IS it worth reading

[spidervenom]

I am already reading civil war and I am wondering is it really worth reading annihilation and its tie ins

[Lord S]

Yes it is absolutely worth picking up, because it's a well organized space saga that's actually about...something. Not just a bunch of whiny costumed heroes bickering back and forth about their role in society.

As mentioned, it's well organized...there are no tie-ins really, just a Prologue issue, and four, four-part lead-ins.

Most importantly, it's on time!

[Hulkamaniac]

totally get it , its just so good, if you like MArvel space characters you'll double love it, if you like great story and art you'll triple and ...oh well you get the point, buy it! and its not so many issues to buy, no tie-ins just the main and the minis b4 it.

[PatchMadripoor]

Amazingly it is a much better read than Civil War. The story is tighter and there aren't as many blantant plot holes.

And some really cool moments and great covers.

[eXpiphany]

no annihilation reader will tell you to miss this... i havent met one anyway ;)

[40yearoldnovafan]

I have been a reader of Marvel since the 1970s. I am saddened because many readers are choosing Civil War over Annihilation. In my opinion Annihilation is a far better story and has meanining. Our galaxy (or the one next to us) has been invaded by a massive military might and a number of aliens and cosmic heroes are dying trying to defeat this unbeatable army.

With Civil War, heroes are acting very uncharacteristically. Iron Man beats the crap out of Captain America. Spiderman gives up his identity and fights against Cap while telling jokes. Reed Richards acts like a jerk and chooses the governments side instead of his life long partner and wife, Sue. Heroes are killing heroes or imprisonning them in the negative zone.

To me Civil War (which I am still reading) is bogus! I'm sorry Joe Q. but you are making a story which is selling very well, but this is not what Marvel's heroes would be doing. These are not the people I grew up with - these are fakes.

All this soap opera to make a buck!

I make enough money to buy both "epics", but if I had to choose - I would choose Annihilation every time.

Jimmy

[BeastieRunner]

I am already reading civil war and I am wondering is it really worth reading annihilation and its tie ins There's nothing I can add except it has better art, writing, and it's got the cosmic players in it. If you like cosmic Marvel or want to get into it, I'd pick this event up. :D
Yes it is absolutely worth picking up, because it's a well organized space saga that's actually about...something. Not just a bunch of whiny costumed heroes bickering back and forth about their role in society.

As mentioned, it's well organized...there are no tie-ins really, just a Prologue issue, and four, four-part lead-ins.

Most importantly, it's on time! totally get it , its just so good, if you like MArvel space characters you'll double love it, if you like great story and art you'll triple and ...oh well you get the point, buy it! and its not so many issues to buy, no tie-ins just the main and the minis b4 it. Amazingly it is a much better read than Civil War. The story is tighter and there aren't as many blantant plot holes.

And some really cool moments and great covers. no annihilation reader will tell you to miss this... i havent met one anyway ;)I have been a reader of Marvel since the 1970s. I am saddened because many readers are choosing Civil War over Annihilation. In my opinion Annihilation is a far better story and has meanining. Our galaxy (or the one next to us) has been invaded by a massive military might and a number of aliens and cosmic heroes are dying trying to defeat this unbeatable army.

With Civil War, heroes are acting very uncharacteristically. Iron Man beats the crap out of Captain America. Spiderman gives up his identity and fights against Cap while telling jokes. Reed Richards acts like a jerk and chooses the governments side instead of his life long partner and wife, Sue. Heroes are killing heroes or imprisonning them in the negative zone.

To me Civil War (which I am still reading) is bogus! I'm sorry Joe Q. but you are making a story which is selling very well, but this is not what Marvel's heroes would be doing. These are not the people I grew up with - these are fakes.

All this soap opera to make a buck!

I make enough money to buy both "epics", but if I had to choose - I would choose Annihilation every time.

Jimmy
Quoted for Truth.

[K Von Doom]

It reminds me of when the Infinity Gauntlet series just came out... I was thinking at the end of issue 4 and 5 "...things can't possibly get any worse for the heroes...".

