REVIEW: Infinity Wars: ∞ #1 (Warning: Spoilers)

Infinity Wars: Infinity

With only limited text in the solicitation for this one-shot issue - "What comes AFTER infinity?" - I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. The Infinity Countdown and Infinity Wars series (both of which I enjoyed) were preceded by a "Prime" issue, and I assumed this would serve a similar purpose by bridging the gap between Wars and both the new Guardians of the Galaxy series and the upcoming event book The War of the Realms, with maybe at least a passing reference to the WarPs universe that was created during Wars.

Not quite. It actually reads more like a collection of loosely connected preview pages culminating in a tease for an entirely different series. Infinity Wars concluded with Adam Warlock giving each of the Infinity Stones a "soul." (What that means exactly remains to be seen.) This issue begins with an entirely new character named Hector Bautista who, while living out his final few hours on death row, involuntarily receives the Time Stone after it crashes into his cell and uses it to escape. End scene one. Next up, Phyla-Vell and Moondragon battle a handful of The Fraternity of Raptors hunting for the Infinity Stones and information on the new Infinity Watch. The FoR continue to be presented as Stormtrooper-like buffoons and are dispatched quickly by the pair. End scene two. The book ends with Flowa literally tossing Loki out of Omnipotence City (after a passing reference to The War of the Realms), who is then recruited in the book's big cliffhanger ending by Old Man Phoenix (ugh!) to "save the universe." To be continued in the upcoming title... ...Wolverine: Infinity Watch. Not in the new Guardians series. Not in The War of the Realms. Not in a WarPs title. In Wolverine: Infinity Watch. I understand why, as Wolverine "returning from the dead" with the Space Stone in hand started this whole story line. But this title will carry a "Parental Advisory" label, which means at least a portion of the audience won't be able to continue following along. Back to the issue at hand. Was it worth four of my hard-earned dollars? Not really. Mark Bagley's art is always great, but nothing here stood out. In my opinion this could have been condensed to 8-12 pages, tacked on to the end of the final issue of Infinity Wars, and framed as three separate introductions for Guardians, Realms, and Wolverine, complete with "to be continued" blurbs at the end of each.

However, I don't regret buying it for one reason - that Mike Deodato drawn cover. The depiction of Adam Warlock releasing the Infinity Stones is powerful enough, but to see them flying toward the Stan Lee tribute banner appearing on Marvel Comics covers for a month makes the image that much more poignant.

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