Scourge of My Wallet, Maybe

Perfectly normal reaction to being in another event thing.

Annihilation: Scourge was a mini-event Marvel released in December of 2019, consisting of six one-shot issues. I passed on it at the time due to a) each issue being $5, and b) half of them being written by Matthew Rosenberg, who put me off his work with that Multiple Man mini-series he wrote. But as a discounted, used tpb, eh, what the hell. Spoilers from here on.

The gist of the story is the Cancerverse from Thanos Imperative is back, but rather than try to force its way into the Marvel Universe proper, it invades the Negative Zone first. Worse (in many ways), the Cancerverse finds the Sentry (or the Void, whatever) hanging out in the Negative Zone, and they team up. So, C'thulu-enhanced power of a million exploding suns. Various heroes get roped into trying to help stop all this. The Fantastic Four, Nova, Beta Ray Bill, the Silver Surfer, each of which gets a one-shot.

Half of the one-shots seem to be about confronting trauma. Christos Gage and Diego Orlotegui's Fantastic Four story focuses on how Johnny Storm has pretty much tried to forget the time he spent dying over and over in the Negative Zone during Hickman's FF run. Which included forgetting the people who apparently relied on him as a leader. I don't know, I don't read Hickman's stuff. Also, Reed's the one who suggested to Bob Reynolds he might be able to separate from the Void in the Negative Zone, which is how the Void (who somehow got all the power, is that how it works with him now?) ends up with the Cancerverse. So yet another fine mess Richards creates which he (and the rest of his family) must now deal with.

I honestly just figured it was the Cancerverse's version of the Sentry to begin with. Maybe they didn't have a Sentry at all. What a wonderful universe, minus the extra-dimensional beings devouring your soul.

Nova (whose story is written by Rosenberg with Ibraim Robertson as artist) has a crapload of bad memories dredged up by all of this. He's spending his days drinking heavily in various cantinas on Knowhere, trying to forget. Now he can't keep running. Not only confronted with Annihilus, but forced to team up with him. And facing the Cancerverse again after he was part of it and escaped once already. He has to not only confront it, he ends up having to let it inside of him again as part of a plan to stop it.

Then there's the other two. The Silver Surfer (by Dan Abnett and Paul Davidson) one could fit in. The Surfer's undergone some changes as the result of some Donny Cates mini-series (I knew who wrote it without looking because the story mentions it involved Surfer fighting Knull, God of the Symbiotes. Who else but Donny Cates?) Surfer is for some reason concerned his changes may be the cause of a great disaster he senses approaching. As it turns out, he's not, because it's the friggin' Cancerverse. But he's forced to actually get off his butt and intervene. He's incorporeal now(?) but he can merge with people, including Bob Reynolds. Both of them are forced to reach out and connect, rather than hiding away somewhere.

The Beta Ray Bill one by Michael Moreci and Alberto Albequerque, I got nothing. He and Lockjaw are hanging out on some planet that loves them, another of Annihilus' ships makes it through a rift the Sentry somehow forced open, the Sentry follows, Bill can't beat him, but he can hit him with Stormbreaker and drive him back into the Negative Zone. Then Bill and Lockjaw have to go to the Negative Zone to get Stormbreaker back. 

I mean, what's the point at all? The Sentry gets into the Marvel U. for about three seconds, then shoved back in. Just don't have him get out, and this story is pointless. Bill serves no major role in the conclusion either, other than being one more hero to try and help. So what's the story saying? That he wasn't really doing anything on that world? That's not totally his fault, since he didn't realize the locals were trying to stage things for him to fight because they liked having him around.

But I'm not really sure why this whole thing exists. The endgame is to destroy the part of the Cancerverse that broke back in. But that only happened in this story. Was it supposed to be some coda for Nova's experiences? He was supposed to die there, but survived once by giving in. So now he has to give in again, to make it vulnerable so it can be killed. Except Annihilus somehow brings him back to life on the last page. I'm not complaining that Rider didn't get killed off in this mess, but it makes it all seem especially pointless.

Of the artists, I'd say the Orlotegui/Juan Vlasco/Erick Arciniega team on Fantastic Four and the Davidson/Matt Milla team on Silver Surfer are the most distinctive. Orlotegui does the most with the Cancerverse versions of characters truly looking horrific, rather than just "they have red eyes and maybe a Venom tongue" that most of the other art teams adopt. His version of Crystal looks normal, except her face is just one giant mouth. (Not sure about the reveal being in such a tall, narrow panel, though. The Thing is his spiky rocks look, but the spikes are placed unevenly and there's extra mouths all over the place. And the entire team is wrapped up in Reed's body, a together forever kind of thing.

The Surfer book is definitely the most colorful. Davidson seems to lean a little more into Kirby Surfer in the length of the board and the width of the shoulders than a lot of other artists I've seen (who seem more towards the Buscema version.) Milla plays with the Surfer's body being black instead of silver now to reflect all kinds of light, and his Negative Zone is a much trippier-looking place. Bright and varied colors all over. Empty space isn't just a uniform black curtain broken up by stars. It's blues and blacks (and sometimes purples and reds) with worlds haphazardly strewn about like someone dumped a bunch of Tropical Skittles on the page. All the other artists draw the Negative Zone as basically looking like out outer space. Davidson and Milla remember it's supposed to a bizarre, alien dimension.

The rest fall into that general range of workmanlike and inoffensive. Not really doing anything that particularly catches the eye. The coloring in the Nova one-shot seems particularly muddy, and I don't if that's supposed to be some reflection of Nova's mindset, struggling with his experiences, or what. The Omega issue that closes the whole thing out is not helped by having Manuel Garcia inked by four different people (Rafael Fonteriz, Cam Smith, Wayne Faucher, and Garcia himself), and three colorists (predominantly Federico Blee, but also Rachelle Rosenberg and Arciniega.) 

Sometimes it makes Garcia's art strongly resemble Paul Pelletier, and others times it looks nothing like him. Some of these folks really favor heavy blacks in their work, shadow everything, others ink it so everyone's lower half of their face looks like an old man's. Where the skin sags around the mouth and kind of wipes out the jawline? Even seems to happen to Ben Grimm in one panel. Half the time it's like they can't keep straight whether Johnny Storm is rocking a beard from one panel to the next.

With shipping, I may have ended up spending about $1.70 per issue on this, and that was probably too much.

Sunday Splash Page #33

"Lotta Cracks in the Finish There" in Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus #2 by Keith Giffen (writer), Andrea DiVito (artist), Paul Mounts (colorist), Cory Petit (letterer)

So after Nova made Annihilus' insides his outsides, they followed that up with a two-part mini-series that looked in on the status of all the currently living Heralds of Galactus, seeing as their numbers had taken a hit during Annihilation (Morg, Red Shift, and the Fallen One all bit the dust at various points). One story each for Terrax, Firelord, Stardust, and the Surfer, by various creative teams, although Keith Giffen wrote both stories in this issue.

My favorite story of the four was the one about Stardust (by Stuart Moore and Mike McKone), because of the idea Stardust originally came from a civilization composed of very short-lived and constantly changing exotic particles. That just seemed extremely cool, and the idea of how you'd have a civilization if you can exist for long periods of time, but nothing you create lasts more than moments. Those unusual settings and concepts are always a good hook for me, but there was no splash page.