[Cody H]

It is, it really really is, I can't stress that enough. I'm enjoying Annihilation a good deal more than Civil War, and I'm enjoying Civil War. I can't really say much more that hasn't been said by posters above, so... pick it up, you won't regret it.

[XPac]

If you like the cosmic stuff, it's a great read (unless you're maybe a Quasar or a Galactus fan... then you might have a few complaints).

But Annihilation does serve a particular niche... there's no Wolverine or Spiderman in sight. If you're not a fan of the cosmic stuff, it might not be your thing (though I'd say at least give it a try anyways because it is a fun action packed series).

[Bobster777]

If you like the cosmic stuff, it's a great read (unless you're maybe a Quasar or a Galactus fan... then you might have a few complaints).

But Annihilation does serve a particular niche... there's no Wolverine or Spiderman in sight. If you're not a fan of the cosmic stuff, it might not be your thing (though I'd say at least give it a try anyways because it is a fun action packed series).
There may not be Wolverine, but there is Drax. Man, that guy is cool.

[Scott Evil]

There may not be Wolverine, but there is Drax. Man, that guy is cool.
Hells yea.. Drax has been more badass in the last few issues than Wolverine's been in all 2548 series of his. What I'd add is that if you like Military 'drama' (Saving Private Ryan), mindless bug-killing Sci-Fi (Starship Troopers), underdog stories (Rudy, early Spidey), unadulterated villains w/o remorse and heroes you can't help but root for; this is your series.

No 'gray areas', just a bunch of refugees and survivors trying to make it one day at a time, against a CUT 'N DRY evil space alien. Its why I got into fiction in the first place..

[XPac]

There may not be Wolverine, but there is Drax. Man, that guy is cool.

Honestly, I think they basically tried to turn Drax into a cosmic Wolverine.

I have mixed feelings about that. It is cool visually to see a guy with knives jumping into armies of evil alien bugs.

But I just don't buy a guy carrying knives as a threat when you're on the cosmic level. A fight between Thanos and Drax for example would be nothing short of laughably if all Drax brings to the table is a pair of oversized kitchen knives. I have troule imagining Drax being even remotely capable of hurting him, let alone beating him.

[Bobster777]

Honestly, I think they basically tried to turn Drax into a cosmic Wolverine.

I have mixed feelings about that. It is cool visually to see a guy with knives jumping into armies of evil alien bugs.

But I just don't buy a guy carrying knives as a threat when you're on the cosmic level. A fight between Thanos and Drax for example would be nothing short of laughably if all Drax brings to the table is a pair of oversized kitchen knives. I have troule imagining Drax being even remotely capable of hurting him, let alone beating him.
What are those knives made of by the way? If they are vibranium, like the ones that Warpath has, then they would be deadly to anyone. I mean, Drax isn't some ordinary being. He's strength is probably as much if not higher than Thanos. So, the velocity at which he could weild those knives probably makes them deadly. Plus, if goaded in to it, I think Thanos would have enough of an ego to go at Drax hand to hand.

[XPac]

What are those knives made of by the way? If they are vibranium, like the ones that Warpath has, then they would be deadly to anyone. I mean, Drax isn't some ordinary being. He's strength is probably as much if not higher than Thanos. So, the velocity at which he could weild those knives probably makes them deadly. Plus, if goaded in to it, I think Thanos would have enough of an ego to go at Drax hand to hand.

Drax USED to be as strong as Thanos, but in terms of power and durability he seems really powered down to me. I'm not even sure about the Velocity issue since he can no longer fly and doesn't appear to have superspeed.

I don't deny Drax isn't some ordinary human being... but when you're on the cosmic level with characters like Thanos, Quasar, and Surfer knives in my opinion don't cut it (excuse the pun).

If they're uber tech knives or something MAYBE. As far as I could tell, he just picked them up off the floor one day so I"m not how much of a factor they will be.

He's fine against bugs... but against a real threat, he seems completely outclassed to me. But then again, I can say that about a lot of the people Wolverine fights. Hence my view that I think they're trying to make him a cosmic WOlverine. An idea I have mixed feelings on.

