As the Infinity Stones come to Earth, so too comes the war for control over them. But none who wield the stones know the truth about the power they contain…or what it would take to bring them to their END. The nature of the universe itself hangs in the balance and a shocking event is learned.

I haven’t been too keen on Marvel‘s Infinity Wars up to this point. The “Countdown” lead up has been interesting but as a chapter in the story goes, it generally wasn’t too exciting. It put the pieces of the puzzle in place setting up what’s to come. Infinity Wars #1, and the previous “Prime,” are winning me over from what felt like a rather poor imitation of some classic stories. Instead, we’re getting a fractured Infinity Watch, and a twist on the villain who’s not who we expect (for now).

The issue revolves around Doctor Strange gathering the wielders of the Infinity Stones together to explain the situation and come up with a plan, fully expecting that Thanos will soon come to collect the Stones. There’s a lot of ideas thrown around, some actually intelligent, but there’s no way this group is going to get along.

What’s solid is the group gathered. This isn’t just one Stone wielder, it’s their crew. That creates an opportunity for so much more entertainment, case in point Bullseye and his comments about Groot and Rocket as well as Black Widow. There’s so much opportunity and is a different feel that the usual single individuals coming together. It also emphasizes that who’s in play is very different than the past. It’s a different dynamic and writer Gerry Duggan nails the interaction.

I haven’t been too keen on the art in the lead up but Mike Deodato, Jr.‘s art is fantastic. The characters look great and each moment’s beat is nailed. Bullseye’s responses again are perfect examples of this. There’s a lot of characters here and they really run across the Marvel Universe and it all works and works effortlessly. There’s nothing that stands out as odd, it just flows and comes together nicely.

While the issue feels like the group catching up to the events of “Prime,” the interaction of everyone is beyond entertaining. It drives the issue and turns around an event that hasn’t quite hit the beat. It’s a righting of the ship in many ways and takes me from ho-hum to excited to see what happens next.

Story: Gerry Duggan Art: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Story: 7.75 Art: 7.85 Overall: Recommendation: Read

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review