For this particular image, we have the Surfer getting a little payback on the two "proemial" gods that beat down Surfer and Big G and handed them over to Thanos during Annihilation. OK, he's not doing it for revenge but because they plan to defy "cosmic consonance", which I believe is the nonsense term Galactus uses to justify his existence. Course, the Surfer alone against two beings on Galactus' level is a bit of mismatch. . .

Sunday Splash Page #32

"FATALITY", in Annihilation #6, by Keith Giffen (writer), Andrea DiVito (artist), Laura Villari (color artist), Cory Petit (letterer)

My scanner is just a little too small for double-page splashes, so I didn't quite get all of "This is for the Nova Corps!". There's a couple of single-page splashes in this issue alone I like better. Like the one where we see the Kree can actually shoot their buildings like surface-to-air missiles. But after the page I used for last week's entry, I figured I needed to show the rematch between Nova and Annihilus, and this was the only option.

Anyway, after the mixed bag of the four lead-in mini-series, we got to the main show of what is still my favorite Event Comic. Giffen is good here at ramping up the stakes. Each time the resistance seems like they might be be turning a corner, disaster strikes. When Firelord captures one of Annihilus' admirals (also one of his queens), they learn Annihilus and Thanos have teamed up, and made a deal with two Elder Beings to take down Galactus and the Silver Surfer. Things are bad enough Nova has to not only rely on Ronan as an ally, but Ronan's an essential leader as someone who actually knows something about warfare for the Kree units. And Ronan willingly (if not happily) works with Super-Skrull later on.

DiVito and Villari's artwork is bright and clean. It's not a gritty, bloody war book. There are a few pages that sell the injuries as more severe, but a lot of times injured translates to, "outfit torn, maybe some scratches". Even in scenes like above, I'd describe my reaction more as, "Oh, wow" than "Ouch", if that makes sense. It's a very pretty book, with a lot of very cool, big scenes in it. Most of the characters involved get moments to be awesome or make a key contribution. It made for a nice escape from the dreary mess that was Millar's Civil War.

Sunday Splash Page #31

"Round 1," in Annihilation: Nova #4, by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (writers), Kev Walker (penciler), Rick Magyar (inker), Brian Reber (color artist), Cory Petit (letterer)

The point where Abnett and Lanning start writing Nova. Rich lands in the "Kyle Rayner" role as the last member of the Nova Corps, tasked with carrying not only the entire Nova Force, but also the Xandarian Worldmind, which is constantly trying to get him to do what it wants. Which is rarely what Rich wants. Rich, traumatized by the initial attack on the Nova Corps, alternates between revenge and apathy. Or fear, because he's afraid the power is going to drive him nuts (as it did the last person to hold the entire Nova Force). On top of that, he's got Drax the Destroyer and Cammi following him around, telling him to nut up, essentially. Also, Cammi keeps making fun of his helmet and complimenting his butt. That's awkward. This was my intro to her and this version of Drax, and I became a fan of hers pretty quickly.

This was also my introduction to Kev Walker's art, at least as far as I know. It's scratchier here than it is in his more recent stuff. Quasar shows up as a fairly calm, confident hero, but he has as many lines on his face as Robert Redford does these days. At the time, I joked everyone was getting skin damage from all the stray particles and cosmic radiation out there in space. Walker tends to ink his own work now, which probably accounts for the difference. 

I love the version of Annihilus here, though, much more shadowy and ominous than he appears in a lot of other stuff. This looming hulk with spindly limbs, sharp points coming off everywhere, barely illuminated by that Cosmic Rod around his neck. He never really hurries, just advances steadily. He pushes through Quasar's shield with ease. He deals Nova a scarring blow with a casual backhand when he isn't even looking in his direction. It sells him, personally, as a threat far beyond what the Wave itself represents. Drax states the Wave is a hive mind, so you just need to take out the head to stop the whole thing, the head being Annihilus. Yeah, good luck with that.

Sunday Splash Page #30

 

"Four-in-One Is Not Enough", in Annihilation: Super Skrull #1, by Javier Grillo-Marxuach (writer), Greg Titus (penciler), Chris Sotomayor (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer)

Of the four lead-in Annihilation mini-series, I think this was my favorite. The Annihilation Wave has a planet-destroying weapon (not the same one they'd have later one, though), and the Super-Skrull is desperate to stop it before it reaches the Skrull homeworld. Desperate enough to get Reed Richards' help in reaching the Negative Zone, and desperate enough to seek allies there.

Something Grillo-Marxuach does smartly is he shifts the perspective the story is told from between characters. Often, these stories just come from the main character's perspective, and if he's been a villain up to that point, the story reframes him as more of a hero because it's filtered through his perceptions and justifications. Here, we see him through the eyes of characters who both admire and fear him, and see that he's still (mostly) a vicious, ruthless killer. It just so happens that there's another threat out there much worse. He's the lesser of two evils. And he has an element of self-doubt, having failed so many times, having gone from a decorated warrior to a joke openly scoffed at by regular Skrulls (who should be freaking terrified of this guy who can burst their heads open with a force field whenever he wants). It makes him enough of an underdog that it's possible to root for him.

I don't think I loved Titus' artwork at the time, but looking back, it's fluid enough to suit a shape-shifting character. He's able to draw Super-Skrull utilizing the FF's powers in various ways, and his design for the Harvester of Sorrows, which looks like a giant beehive, is not completely ridiculous for an insect-based army.

And with that, I'm out of town for the week, so if you comment on one of the posts set to go up this week and I don't reply, that's why.

Sunday Splash Page #29

"At Least He's Not Moping", in Annihilation: Silver Surfer #3, by Keith Giffen (writer), Renato Arlem (artist), June Chung (color artist), Cory Petit (letterer)

Just to warn you now, the next couple months of these are going to Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest related stuff. Expect explosions.

This was one of the four 4-issue mini-series that led into the main Annihilation mini-series, each focused on a different character and getting them to where they needed to be for when the main show started, while kind of fleshing out the scope and direction of the larger story. Here, the Surfer's troubled by the mindless slaughter and devastation of the Annihilation Wave, but is slow to commit himself to fighting it, preferring to be sad about it instead. He's been a party to death on this scale himself, although he eventually rationalizes it that deaths on Galactus' behalf served a purpose. Hey, Annihilus has a purpose to all his killing, too! 

The Surfer finds himself hunted, along with the other heralds, but would end up dealing with an entirely different problem, as he gets sucked into helping Galactus throw down with a couple of elder beings that were inadvertently freed by the Wave and are after Big G for some revenge. And that's how the Surfer wound up back as Galactus' herald for a few years (this series came out in 2006, and that status quo persisted to at least some time in 2009-2010).

This is the only issue I kept. Partially for that double-page splash, and partially because Annihilus' hunter at one point refers to the Surfer as a 'sadly inadequate poltroon', which is just fantastic. So much better than me calling him a "mopey, overgrown hood ornament". I guess Giffen figured he had to have some fun with it. Until I double-checked the credits, I thought it was Alex Maleev on the art chores, but Arlem's style is a bit more sketchy, leans a bit less on shadows. Although this isn't set in a place where shadows would make a ton of sense..