[Bobster777]

Drax USED to be as strong as Thanos, but in terms of power and durability he seems really powered down to me. I'm not even sure about the Velocity issue since he can no longer fly and doesn't appear to have superspeed.

I don't deny Drax isn't some ordinary human being... but when you're on the cosmic level with characters like Thanos, Quasar, and Surfer knives in my opinion don't cut it (excuse the pun).

If they're uber tech knives or something MAYBE. As far as I could tell, he just picked them up off the floor one day so I"m not how much of a factor they will be.

He's fine against bugs... but against a real threat, he seems completely outclassed to me. But then again, I can say that about a lot of the people Wolverine fights. Hence my view that I think they're trying to make him a cosmic WOlverine. An idea I have mixed feelings on.
Well, you bring up a good point there about just making him into some Wolverine without some explanation. Hopefully, they'll have him win against Thanos in some cunning fashion. I mean, Thanos could win the fight, but it would be cool if Drax someone sacrifices himself and kills Thanos in the process. But yeah, I hate how they have Wolverine taking out just about everybody.

[XPac]

Well, you bring up a good point there about just making him into some Wolverine without some explanation. Hopefully, they'll have him win against Thanos in some cunning fashion. I mean, Thanos could win the fight, but it would be cool if Drax someone sacrifices himself and kills Thanos in the process. But yeah, I hate how they have Wolverine taking out just about everybody.

Well, the problem is I'm not sure I buy Drax being more cunning than Thanos either. Unless the writer plans on whoring Thanos out to make Drax look cooker, I honestly don't think Drax has a prayer if they ever do fight. Drax should stick with beating up bugs.

But we're probably getting off topic here, so I'll shut up about Drax. I don't mean to diss the guy... I just have mixed feelings about his handling. He's one of several characters in Annihilation that seems to have been tweaked without a lot of explanation (Annihilus being another, and Gamora to an extend as well). Which isn't to say I'm not enjoying the book... but similiar to Civil War there are instances where the character doesn't quite sinc into my previous view of them.

[K Von Doom]

In terms of power, Drax isn't even a ghostly pale shade of what he once was.

[40yearoldnovafan]

I haven't read Drax's limited series but I do have a question. Is it possible that Drax is more powerful than we think? I know he is much smaller and we have not seen him use energy powers. But is it possible he's still tremendously strong and can project some kind of energy blasts.

[scottv]

I am not into the cosmic stuff as much but since everybody has been raving about this... I am going to pick it up when it comes out in trades!

[Jeff-E]

I haven't read Drax's limited series but I do have a question. Is it possible that Drax is more powerful than we think? I know he is much smaller and we have not seen him use energy powers. But is it possible he's still tremendously strong and can project some kind of energy blasts.

This is my thinking... Drax when he went from his mentally challenged state to the current incarnation of the character appears to have become one hell of a stratagist. In his state the way we've seen him he just doesn't have the strength to really hurt Thanos, but since he has become a master "Destroyer" I think he's going to break out some massive storage of cosmic energy as a surprise tactic. It's a basic strat., never show your full hand.

[cyclops2500]

Allow me to join the love fest. Annihilation was more than a pleasant suprise, it is by far better than CW. There's more emotion, drama, and scale than CW has been able to muster. Better quality all around.

[firestarfan]

Annihilation is absolutely, without question, undoubtedly, the best Marvel event since the Infinity Gauntlet.

Get it, you will love it.

[gorthon616]

This is my thinking... Drax when he went from his mentally challenged state to the current incarnation of the character appears to have become one hell of a stratagist. In his state the way we've seen him he just doesn't have the strength to really hurt Thanos, but since he has become a master "Destroyer" I think he's going to break out some massive storage of cosmic energy as a surprise tactic. It's a basic strat., never show your full hand.

I don't think he's going to reveal any "secret" power. It just wouldn't make sense seeing as how he has been in dire situations and has never used them before. I think his strength level is "strong as it needs to be to make him competitive, but no stronger." Kinda like Gamora. She doesn't have "super strength/speed/etc" but apparently she is good enough to fight people like Terrax. And as far as cunningness goes, I don't think it'll be any sort of elaborate scheme. But more a brutal kind of cunning. Like when he basically got Nova to create the portal (or whatever it was) in the Nova mini, well you're going to do it, or we're all going to die. It was a cunning way to force Nova's hand, a sort of brutal simplistic sort of cunning.

