In controlling the universe, it all comes down to who has the most stones. In the case of Infinity Countdown #1, the six infinity stones are powerful on their own, but when combined they create a positive feedback loop which grants the user infinite power. Imagine holding six rocks and having the greatest power in the universe. It’s what every mad titan wants.
In this first of the series, the infinity stones are divided, and being protected by a variety of heroes. Drax is on Xitaung babysitting the power stone. From the first page we know that the secret of the power stone is out, as a variety of thugs enter the scene to take it from Drax. They fail.
Meanwhile, the Guardians of the Galaxy are busy fighting the Gardener. They battle back and forth with Gardener, but victory is gained by the sweet love of little Groot. Healing the Gardener from the poison of Loki, the Gardener restores Groot to his original size and abilities. Or as Star-Lord says, Groot was reset to factory settings.
Finally, Infinity Countdown #1 ends on Madripoor. Black Widow is in hiding, but not for long. Logan has found her safe house and left her something precious to look after.
My Opinion
With the run-up to the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, Avengers: Infinity War, I’m not surprised to see a new series about the infinity stones in Marvel comics. Infinity Countdown #1 has the task of starting a new storyline where it will hopefully entertain longtime fans but also educate new readers to what the infinity stones are. I applaud writer Gerry Duggan for taking a three-part approach to the first book in the series. There is a lot of ground to cover, and Duggan does it well with his focus on specific characters, maybe one or two per story that really hold the audience’s attention.
Using Drax as the center of the story with the power stone was fun. Drax is hilarious, but also a tough guy, and there are few armies that would scare him. I enjoyed seeing how Drax got to shine in the spotlight, and not crumble without the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Guardians of the Galaxy piece was a little confusing for me. I found there were too many dialogues happening at once. I could follow it, but I think I would have enjoyed it more with only having two or three characters in that story piece.
But Duggan saves the crème de la crème for the last story. With only a couple of pages, Duggan brings Black Widow into the storyline as well as Logan and does it in a meaningful way. It shows that even though Black Widow was trying to lay low and stay out of the limelight, she can’t hide. If you are a hero, you can never take a day off.
Black Widow even tried to hide out in a place that only two other people knew about, but that won’t work because when the fate of the galaxy is on the line, everyone needs to be ready for battle.
To top the end of the comic off, Duggan even casts Logan in the storyline, without having him be present. A simple note that says “N-Take care of this – L”, readers get the full depth of Logan’s personality and influence. Black Widow now has her own infinity stone to guard thanks to a certain Wolverine.
So, what does Infinity Countdown #1 really say to readers? The message of this comic is, that there are bad people galore in the universe, and the good always must stand up for what is right. Sometimes we do it on our own like Drax did. Sometimes we fight as a group and show mercy like Groot did. Most importantly, if you can help, you cannot simply slip away and be forgotten like Black Widow tried to do.
It’s time to be a hero, because even though Thanos isn’t in the first issue, he will no doubt make his appearance felt, and it’s going to hurt when he does.
Check out Infinity Countdown #1 to get yourself ready for the next Marvel masterpiece on the silver screen this April.