31 Days of Scans - Day 21

Favorite Event? Easy-peasy. Acts of Vengeance merited some brief consideration, but there’s really one only choice.

ANNIHILATION!

This event showed up at just the right time, when Civil War was making me sick of all the nonsense going on with Marvel Earth. I had no interest in watching alleged heroes punch each other over legislation, seeing the New Warriors dumped on, or watching Spider-Man reveal his identity to the world like a moron. On the other hand, give me a story that presents Annihilus as this terrible, single-minded threat to the entire universe, but has actually marshaled his considerable forces so he might actually carry out his goals?

Then throw in Thanos, who is helping Annihilus pretty much because he was bored and wanted to see what would happen if things got shook up a little. Of course they can’t trust each other. Annihilus trusts no one, is dead set on his plans, with the power to back them up. Thanos is more circuitous in his approach, always with contingencies, but no less powerful. Neither one would really like how the other's plans would turn out, where they to learn of them. That doesn’t mean they can’t cause a lot of damage before the partnership falls to pieces. Combine a being clever enough to bargain with two ancient beings to defeat Galactus, and also smart enough to turn Big G into a weapon, with a being crazy enough to actually use said planet-destroying weapon, and it’s bad for everyone.

So bad in fact, Kree and Skrull willingly teamed up. Ronan and Kl’rt weren’t happy about it (well, Super-Skrull enjoyed killing Kree traitors), but they did it. This whole part, where Ronan, Super-Skrull, and Praxagora storm the current ruling house of the Kree and find them negotiating a truce with the Annihilation Wave, leading to Ronan pretty much killing everyone and assuming control. Then he launches entire rocket-propelled city blocks loaded with Kree soldiers at the Wave. And all that’s really a sideshow to what Galactus was up to, and what Nova was about to face.

I know I cut part of that off, but I do like the jabs at what was going on with Civil War. 'It's as if they've forgotten how to be heroes.' 'The Annihilation Wave will rip the planet out from under them while they shoot at each other!' This was the point when Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s stretch writing Richard Rider began (they wrote the Annihilation: Nova mini-series, though Keith Giffen wrote the main series, and the above scene). Rich finds himself the last of the Nova Corps, carrying all the Corps’ power and knowledge, without going crazy, and save all life in the universe. Even if that means dying trying to take out Annihilus. Though that's still not a very good costume for Rich.

There’s a fantastic sense of momentum to the whole thing. Super-Skrull comes back from an apparently noble death in his tie-in mini-series, and there’s only enough time to vaguely handwave in the general direction of an explanation, because things have gotten even worse for the good guys. It wasn’t enough Annihilus had an army of millions or more bugs, or that the Negative Zone has its own super-humans, willing to fight for what they’ve been told is the survival of their home. The odds keep ramping up, and the heroes have to try a different approach. It plays up the idea that Earth’s heroes, normally such a potent force in these sorts of things, are too distracted with stupid crap to be of much help. Reed Richards isn’t going to pop-up with some doodad to reverse the polarity and toss the Annihilation Wave back into the Negative Zone, or disrupt the hive mind of the Wave. Drax is working for the United Front, killing lots of bugs, but it’s very clear it’s all a means to an end for him, Thanos’ end, which isn’t as good a thing as you’d think.

Oh, and this is the mini-series that introduced me to Cammi, at that point claiming ownership of Drax (she’d gained that in an earlier mini-series Giffen wrote I’d missed). Their whole relationship is a little strange, and it’s hard to say how much of what people imply is concern for her on Drax’ part is just projection on theirs. The ambiguity is interesting.

Things mostly work out. The day is saved. Most of the characters get happy endings of a sort, even Thanos (his doesn’t stick, but oh well, it was nice while it lasted). It sets things up for Nova’s ongoing, put Star-Lord back in circulation (Giffen sort of started that with his stint on Thanos, but this got Quill out of the prison and into action), which eventually led to Guardians of the Galaxy (I’m thinking of Abnett and Lanning’s version, but if you want to envision Bendis’, or the movie, that’s your call). It was always disappointing there was never enough time between events to really explore the new status quo (Annihilation: Conquest kicked off about six months after Annihilation ended), but that isn’t the fault of the event itself. I thought it put a lot of potential fodder for stories out there, even if it didn’t get used.

All images are from the primary Annihilation #1-6 mini-series, by Keith Giffen (writer), Andrea DiVito (artist), Laura Villari (color artist), and Cory Petit (letterer).

Arcade's Brought Out The Best In Cammi, Not The Worst

One of the things I've enjoyed about Avengers Arena has been Cammi's role in the whole thing. I've been fond of Cammi since I first encountered her, because surprise! I like teenage smart aleck characters. She's been generally smart and level-headed, but she hasn't descended into a ruthless attitude, or a defeatist one. She didn't go along with Bloodstone's belief that they were doomed, and she hasn't adopted Katy - or more recently, Nico's - position that she might as well kill everyone else and save herself. Some of that is pragmatism - Cammi's on the low end of power scale, though I think she's sneaky enough she could handle most everyone except X-23 and probably Original Darkhawk - but some of it is an admirable shift in her perspective.

When the whole thing started, Cammi was in the middle of being interrogated by Agent Brand for trying to steal an interstellar cruiser. As far as we know, Cammi's been on her own since the end of Annihilation. Well, there was that chaos sprite that had been hanging around Thanos prior to that, but they parted company at some point. Drax did go looking for her later (after leaving the Guardians of the Galaxy), but got sidetracked bringing his daughter back to life. He never did get back on Cammi's trail. So she's had to survive by herself, an Earth teenager out in the universe. She made herself strong enough to survive it, and she's justifiably proud of it. 

But in her current situation, she might not be strong enough, and the circumstances work against her. On a spaceship, she can probably manipulate its systems to give herself an advantage of her enemies outnumber or outpower her. But in Arcade's world, he controls everything. She can set a few mines, but in a place as large and variable as this new Murderworld, that's only going so far. When X-23 nearly kills her, then lets her go because she's not the one X was after, that's a bit of a blow to her confidence. She was completely helpless, and the person who had her didn't even consider her worth killing. She didn't take it well, since stopping to do push-ups while castigating yourself is not the smartest plan.

The key is what came after. She started forming alliances. First with Darkhawk, then later Chase and Nico, and eventually the rest of the non-evil kids. It isn't a case of her using them as shields or cannon fodder, like Katy was doing with her boyfriend or Deathlocket. Cammi generally tries to make peace, come up with plans, get everyone on the same page and working towards the same goal. She's consistently approached the situation as though there's a solution other than playing by Arcade's rules.

Which makes sense, given her past. I was introduced to Cammi during Annihilation: Nova, and then she reappeared in Annihilation proper. Consider what she saw there. A diverse group of people, many of them with past conflicts, some dating back millennium, banding together to fend off a seemingly overwhelming force bent on killing them all. Annihilus' forces destroyed entire worlds, entire empires, he had Thanos, and eventually even Galactus as an unwilling weapon. And he still lost. Because people worked together, because they didn't give up, because they kept learning from setbacks and failures to try different approaches. Compared to all that, the current situation with Arcade probably didn't look too bad, provided they didn't wind up at each other's throats. Which, thanks to Nico and Chase, is exactly what happened.