XPac: What characters do you feel are out of character? Gamora I can see, Nova has changed alot, but the prologue and the mini-set up that change, Thanos is still shady as ever, Drax is consistent with what came out of the mini he had awhile back, and Annihilus I'm not familiar enough with to know.

[XPac]

XPac: What characters do you feel are out of character? Gamora I can see, Nova has changed alot, but the prologue and the mini-set up that change, Thanos is still shady as ever, Drax is consistent with what came out of the mini he had awhile back, and Annihilus I'm not familiar enough with to know.

In Gamora's case it's an issue of personality (though I suppse if they bothered giving us the actual story of what happened, it might work).

Annihilus is more an issue of power level. Someone said that Andy wrote he could beat Thanos in a fair one on one fight. When the hell did he get that powerful? They just wrote him out of the blue to be this uber villian with no explanation at all. To me, making a villian uber powerful without explanation just to they can seem like a threat is kind of weak writing.

They DID need to upgrade him, because he is a B list villian that cosmic level characters really had no right fearing in the past. But the writers seemingly just have him pop out of thin air with power levels beyond Thanos. Again, to me that's kinda weak.

[gorthon616]

In Gamora's case it's an issue of personality (though I suppse if they bothered giving us the actual story of what happened, it might work).

Annihilus is more an issue of power level. Someone said that Andy wrote he could beat Thanos in a fair one on one fight. When the hell did he get that powerful? They just wrote him out of the blue to be this uber villian with no explanation at all. To me, making a villian uber powerful without explanation just to they can seem like a threat is kind of weak writing.

They DID need to upgrade him, because he is a B list villian that cosmic level characters really had no right fearing in the past. But the writers seemingly just have him pop out of thin air with power levels beyond Thanos. Again, to me that's kinda weak.

Yeah, I'm the same opinion with Gamora. I'm just assuming in the popular assumptiong that she and Adam had some sort of lover's tiff and that's why she was all going aggro-feminist-warrior in the Ronan mini.

So what was Annihilius capable of beforehand? It seems like you're seeming to say that he was like Super-Skrull level in power before.

[DABegley]

Annihilus has been portrayed as having widely varied power levels. He is strong (50 ton level) and almost impervious to damage but most of his power rests in his cosmic control rod which can absorb and manipulate cosmic energy. The sources of said "cosmic energy" have never been clear. He has fought the FF and the Avengers to a standstill and defeated Thor but lost to Odin. In addition to his personal power he has commonly had a large empire providing him with military backup.

This being said unless he has found and absorbed a large source of energy he shouldn't be in Thanos's league. Thanos has fought Tyrant and Odin and not been defeated and has mowed his way through almost every non-cosmic creature in the MU without many problems. Only the supercharged Warlock and the Magus have ever really defeated him.

[gorthon616]

Would his complete vaporization of Quasar be in-line with his old power? I mean, they've shown him only as a Thanos-level threat, not that his actual power is on par with Thanos. Most of the threat has has shown is from his resources/army.

[DABegley]

It's not too far out of whack for him to vaporize Quasar, mostly because of the weapons involved. Annihilus's rod absorbs and controls cosmic energy, Quasar's bands manipulate cosmic energy (at least I think it's cosmic). Any construct Quasar could build or energy blast he could throw would be easily absorbed by the rod, it has never been shown (that I know of) to have an upper absorption/control limit. Annihilus has trouble when the fight gets physical or the energy involved isn't his type (magical as with Odin). There is some discussion on what cosmic energy is controlled though, it originally came from a star-drive and may or may not extend to other energies. Giffen may be aiming at Annihilus having figured out how to encorporate additional types of energy into his rod thus powering him up and explaining how he zapped Quasar. It would also explain why he is so fixated on the Heralds and Galactus, if he can figure out how to absorb their energy he would be at cosmic level power. Of course Thanos isn't going to let that happen.

