This week’s Comic of the Week is Infinity #5 titled “The Left Hand of Death.”
Publisher – Marvel
Writer – Jonathan Hickman
Penciler – Jerome Opeña
Inker – Dustin Weaver
Colourist – Justin Ponsor
Letterer – Chris Eliopoulos
Review – 5/5 – MUST READ
As October comes to a close, we get the end of the second act of Infinity. The Avengers have freed the Kree, the builders were overrun and destroyed, and Thanos has made Earth his bitch. We knew that the ultimate Avengers versus Thanos and his Cull Obsidian was inevitable, and although we don’t get that this week, by the Hammer of Thor, they’re not looking to disappoint over the next few weeks.
The book kept up with all 3 main Infinity story points, the Illuminati and their Incursion measures, Thanos and his search for the illegitimate Inhuman son of his, and lastly the Avengers in Space. One of the highlights is that Jonathan Hickman has been able to craft these stories in 3 separate books and keep them all straight. No stone has been left unturned and its hard to be confused even after a full year of the series.
Infinity 5, again, has a few story lines in it, starting with foreshadowing the All-New Marvel Now title Avengers World in name alone, and ending with the entire Marvel cosmic presence pointed directly at Thano’s forces. The Avengers the smallest collection of fighters in the battle against the builders, but as a liberated alien says, it was not the Council or Armadas that won the battle, but the Avengers and a Hammer heard across the galaxy. They have made their impact as the victors and will be remembered as the winners of the war, despite being ‘Earthers.’
Second up, we got to see Thanos and his black order in session after gaining access to Necropolis, where the Illuminati incursion weapons exist. This is where we learn Black Bolt has not died, but is rather strapped to a machine draining his voice energy? I’m not sure exactly but you can get the jist of it when you see the contraption. Here we learn that Supernova has a few powers up her sleeve we’ve not seen yet and extracts some information from Black Bolt via his eyes. Crazy stuff, no wonder Thanos keeps these select few individuals around.
Thanos also meets Thane, and we learn about Class One shields that prevent, ya know, death. I feel Thane has a part to play in the climax of this and we will learn his full power set. Before he puts on the suit, from a stranger (bad choice), notice that it only has one arm. Make note, this will probably be a huge detail later.
Visually, Infinity has been equal across the board since the beginning. Through multiple artists and several books, even Avengers and New Avengers all match artistically and really brings cohesion to the event. My favorite scene, yet most dense panel, is when the Illuminati transport into Necropolis with Maximus and Lockjaw. Seeing how physically dangerous these men can be isn’t something we’ve seen very often and can be easily forgotten. I would not want to be on the receiving end of that, at all.
The best part of Infinity is that after 5 issues, Hickman has been able to keep our attention and continually surprise us. This is no Age of Ultron story that meanders around an on-the-fly premise, and has seeds that were sown a while back. With the penultimate issue on the horizon, I’m confident that Infinity will be a top contender for my favorite event series from Marvel yet.