It's a little like the shift Abnett and Lanning tried to bring about in Drax. When he joined the Guardians, he tried to be less Destroyer and more human, as he put it. There was the friendship with Phyla, trying to reconnect with his daughter Moondragon, trying to come to grips with the number of lives he'd taken over the years, the people he'd lost. It didn't necessarily make him less violent, but he was more, selective, or precise about it. And he had maybe a more concrete idea of what he was fighting for, beyond some vague sense he was supposed to "get" Thanos (that's how the brain-damaged version of him I remember from '90s Silver Surfer comics seemed). For as much as Cammi might want to be the tough, emotionally closed off badass who doesn't care about anyone, she can't help herself. She formed attachments whether she wanted to or not. The question now is whether those attachments are going to save her life, or get her killed.

Perhaps He Is Comrade Accuser?

Captain America - 'What would you do if this was Hala? Would you sanction the deaths of so many Kree citizens?'

Ronan the Accuser - 'I would. I have. Too many times to count.'

{Annihilators: Earthfall #3}

I thought that exchange made for an interesting contrast.

Cap fights so others don't have to, and I think that's part of why he's so deadset against sacrificing non-combatants. Because if he has to resort to that, he hasn't done his duty, as he's allowed those people to be dragged into it. Ronan seems to take the approach that he's fighting, and there are other soldiers, and people who aren't soldiers, but the people who aren't soldiers aren't exempt from the conflict. No one is totally a non-combatant in the Kree Empire because at the end of the day, the Empire is the important thing, more than the individual. Because he isn't lying up there. He was prepared to kill every Kree on Hala with Sentries at the tailend of Conquest, as his way of shutting down the Phalanx. It would kill a lot of Kree, but the Empire as a whole would be preserved. They are Kree, they will endure.

Captain America certainly cares about his country, and wants to defend it, but part of what he's defending is people's freedom and individuality. He wouldn't support a United States that was a police state, simply because it was the U.S. In that sense, the two characters are similar, in that they fight for what they believe their home stands for. Their homes just happen to stand for very different things.

I was going to say Cap's an idealist, and Ronan a realist, but I'm not sure that's true. Cap knows people die in war, he said as much to Mettle last month in Avengers Academy, so it isn't as though he has his head in the clouds. And I think Ronan believes in the strength of his people and their ability to overcome anything too much to not have some of the idealist in him. It may simply be buried deep, like his romantic streak was prior to meeting Crystal.

It could be a matter of their circumstances. Captain America has lived through a time where the Earth is almost constantly in danger. From Galactus, the Kree, the Beyonder, the Red Skull, Iron Man, whoever. But everytime, the planet pulls through. It's not always clean, but it does always work out. The Kree have been kicked in the teeth a lot recently. Not as bad as the Skrulls, but it's been ugly. Unable to eliminate the Skrulls, the evolutionary dead end, stymied by a backwards mudball (Earth), half their empire lost to Annihilus, conquered by the Phalanx, millions killed by their own crazy leader, millions more killed by the Shi'ar's crazy leader. Things frequently don't come up roses for the Kree. They die in great numbers, and unlike Cap's costumed friends, they frequently don't come back.

Following this line of thinking about the Kree started me wondering if they were originally meant to be Space Soviets. It doesn't work entirely, because I'm pretty sure the Kree Empire's economy is at least somewhat capitalistic, but politically it might. The Supreme Intelligence was a massive computer somehow comprised of the minds of many of the brightest citizens and generals in the Empire. A giant collective. He eventually became ruler of the Empire, to the point he's worshipped as a god by some of his subjects. OK, given the Soviets disapproval of religion that might not fly, but then again, we're talking about treating the Fearless Leader as an infallible being, so maybe it does. He also killed a lot of his people with a Nega-Bomb, because he thought it would help the Empire. The leader having lots of his subjects killed because he thinks it's best for the state is something the Soviet Union was certainly familiar with.

Falling further down the rabbit hole, I start to wonder if Annihilation could have been read as a commentary on the state of Russia, after the fall of communism. Let me lay it out, then you can laugh.

The Supreme Intelligence had been lobotomized by the House Fiyero, a group of merchants and businessmen who usurped power, even though they don't know anything about running an empire -certainly nothing about winning a war - and are really only concerned with protecting their own backsides and lining their pockets. This becomes apparent when they make a backroom deal with the representatives of the Annihilation Wave, a destructive force from an opposing universe that has invaded while claiming they are merely defending themselves from outward agression (of the universe which the Kree inhabits natural expansion). Ronan, at this point a loyal follower of the Supreme Intelligence*, shows up, kills the leaders of House Fiyero as traitors to the Empire, and rallies the loyal soldiers against the Annihilation Wave. They stave off being entirely conquered, but still lose half their territory.

OK, let's see. That makes Supremor Leonid Brezhnev. House Fiyero, um, Boris Yeltsin, maybe Gorbachev? No, maybe they stand in for the various businessmen who have made a killing since the fall of communism. I think that makes the U.S. (or the various Western powers) the Annihilation Wave, and that would make Ronan. . . Vladimir Putin? Or he was the hardliners from the August Coup of '91. Which would make the Inhumans Yeltsin, though I'm not sure how to reconcile that with Ronan and Crystal's marriage. No, given Putin's time in the KGB, let's stick with him for Ronan.

OK, you can laugh now. I know it doesn't hold together. It was worth a shot.

* Looking on the Internet, it appears Ronan hasn't always been a big fan of the Supreme Intelligence, even trying to overthrow it at some point. The Kree-Skrull War, probably, since Rick Jones was involved.

Sooner Or Later, Ronan Will Plant That Hammer Upside Your Face

Four and a half years ago, I wrote a little post about Annihilation #3, mostly focused on what I considered a pretty poor showing by Ronan the Accuser. He'd been fighting Ravenous, a powerful lackey of Annihilus', and was pretty soundly trounced. I felt he should have done better based on a story from Steve Engelhart's Silver Surfer run.

I hoped that Ronan would get a rematch to show what he could do, and two issues later, he did. Things went a lot better for him. He even took my advice about remembering that it may be a Universal Weapon, but it's also a giant hammer (see the panel at the left from Annihilation #5, drawn by Andrea DiVito).

I was reminded of that scene by Annihilators #2. Ronan got kind of a raw deal in the first issue. Ikon suggesting he was the weakest member of the team, and scared because of it. He was the first one Ikon dropped when she attacked (though Quasar got decked in the most embarrassing manner). Beta Ray Bill got some digs in on him, and then Ronan chose to confront Doctor Dredd alone. Dredd had already killed several SpaceKnights. He'd managed to escape the cage Quasar surrounded him with, chop through space and time to go where he chose, and even cut the Silver Surfer, all without breaking a sweat. Even Ronan's teammates thought he was outclassed and were rushing to help. Then Ronan used the Universal Weapon (which had likely been analyzing Dredd's abilities from the start) to block the villain's powers, and then he used it like the giant hammer it is. I don't have an image of that hit. Sorry.