[Loestal]

In Gamora's case it's an issue of personality (though I suppse if they bothered giving us the actual story of what happened, it might work).

Annihilus is more an issue of power level. Someone said that Andy wrote he could beat Thanos in a fair one on one fight. When the hell did he get that powerful? They just wrote him out of the blue to be this uber villian with no explanation at all. To me, making a villian uber powerful without explanation just to they can seem like a threat is kind of weak writing.

They DID need to upgrade him, because he is a B list villian that cosmic level characters really had no right fearing in the past. But the writers seemingly just have him pop out of thin air with power levels beyond Thanos. Again, to me that's kinda weak.


I'm pretty sure Annihilus was always very powerful. But I remember reading somewhere, that Annihilus found the equivilant to Cosmic energy in the N-zone. That's what Ravenous is, basically a "inverted" cosmic character, same with Annihilus. Power Cosmic doesn't exist in the N-zone, but another type of energy does which is what his rod did, which ironiclly is called the cosmic control rod.

Anyways, it's a good series...it's nice to get a change from the normal Marvel stuff.

[XPac]

I'm pretty sure Annihilus was always very powerful. But I remember reading somewhere, that Annihilus found the equivilant to Cosmic energy in the N-zone. That's what Ravenous is, basically a "inverted" cosmic character, same with Annihilus. Power Cosmic doesn't exist in the N-zone, but another type of energy does which is what his rod did, which ironiclly is called the cosmic control rod.

Anyways, it's a good series...it's nice to get a change from the normal Marvel stuff.

He was powerful... he just wasn't more powerful than Thanos (or at least in my opinin). EVER. He was never powerful in my opinion to kill Quasar in like a second.

[Jeff-E]

Remember we all think Doom's a bad@$$ and he only has his own country, Anni has his own universe. He was always supposed to be a top-tier power he just got downplayed over the years.

[XPac]

Remember we all think Doom's a bad@$$ and he only has his own country, Anni has his own universe. He was always supposed to be a top-tier power he just got downplayed over the years.

Doom wasn't considered a bad @$$ because he had his own country... he was a bad @$$ because he's always potrayed as a bad@$$.

I wouldn't have any problems with Annihulus being more powerful than Thanos if they always showed him that way. But if they never have, then I think it's fair to be a bit skeptical of him suddenly being that way out of the blie.

[Jeff-E]

Its just like Thanos being punked by the Squirel chick, or Kazar, or even Thor on his own, he was always supposed to be more powerful than those characters over the years just various writers down played him... HE HAD A THANOS-COPTER ONCE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD... any way, it's the same for poor Anni, he just got punked out over the years.

[Black Atom]

Annihilus was completely reborn not too long ago, maybe that had something to do with his power upgrade? Plus, he's obviously moved up some since his traditional appearances. Maybe he's usurping/absorbing power from some place.

[XPac]

Its just like Thanos being punked by the Squirel chick, or Kazar, or even Thor on his own, he was always supposed to be more powerful than those characters over the years just various writers down played him... HE HAD A THANOS-COPTER ONCE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD... any way, it's the same for poor Anni, he just got punked out over the years.

It's one thing to have good and bad showing... but the problem with Annihilus is that really he was NEVER potrayed as greater than Thanos (which is saying a lot since Thanos is powerful enough to beat the Beyonder, albeit a weakened one). Or at least I never saw him do anything that would potray him that powerful. It's not that he was punked over the years, it's that he was punked from basically day one.

But again, it's not that he wasn't powerful... it's just that he wasn't THIS powerful.

[XPac]

Annihilus was completely reborn not too long ago, maybe that had something to do with his power upgrade? Plus, he's obviously moved up some since his traditional appearances. Maybe he's usurping/absorbing power from some place.

Well, being rebord does seem to be a common mechanism for changing characters. That's what happened to Drax (though in his case he seemingly got weaker).

He can kill Quasar in like a second, so he's pretty uber now even if he wasn't so pretty recently. It'll be interesting to see if it lasts.

[Baltho08]

This series in INFINITELY better than CW; definitely worth it.
Peace.