talk about being in love with yourself! This issue is all doom and gloom; so, you know that there must be some light on the horizon in the next issue (maybe 2).
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jul 7, 2018 23:01:32 GMT -5
Infinity Gauntlet #4 Now, put issue 3 and 4 side-by-side... Pretty sweet! Creative Team: Same bunch; but, Ron Lim joins Perez on the pencils and Bruce Solotoff joins Rubinstein on the inks. Originally, one of the things that bugged me about this series was Perez not finishing the series. Lim had developed into a fine artist; but, nobody did multiple character stories like Perez. Synopsis: The gang arrives at Thanos' shrine for Death and zoom in to kick purple keister, when Thanos freezes them in time. The End. No, wait; it's not quite the end. Mephisto stirs some more brown stuff and cons Thanos into once again try to impress Death. He cuts off his cosmic perceptions, to give the heroes a .05% chance of victory, so that he can show Death a struggle. He hits the "pause" button again and everyone starts moving again, when Thanos is hit by Drax and the Hulk, who open up a can of green whoop-ass...  These guys try to stomp a mudhole in Thanos and get swatted away. Warlock and Surfer watch in the distance as Namor and She-hulk try to hit Thanos and he gives them cooties...  Doom tries to steal the gauntlet and gets left buck-armor naked. Thor is pasting them in when Mjolnir disappears and he reverts back to Erik, mullet Masterson and starts running out of air. Wolverine shivs Thanos with his claws and has his bones turned into rubber. Cyclops and Scarlet Witch get smooshed and Cyclops dies! Vision gets his guts (circuitry) punched out. Cloak tries to envelope Thanos and then explodes. Terraxia attacks Iron Man and knocks his block off. Spidey blinds Thanos and Masterson gets his hands on Mjolnir again and returns as Thor and...  Thor is about one step from pounding Thanos into a puddle, when Grimace turns him into glass! Nova attacks and gets turned into blocks, then Thor glass gets shattered. Quasar tells Thanos to face him and Thanos makes his quantum bands explode, destroying his hands. So much for the Protector of the Universe! Cap has enough and he goes up to Thanos, face to face, eye to eye, and tells him he is a big purple poopy-head!  Thanos smashes his shield and is rearing back to punch Cap's Ultra-Bright teeh through his head, when Warlock sends the Surfer flying, at the speed of light, towards Thanos. he reaches out....  Thanos pulls his hand aside in time and now everyone is truly F@#$ed, when the Cosmic Grandparents arrive...  "You kids turn down that music; and get off my lawn!!!" Thoughts: Well, sucks to be a guy in spandex! Basically, Thanos proves he can't be defeated. When Surfer nearly gets the gauntlet, Thanos throws the ruebook out the window and goes full god again. Question is, can he defeat the AARP Alliance of Galactus, The Stranger (by Camus), Order & Chaos, Love & Hate, Kronos and the Two Celestials, Hawk & Animal (wait, that was the Road Warriors!). Yeah, probably. Obviously, Starlin is working up to something, and something with Nebula, as Eros sees her lumbering along, ignored by everyone. Perez is gone about 9 pages into the story, though the shift to Lim isn't totally abrupt. It is noticeable, though. Still no idea what Death is doing, since she brought Thanos back and then spurned him when he gained the power to do what she wanted. Thanos is pretty whipped in all of this. Mephisto is playing his games of whispering in people's ears, tempting them to do something stupid. Why Thanos keeps him around is anyone's guess. it makes no sense, as he brings nothing but trouble. Then again, Thanos, in the words of a great philosopher... 