It makes Ronan feel very Silver Age to me. In a lot of the older comics I've read, the hero confronts a villain, and in the first go-round, the villain wins. They thump the hero convincingly, or at least escape without much difficulty. Spider-Man for example, in his first battles with the Vulture, Doc Ock, and Sandman, lost the initial encounter*. I think this was pretty common in those days, since it does establish the villain's abilities, and that they're a challenge for the hero. Of course, by the end of the issue, the hero has confronted the villain again, figured out how to cope with their skills, and triumphs.

Ronan's a lot like that. If he can't beat you the first time, he'll have the Universal Weapon figure out what you did to win, and develop a way to counter it. The next time, things won't go so well for you.

* Vulture swooped behind him, kicked him in the head, and threw him in a water tower. Ock pinned him with his metal arms, then walked up and slapped him a few times. Sandman beat him handily, tearing his mask so Spidey had to break off or risk losing his secret identity.

Not Entirely Annihilated Legacies

I just noticed this a week ago, but the three characters that face Annihilus at the end of Annihilation have something in common besides all dying in Thanos Imperative (or the run up to it). Nova, Phyla, and Peter Quill were all saddled with legacies they were struggling to live up to.

Richard Rider's the last of the Nova Corps. Everything they stood for, everything they tried to protect, it's left to him to represent. he has access to all the power that used to be split amongst the entire Corps, but it's worth noting there's a risk all that power will drive him mad. Could represent the enormity of the responsibility placed in front of him. Plus, he has the Xandarian Worldmind along for the ride. While that helps him to use the Nova Force more effectively, and staves off insanity, it's also an extra burden. The Worldmind is all that's left of Xandarian culture, and the history of the Nova Corps. Rich can't bring himself to find a better repository for the Worldmind, because then he wouldn't be able to utilize the entire Nova Force, and there's no time to find new recruits and train them up. The downside is, if he falls, the remnants of an entire interstellar culture die with him. No pressure.

When all is said and done, though, he faces Annihilus down, and kills him, saving the universe from his continued threat*.

Phyla-Vell's the daughter of Captain Mar-Vell, the man who only saved the universe from a Cosmic Cube-wielding Thanos once, along with many other heroics. her brother wasn't too shabby either, though he had some serious sanity issues, if his Wikpedia page is anything to go by. Phyla isn't even involved in Annihilation until it's well underway. She doesn't feel she's ready to be a hero, an opinion Thanos shares since in the span of 2 pages he describes her as a 'nuisance', and a 'pretender to Mar-Vell's legacy'. Ouch.

Interestingly, Phyla's most effective moment is when she attacks Annihilus and draws the Quantum Bands away from him. She becomes a hero when she accepts another legacy (Quasar's) on top her family's. Though it does tie back into her father somewhat, since Wikipedia tells me he was designated Protector of the Universe by the same being who tapped Wendell Vaughn.

Then there's Peter Quill. He's a slightly different case. Phyla's dealing with trying to live up to her father and brother. Nova's trying to deal with a being an intergalactic police that's decades? centuries? old all by himself. Quill's just trying to escape himself. As Star-Lord, he sacrificed a mining colony to save numerous worlds from a rampaging former Herald of Galactus. He turned himself in, was sent to a life-sentence only prison, and does everything possible to distance himself from his former identity.

Quill doesn't engage in many heroics over the course of Annihilation. He's primarily an adviser to Nova, probably gets involved in the fighting as necessary, but nothing too notable. Of the three present for the final struggle with Annihilus, he's the only one who takes no active role (it was actually Nova's plan that Peter and Phyla would be spectators, but Phyla didn't cotton to that idea). It isn't until Annihilation: Conquest we see Quill taking a more active role, and then only after he's confronted with his Star-Lord identity once more. He doesn't want anything to do with it, but comes to realize that, however he might feel about his actions, there are many who regard him as a hero and respect him as a result. It's embracing the title of Star-Lord that gets at least some people to listen to him, so he can more effectively protect the universe.

Those three end up saving the universe (multiple times) after they accept the weight of the past. If they hadn't, there may not have been a future. Annihilus would have destroyed everything, including all the remains of the past, in his attempt to make the universe safe for himself. With no one else alive, there's no one left to carry history forward, or to shape the future. Annihilus isn't one to concern himself with such things.

* Galactus did a lot of the work when he wiped out over 3 star systems worth of Annihilation Wave forces, but then he wandered off with Annihilus still alive, leaving Rich to finish the job.

The First Of Probably Many Cosmic-Themed Posts

Sometime around when Thanos Imperative was winding up, I got the idea to do some big post that would draw a thematic line through Marvel's cosmic events of the last few years. It seemed like, with Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy canceled, Cosmic Marvel was down to just Thanos Imperative, and so it was probably the grand end. I'm still not convinced it isn't, since I'm not sure Annihilators is going to qualify as an "event" comic.

Obviously, that post hasn't materialized, for a variety of reasons. One of which is I haven't felt like I've put all my thoughts together. The other is, there seem to be enough thoughts one post would be too big. So I'm going to try doing smaller posts, hopefully dealing with different ideas, and once I've done that, maybe I can do a summary post somewhere down the line. Hope springs eternal.

The reason I even thought about trying it was because I felt the threats of Annihilation and Thanos Imperative served as mirrors of each other. With Annihilation, the natural expansion of the Marvel Universe is taken as a threat by Annihilus (or used as an excuse to rally his followers), and he proceeds to invade the Marvel Universe, intent on killing everything. With Thanos Imperative, it's another universe encroaching on the Marvel Universe, trying to eliminate death.

The first story was started by a natural event - universal expansion - and had the villain succeeded would have resulted in an empty, lifeless universe, save for Annihilus. The latter story was propelled by an unnatural event - the obliteration of death - and, if Mar-Vell had succeeded, would have meant the universe would have been stuffed full of life, until it, like the Cancerverse, was to the point of bursting. Which doesn't sound so bad, except there won't be room to move, or enough resources to go around, but people won't be able to die, so, in theory, they'd suffer endlessly*.

It's like two of the theories for the universe. One theory says everything slowly breaks down, and eventually all that's left is a vast space, empty save for a few stray particles that either can't break down any further, or haven't yet. The other says the universe will eventually collapse in on itself, then there'll be another expansion, and things will start over**. But they prove the point Maelstrom made to Drax and Phyla once: Whether it's life that's too strong or death, it leads to a bad end, either way. Only difference is the particulars.

There are other mirroring aspects. In each case, Thanos played a key role, first helping Annihilus, then appearing to submit to Mar-Vell. But in each case, it was Thanos' tendency towards treachery that turned things. He had a failsafe to release Galactus, and his submission was just a way for Death to get close enough to Mar-Vell to destroy him. Also, the three heroes who went to confront Annihilus (Nova, Star-Lord, Phyla-Vell) and survived, all appear to have died at Thanos' hands. Phyla died before Thanos Imperative officially kicked off, but it was what announced his return to the field, so I think it can count. So when they fought against death, they lived. When they were fighting against Life, they ended up dead (or presumed dead). Killed by the Avatar of Death, no less.

I'm still trying to work out how Conquest and War of Kings fit in. Once I do, I'll be able to talk a little more about them. This is just the stuff I've sorted out so far.

* The way Sepulveda drew the Cancerverse doesn't really back up that assertion, since it appeared to be a barren, rotting universe, without many people. Then again, maybe everything was on the front lines, trying to pour out through the Fault into the new universe, like those Sooners trying to get into the opened frontier.

