Review of the Annihilation saga – Marvel Comics

Great Marvel crossover of the year 2006, Annihilation does not feature the “earthly” characters of the stable (Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man…) but the cosmic characters of the house of ideas. With the current opening of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU) to cosmic characters with the excellent Guardians of the Galaxy (read our review on Oblikon) and the upcoming Inhumans, Captain Marvel and the inevitable Inifinity War (or Avengers 3), it’s a good time to get into it no ?

Synopsis

The terrible Annihilus plans to conquer the universe and the cosmic heroes will do everything to stop him.In this saga, you will find the heroes Nova, the Silver Surfer, Ronan the Accuser, as well as Drax, Gamora and Peter Quill aka. Starlord !

Review

Annihilation is a kind of “reboot” of the Marvel cosmic heroes, and thus a perfect opportunity for the neophytes to discover these characters such as Nova, the Silver Surfer, and those who will very soon become the famous Guardians of the Galaxy.

If the initial synopsis is not the most innovative (a destroyer lord of the negative zone tries to invade the universe), it is on its mini-stories and the multiple “annex” quests that Annihilation is really interesting. We discover the origins of Richard Rider as the superhero Nova Prime, Drax’s quest to kill Thanos, and at the same time the evolution of the latter to take back his place in the galaxy. Each character is well explored, while being integrated in the universe of the “Event” Annihilation.

This gives a well constructed whole, with solid bases and successful characters.

You will have understood it, many stories which intertwine, but each one having the good idea to start from 0, or almost. Thus, the casual reader is not lost, and can catch “on the fly” the story of the different heroes (or villains of the story). Moreover, since the initial narrative starts from a wave of annihilation (hence Annihilation), everything has to be rebuilt…they are smart at the house of ideas !

The narrative of the event itself is perhaps a bit simplistic: a wave of annihilation, the heroes who reform, a war that lasts, a conclusion rather summary. Some seen and seen again, especially in the Marvel universe (we think of Civil War, House of M…). But the effect is successful, and as often, it is more the evolution of the characters that matters to us, as well as the consequences of the story, than the story itself.

In this respect, Annihilation is totally in the spirit of the great encounters of the superhero world.

A clean sweep of the past, and a reboot of the whole cosmic universe for Marvel, a bit like the Ultimates did for the Avengers (but in a parallel dimension this time), or House of M for the X-Men and One More Day for Spider-Man. In this respect, it is certainly one of the best reboot of the universe, bringing back to fashion characters that were quite obsolete for some time.

Well done Marvel, let’s see what the sequel will give us: Annihilation Conquest ! Find this saga by clicking here.