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jul 8, 2018 22:05:19 GMT -5
Infinity Gauntlet #5) Galactus is looking rather hangry! Thanos did cost him two meals, you know. Creative Team: Ron Lim takes over completely on pencils and Rubinstein is solo on inks. Everyone else has the same job. Synopsis: We first see the Watcher, who basically says he is going to stand around and do nothing. Everyone else says... So, the group threatens Thanos....  Thanos laughs them off. Mephisto torments Eros, while Warlock gives Dr Strange a sit-rep and asks him to mystically locate the people who Thanos popped elsewhere, to retrieve them. Then we get a whole lot of energy and color moving across the pages, giving Ron Lim a break, while the Watcher watches and the Cosmic Neighborhood Watch unleashes their power, which decimates entire solar systems. Eros thinks he's a gonner; but, finds himself and Nebula saved by Death, who has them inside some kind of bubble. A ripple of dimensional distortion hits Earth, allowing Annihilus to lead his "people" in an attack on Earth. The Celestials throw planets at Thanos, Kronos tries to send him through various time periods, Order and Chaos try to split him apart; Galactus, the Stranger (by Camus) and Epoch hit Thanos with massive energy and Love & Hate mess with his mind. Thanos shrugs it off or blinks it away, while the rest of the universe suffers. Mephisto sense his moment and tries to steal the gauntlet. Thanos isn't as weak as he would seem and mephisto is about to become toast, when he is saved...  Hell hath no fury like a POd Death! Thanos loses his sh@# for a moment and freezes the Cosmic AARP in an energy bubble. Surfer and Warlock see the devastation end, then see the end results, as bodies float in the debris of a shattered world. They head to Earth and tell Strange that it is retrieval time. Eternity shows up to fight Thanos. One big energy burst later and Thanos is now the reality of the universe, leaving his physical body slumped in a throne. Terraxia examines her downed lover. nebula lurches along, driven by hatred and agony, and quietly makes her move...  Thanos and Terraxia are popped into deep space, which kills Terraxia, though Thanos survives. he sudden;y finds himself pulled into a whirlpool and brought to Earth, in Dr Strange's pad, where the Surfer attacks him. Strange brings in the surviving heroes and they do a pull-apart of Thanos and Surfer. Nebula is being hit with the power and knowledge from the Infinity Stones and she is starting to lose it. Warlock outlines a plan and then speaks privately with Thanos. He basically tells Thanos that he created his own defeat every time he achieved ultimate power, because deep inside he knew he wasn't worthy of it. This  third time, he allowed Nebula to steal the gauntlet. Warlock gained the insight while inside the Soul Gem, as Thanos accessed its power. Thanos is shaken by Warlock's peering into his soul. He agrees to help and everyone grabs the first whirlpool back to the shrine and Nebula. Nebula monologues to Eros and sees the coming of the heroes and freezes them inside rocky prisons, then waits for Thanos to show. Thoughts: Well, the attack of the cosmic grandpas is a bit underwhelming, as it's hard to depict power meeting power, without physical battle; thus, we are left with color streaks in panels. I have to think this would have looked way cooler from Perez. Everyone else mostly stands around, until the end. Nebula's actions were fairly telegraphed and Mephisto ended up as I expected. Love & Hate get the best shot in and Death betrays Thanos, as does Nebula, while terraxia is mostly useless. Thanos really has problems with women. Meanwhile, Kronos is once again misspelled in the narration, as Chronos. Craig Anderson wasn't earning his pay, this month. So, the stage is set for the finale. Will Nebula turn Thanos into one giant throbbing toothache or will the good guys prevail?
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jul 8, 2018 22:17:41 GMT -5
ps. I mentioned I would cover any of the crossover series issues that affected the main story. Most were really just asides, either showing what everyone was doing before they entered the main story or during moments in the middle of the thing. Silver Surfer ends up fighting some mental battles with Thanos, while he is waiting for the signal to try to swipe the gauntlet, in issue 4; then, we see his battle with Thanos, after Strange has plucked him to Earth. They fight a mental battle, in the astral plane, dressed as knights. It really doesn't add anything to the story. It seems like Marvel didn't put much effort into tying this into regular series. crisis was far more successful, in that, though in varying degrees. Infinity Gauntlet succeeds as its own story; but, fails as a crossover event, as most editors wouldn't play ball and the few that did, really didn't do much that fit within the confines of what was happening in the IG issues. At most, you saw things like what Drax and Fire-Lord were up to, on Titan, before they joined the assault on Thanos and the shrine, or what Quasar was doing at different times.
|
|