** I got that idea because I remembered Mightygodking described a Legion story where they fought the Time Trapper that was essentially that debate, as a superhero fight.

A Smattering Of Thanos Imperative Related Thoughts

- It's been noted throughout Thanos Imperative that while Thanos is vital to saving the universe, he's also Thanos, and is really dangerous as well, especially since he seemingly can't die. If he can be brought down, he could be locked up, but Thanos is pretty smart, he figure out how to escape eventually. So convince Thanos to stay behind in the Cancerverse when things are done. Death will have returned to that universe (assuming Thanos succeeds in killing Mar-Vell), but it's still a universe filled to the bursting with life. It'll take time to get things back on an even keel, and an angry Avatar of Death could speed things along. Plus, the Death in that universe is different from the Death in the Marvel Universe, so it's a whole new Death for Thanos to cozy up to and impress with large amounts of killing.

- The idea that Death and Life are connected isn't a new one, nor is the idea that it could be ugly if either one grows too much stronger than the other. Still, I like how connected they've been in this cosmic struggle. For Life to win out, Mar-Vell still needs to kill someone. For Death to balance the scales, that same person has to live, whether they want to or not. Death also needs Mar-Vell to die, but it's to be expected that death would play a part in its own victory.

- Before Thanos killed him, Drax was described as an Avatar of Life. Adam Warlock was considered the same before he became the Magus, and perhaps afterward as well. He still worshiped life. First off, it makes me wonder if Phyla could have averted what's coming by killing Drax, since he's an Avatar of Life, or if it had to be Adam specifically. I'm guessing the latter, since Drax didn't have grandiose schemes of destroying Death. He's quite the practitioner of Death, after all.

- Which brings me around to the second point. Adam and Drax were both Avatars of Life, but they went about things very differently. Drax protects/serve life by destroying the Avatar of Death. Adam Warlock, at least in this incarnation, protected life by trying to seal the Marvel Universe up, so things outside the universe couldn't get in and wreak havoc they might intend. To that end, he took control of the Universal Church of Truth, so that 1) they'd stop interfering in his work, and 2) he could use their resources to do his work more effectively. Contrast that with Drax, who might work with teams, but tends to operate alone when it comes to Thanos. Drax fights Death with death, Adam was fighting life, with Life (the belief energy of his followers). Drax actively sought out his target, while Adam reacts to problems. A tear in the fabric of the universe appears, Adam and the Guardians (or the Church) go there and close it up. When Adam tried to act to avert the disaster, going after Emperor Vulcan before the War of Kings destroyed the universe, he was soundly thrashed and sent packing. Adam Warlock helped set Thanos' return in motion, because he was worried his Magus personality would emerge and need to be stopped. He set aside his personal distaste because he perceived a greater threat. When he reached Thanos during Annihilation, Drax couldn't wait two seconds until Thanos had freed Galactus to kill him, and thus jeopardized the entire universe. He was too focused on the immediate problem, and didn't think of the larger picture. I can't decide whether he'd begun to do so in Thanos Imperative or not, because Thanos is an ally at the moment, but he might be the bigger problem. It would be interesting if he adopted Adam's approach, and it got him killed.

Maybe there's something there about Drax representing the so-called lizard, brain, the basic, emotional responses, while Warlock is the more reasoned, logical portion. Both of them are a part of us, as living beings, and life comes in many different forms, so it makes a certain amount of sense there would be more than one Avatar of Life, and they'd address different problems, or have different approaches.

- These days, there only seems to be one Avatar of Death at a time. There was Thanos, and Drax killed him, so there was no one for a time. I think Moondragon becoming an actual dragon, as the Dragon of the Moon grew stronger, was a step to fill the void, but Ultron stepped in (in a sense, Ultron, unknowingly, filled Drax' role for a moment). Then Phyla took the job to get Moondragon back, until she was killed by Thanos, as he reemerged. Maelstrom's been around, but doesn't seem to have a physical presence, he's more an intangible puppet master. But Death, whatever form it takes, ends the same way. The person is dead, all the way dead (as opposed to mostly dead), and it doesn't matter whether Thanos disintegrated them, they were hit by a bus, thrown from a bridge, died of old age, whatever, end result is the same. It can take many forms, but they all wind up in the same place.

I Do Hope He's Not Going To Backslide

I've been thinking about Peter Quill, Star-Lord, in light of his killing Adam Warlock last month. The Annihilation: Conquest - Star-Lord mini-series told us that some time ago Star-Lord killed an entire mining colony to use their life energy to stop a crazed Herald of Galactus*. Prior to that, he'd been a cocky, self-assured super-hero, who figured there was no villain he couldn't stop. And if his battle with the Fallen One was any indication, he was right. Still, he turned himself in to the Nova Corps, and was sent to the Kyln, formerly the prison for life sentence convicts only. He basically gave up on life, and trying to do good. Well, tried to, at any rate.

Inevitably, he seems to be drawn back in more and more. Serving as part of Nova's High Command in Annihilation, trying to help the Kree rebuild, leading his little crew against the Phalanx, and eventually setting up the Guardians of the Galaxy. I think originally joining up with Nova might have been a death-wish, since Nova noted that Peter joined right after the good guys were dealt a crushing defeat. Even as he seemed to become more comfortable with being a useful force in the universe, he still wanted nothing to do with the name Star-Lord. He didn't want to be called that, didn't want to be reminded of it. He made mistakes, and wanted badly to put them behind him. Somewhere along the line, he seems to have grown comfortable with his teammates calling him "Star-Lord". Maybe he saw the title really does mean something to them, regardless of past errors, or maybe he accepted they were going to call him that whether he wanted them to or not. He goofed with the whole idea of using Mantis to convince people to join his team, but the group seems to have been quite forgiving**, to the extent they rescued him from the Negative Zone, which had to encourage him.

The concern is how he'll deal when he has to make tough choices. There's little doubt he'll make those tough choices, but the aftermath could be ugly. I already mentioned what he did after he sacrificed that mining colony to stop a guy that was running around destroying entire worlds. He was largely indifferent about his survival after he accidentally let the Phalanx take control of the Kree Empire. When the truth about how he put the Guardians together came out, he went off on his own to stop what he feared was a Skrull infiltration of the Kree Empire. Then he tried to fight Ronan one-on-one, which went as well as you'd expect. So he tends towards self-destructive behavior when he's had to make hard decisions, mostly out of guilt. Now he's saved the entire multiverse from being conquered by Adam Magus, and all it cost him was half his team, including one team member Peter had to kill. Star-Lord's quiet 'Look what you made me do, Adam. Look what you made me do.' does not bode well.

The rest of the team might want to keep a close eye on him for awhile.

* You know, Galactus really needs to do a better job tending to his former Heralds. Some of them help save the universe, but they sure do seem to wreak havoc a lot.

** They really did seem to cut him a lot of slack on that. Except for Adam, he clearly still held a grudge when he rejoined the team, but the others didn't seem to give him much crap about it. Maybe the the actions he took by himself convinced them how seriously he was taking this protecting the universe stuff?

Oh Goody, More Comic Book Science

Guardians of the Galaxy #16, the 31st Century. Almost all of the universe has been, consumed by The Fault, which is created by The Error caused in the 21st Century. The Error is apparently Black Bolt and his stupid T-Bomb, which was going to expose everyone to Terrigen Mists, opening one of those rifts in space-time that allow really unpleasant things a way in*. Although really, this sounds less like the tear allowing something in, and more like it opened a hole which things fell through**.

I'm guessing the Fault starts small (compared to its size in the 31st Century), but is too large to fix, and so it just continues to grow, with the universe falling in, one system after another***. Now it's taken almost everything, save the lone system the Badoon saved with their ingenious use of enslaved Sentinels as a cage to contain a power source (created from the sun) which generates a massive force field which protects that remaining section of space from the Fault.

Pardon me while I look back over that last sentence. *Looks back over that last sentence. No, not the one about begging your pardon while I look over a sentence, the one before that.* That is the most awesome thing I've been able to describe since "Mecca for all time and space at the edge of the universe set inside the decapitated head of a space god, with a telepathic cosmonaut dog as head of security".

OK, back to the actual point of the post. It was previously established that the Marvel Universe, the one being destroyed by the Fault, is constantly expanding, and that at least one of the places its expanding into is the Negative Zone****. Do you think the Fault has consumed the Negative Zone as well? I don't know how fast the universe was expanding into***** the Negative Zone, but I doubt it was going as fast as the Fault appears to be moving, if there's a solitary system left after a thousand years. Did the Fault, having devoured almost all of the Marvel Universe, continue expanding, which would bring it into contact with the Negative Zone, and simply keep growing, keep having more stuff fall into it?

For that matter, where is all the stuff going into the Fault ending up at? Somewhere outside the universe, or some other reality perhaps? Maybe another universe is experiencing similar difficulties with rifts, and bits of the Marvel Universe are what is coming in. That's where the Major Victory in the 21st Century came from, I think, another reality he was somehow tossed out of. Unless he's the one from the 31st Century that was blown up at the end of the issue****** . Assuming he and his team were blown up, which isn't for certain, since it's a safe bet Star-Lord and his bunch were killed. So maybe the Major Victory in the 21st Century is the one from the 31st, who was thrown out into the Fault by the explosion, then literally frozen in Time?

Ow, headache. Even if the Fault is so destructive that no matter can make it through whole, matter and energy can't be destroyed, only change form, so whatever made up the Marvel Universe would still have to exist in some form, somewhere. Though this is perhaps not the book to be trying to apply my limited understanding of thermodynamics.

* Given that the bomb is powered by Black Bolt's voice, should we assume it's his voice that's going to do the damage? I mean, I know he's powerful enough to level a city with a whispered word, but to have a voice capable of exploding a bomb with sufficient force to scatter its contents across a galaxy (we'll ignore the obvious questions of just how long that dispersal should actually take), or tear holes in the universe? Geez.

** Though 'consumed' almost suggests an active mind at work. Wasn't there a creature like that in the Thanos series? It tricked Galactus into giving it entry to the Marvel Universe, and Thanos had to find some way to stop it, when even Galactus couldn't slow it down? Maybe that thing is back.

*** Or multiple systems simultaneously, assuming the Fault expands in all directions at once, and so would reach different systems at the same time.

**** As you may recall, that was Annihilus' pretext for invading the Marvel U. in Annihilation. Course, he was really out to take the Power Cosmic for himself, and kill all other life, but he couldn't very well admit that to his soldiers.

***** I don't entirely understand how that works. Was the Marvel U. pushing into the Negative Zone, bumping up against the fabric of N-Zone spacetime, and shoving it out of the way? If so, where was the N-Zone being shoved to? Or is the N-Zone being absorbed somehow? Like it's a piece of food, and the Marvel U. is an ameoba, extending a pseudopod of space-time to envelop and digest the N-Zone?

****** Though Starhawk didn't seem to recognize him as his/her friend and teammate, so I think Starhawk knew it was a different Major Victory from his/hers.

I Have No Idea How This Would Play Out, But I'd Like To See It

In War of Kings #4, Talon shows Emperor Vulcan how the Hierarchy of Raptors are helping Vulcan out. Namely, they've supplied Blastaar with a Cosmic Control Rod, which he's used to open a portal from the Negative Zone into the regular universe, and he's leading his troops against Ravenous's and his little empire*. For whatever reason**, Ravenous had declared war on the Shi'ar, and given Vulcan was already picking a fight with the Kree and anyone else within range, the Shi'ar really can't handle yet another challenger.

First off, I like that Blastaar's doing this. He had an arrangement with Ronan, who helped get Blastaar back to the Negative Zone and conquer it, in exchange for, I guess, keeping Ravenous from getting any more troops from the Zone, and thus not being able to resume hostilities with the Kree. Except, as Blastaar explained to Star-Lord, Blastaar and Ronan both know it was a temporary alliance, and if was only a matter of time and opportunity before one back-stabbed the other. Blastaar simply found his opportunity first. So I dig that.

What really interests me is the idea Blastaar might look up Star-Lord. Peter did betray Blastaar when he was supposed to be helping lay seige to the Negative Zone prison. And when Blastaar expressed his displeasure with that, Peter and Jack Flag did shoot Blastaar in the face, which I doubt hurt him, but surely didn't improve the mangy ruler's disposition. Then the Guardians of the Galaxy arrived and teleported Peter and Jack out just as The Living Bomb Burst found them again***, thus inflicting further Vergeltung Unterbrechung**** on the angry, furry guy.

Well now Blastaar's in Star-Lord's home universe, with his Negative Zone army, and his own cosmic control rod. Assuming Talon is right, and Ravenous' bunch will be toast in a week, Maybe Blastaar could take a little time to look up his betrayer, Star-Lord? Considering the Guardians will have probably just finished (or will still be) skirmishing with all those angry Imperial Guardsmen and Inhumans that popped up in Knowhere last month, that could be a pretty rough battle. Which means it would probably be a really fun battle, too.

* For those not up on their Cosmic Marvel, Ravenous was the equivalent of Annihilus' Herald, and roughly as powerful as one. With Annihilus dead, and his offspring still just a infant, Ravenous is serving as a regent over the territories Annihilus' forces gained in Annihilation, which includes half of what used to be the Kree Empire.

** Maybe he figured the Shi'ar were so busy they were vulnerable. Maybe some of Vulcan's troops strayed into the wrong territory, though I get the impression the Shi'ar didn't actually instigate the fight with Ravenous. I don't see Ravenous caring that the Kree are under attack, unless he wants them to survive as a buffer between his realm and the Shi'ar.

*** "The Living Bomb Burst". That's a pretty cool nickname.

**** That's German for "Retribution Interruption". I was gonna type, "Retributionus Interruptus", but I thought that looked stupid, so hey kids, bilinguality!

Don't Give Up Now!

When I reached the end of last week's Secret Invasion: War of Kings, I was a bit disappointed in Ronan. He lets Medusa just take his hammer, and then kneels before Black Bolt*. It seemed too easy for the Inhumans, given Ronan's extreme sense of duty to the Kree Empire. Take a look at his recent resume:

- Willingly surrenders himself to Kree authorities on trumped up charges, even when told by the arresting officer that they would totally understand if he blew them off.

- Despite having been found guilty of trumped up charges and stripped of his title, still fights with his fellow Kree against the Annihilation Wave. When he decides the House Fiyero are running a poor campaign, kills their representatives on the front lines**.

- Then journeys back to the Kree homeworld to convince the rest of House Fiyero to see the light. Learns they've signed a backroom deal with Annihilus' chief lieutenant, Ravenous. Smashes Ravenous' face like hamburger, kills remainder of House Fiyero. Assumes control of Kree Empire, as they lack other options, and the people will follow him.

- When the Phalanx conquered the Kree, Ronan decided the best option was to unleash an army of Sentry robots. He was willing to kill his people, rather than let the Phalanx control them.

Yet here, the Inhumans barge in, kick butt, and Ronan doesn't even try and stop Medusa from taking his weapon? Doesn't even try one attack on Black Bolt? I get that Black Bolt is a true king, and Ronan always saw himself as simply a regent, just keeping the seat warm, but still, these are the Kree we're talking about. They jailed Bug because he got his mack on with some of their women, thus contaminating their genetic purity. Like Rocket Raccoon said, to the Kree, everyone else is a lower lifeform. But they'll accept some Earthlings, whose ancestors they genetically altered, as their rulers? Especially after they had half their empire taken by the Annihilation Wave, and then were conquered by the Phalanx, this can't do their pride any good. I could see there being a 50% chance of the people accepting this if Ronan pitches it to them, and a 50% chance they'd turn on him, declare him a traitor for allowing weapons the Kree created*** to now rule their creators.

Really, I'm just stunned he gave up so easily. Seems unlike Ronan.

* Doesn't have quite the same ring to it as "Kneel before Zod", does it?

** Not during a battle mind you, during a planning session.

*** And subsequently abandoned/forgot about/left alone until they decided they needed them, but I doubt the Kree would see any significance to that. We created you, we own you forever, 'cause we're the Kree.

No Escape

I think what's going to help Annihilation: Conquest avoid being a cheap knockoff of Annihilation is that the writers have set up a very different scenario.

In Annihilation, all life in the universe was threatened by a being determined to ensure its own survival by killing everyone else. In Conquest, the Phalanx don't want to kill many people, they want to bring them into the Phalanx, and bring about greater safety and peace by making it so all the life in Kree Space is connected as a greater whole. I would be surprised if there aren't a few Kree that are happy with the Phalanx taking over because now they feel safer, whereas not too many months ago they might have been on the verge of being exterminated (I think that would be something to explore in the aftermath, probably in Nova: the people who liked being part of the Phalanx).

In Annihilation, the resistance had the entire universe to hide in. Places to set up shop were not in short supply, it was just that once Annihilus found it he was either going to teleport his army into your camp, or just use Galactus to destroy the entire world. With Conquest, there's likely to be a lot less property damage, if only because it defeats the purpose of bringing peace to the sector if you destroy everything. But this time around, as Nova's found out, you can't fall back. There's ultimately nowhere to retreat to, because the Kree - and now the Phalanx - have eyes everywhere. Where you go, they'll track you. Where you stop, they'll attack you.

It feels a bit like The Fugitive, or in Quasar's case, the story of that Green Lantern that lives on Apokolis. The one that only has about a three second charge left in the ring, so he has to save it for a really dire emergency? Whereas the enemy in Annihilation took the approach of having so much power on their side it just overwhelmed the resistance quickly, the Phalanx are going to just gradually grind their enemies down, just keep chasing them until they can't go on.

There is one big similarity, though. In both Annihilation and Conquest, the key to victory is going to lie in going right into the heart of the enemy. In Annihilation, that was where you found Annihilus. In Conquest, that's where you'll find that tower that's transmitting the "transmode virus" that's infected all the Kree and their tech. Of course, getting their is the tricky part. Nova already found that out the hard way. Query: Has anyone in comics ever found things out "the easy way"?

Uncontrolled Expansion Leads To Conflict

Annihilus' original pretense for attacking the Marvel (616) Universe was that it was expanding into the Negative Zone and threatening that universe's continued existence. Universal expansion isn't a new concept, and nobody ever said Annihilus was lying about it. Personally, I think he was telling the truth.

So let's say the 616 (616, 616) universe really is encroaching into the Negative Zone. What is that going to lead to?

The Crunch is the place where the universe is expanding, so in theory, that must be where the universe is meeting the Negative Zone. Based on what the energy did to the Silver Surfer* [*Ed's note - see Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus #2, true believers!] after only a few moments of immersion, I think we can safely conclude it's pretty damn destructive. If it's anything like that on the other side, then I'd figure anything that happens to run into it would probably go bye-bye. (Quick thought: the Kyln was a prison that also served as a power plant, harvesting the energy generated by the Crunch, and distributing to several planets. If the Crunch is constantly moving with the universal expansion, then the Kyln has to move with it, right? Then the Kyln is constantly getting farther from the planets it supplies, right? So when does it take more energy to send energy to worlds, than you can actually send? Ugh, brain lock!!)

If that's the case, then the Negative Zone would eventually be destroyed (along with Reed Richards' brilliant prison). Actually, since they have portals to the Negative Zone on Earth, would the energy from the Crunch flow through the portal and destroy Earth as well?

But, here's the other side of my insanity: Could the Negative Zone be expanding somewhere as well? Perhaps not into the 616 (six hundred and sixteen) universe, but into another realm? Or does the Crunch not destroy things on the Negative Zone side, rather the two universe mingle, and things are exchanged? Maybe the Marvel Universe could one day engulf the Negative Zone, and they'd become one in the same. That would be weird, especially, if things tried to inhabit the same place at the same time, all kinds of crazy concoctions. I can see the prison winding up in Kree space, the criminals escaping, and Ronan being none too pleased that he has to waste time executing Earth's crap villains.

Thanks for indulging this lunacy. It's really frightening what happens to your brain when you find little better to do than watch various horrible movies all day. Both Under Sieges, and Day After Tomorrow. I think 30% of my brain decayed.

Thus, The Circle Is Completed

Back when there was an entire Nova Corps, rather than just Nova, the highest ranking members were titled Centurions. They were the ones cruising the universe, dealing with all the major problems, with the flying, and the punching, and occasionally blasting things. Then came the Annihilation Wave, and out went the Nova Corps, that diverse band of space protectors.

Now one of the key components of the Annihlation Wave was that Annihilus recruited a crack team of super-powered beings from throughout his Negative Zone empire. This group was full of beings eager to defend their homeworlds from what they believed to be a dire threat to their continued existence. And so they caused a lot of damage, took many lives, all to protect their homes. Now that war is over (or at least is at an uneasy truce), and some of those super-powered Negative Zone inhabitants have decided to get theirs, selecting planets over which to claim dominion. Except, those wealth-seekers are under attack from other members of the group, who want their organization to still stand for honor, and protecting the innocent.

The name of that little group? Centurions.

Interesting how that works, that one group of super-powered do-gooders gets wiped out, and another, similarly named, is around filling much the same role, though for more personal reasons. Let us genuflect before the magnificence of Keith Giffen's foresight, which rivals even that of the All-Seeing Odin.

Quick thought: Annihilus' Centurions, do you think they're truly "super-powered", in the sense they're unusually powered for their species, or simply "super-powered" in the sense that they have abilities we ordinary humans don't?