Annihilation: Conquest [Archive]

kahunablair

11-07-2007, 08:15 PM

Well I wanted to start a new thread for Annihilation: Conquest that is starting up this week.

http://img33.picoodle.com/img/img33/5/11/7/f_annhim_15975da.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annihilation_Conquest

Is anyone else out there reading this series? Did anyone read the original Annihilation series?

To sum up everything to this point, the original Annihilation storyline was the story of how Annihilus of the Fantastic Four rouge gallery, formed a massive army to destroy everything in the universe. This in turn would allow the Negative Zone to grow and in turn give Annihilus a greater kingdom to rule.

Well to make it short and sweet, the heroes won, Annihilus lost.
The current storyline takes place in the aftermath of that war. The Kree have started to rebuild. Everything seems to be at peace.

Then the Phalanx attack. They pose as a group of Space Knights that are helping to fix the computer network that connects all of Kree space. When they are given access, they instead infect every computer with the Phalanx virus.
They have won. Pretty much every single Kree world has been taken over, and the Heroes of the story are just trying to survive and find a way to take back what they've lost.

kahunablair

11-07-2007, 08:18 PM

The original series seemed like a seperate entity from the normal Marvel universe when it originally happened. So I'm not suprised people haven't given it much of a look, but I think everyone is missing some major Marvel moments.
One of the major moments of the original Annihilation line had the Skrull homeworld destroyed. This in turn has been a big point to the current Secret Invasion.

Well it appears this new Conquest storyline is going to have some even more major impact on the "regular" Marvel U. The revelation in the first issue of the series, about who is behind the recent Phalanx invasion, is going to lead to some major crap going down for the Avengers sooner or later.

conorkilpatrick

11-07-2007, 08:21 PM

I reluctantly answered "no" because my not reading it has nothing to do with it being in space.

valoharth

11-07-2007, 08:22 PM

I was about to ask if the first TPB of Annihilation was worth picking up or not. I thumbed through it last week and decided to go with a Hitman Trade instead.

kahunablair

11-07-2007, 08:23 PM

I reluctantly answered "no" because my not reading it has nothing to do with it being in space.

I really put that, because that seems to be the main sticking point for people. They aren't fans of "Cosmic" storylines.

What is your reason then, my good man? Lack of interest?

kahunablair

11-07-2007, 08:25 PM

I was about to ask if the first TPB of Annihilation was worth picking up or not. I thumbed through it last week and decided to go with a Hitman Trade instead.

Obviously since I started this thread, I'm going to tell you it is.

To be totally honest, I hated the space aspect of Marvel before I read Annihilation. For some strange reason I picked up the original series and fell in love.

conorkilpatrick

11-07-2007, 08:25 PM

What is your reason then, my good man? Lack of interest?

Lack of interest in the characters and/or creative teams.

valoharth

11-07-2007, 08:32 PM

To be totally honest, I hated the space aspect of Marvel before I read Annihilation. For some strange reason I picked up the original series and fell in love.

Yea, I've always been curious about the space aspect of the 616 after reading Ultimate Fantastic Four and the huge story arc that got done with about the Ultimate space aspect.

cam-

11-07-2007, 09:50 PM

I voted "wait for trades" but that's dependant on me getting the first series trades cause that's how I roll.

Is the whole epic collected yet? I know two trades have been released.

kahunablair

11-07-2007, 10:05 PM

I voted "wait for trades" but that's dependant on me getting the first series trades cause that's how I roll.

Is the whole epic collected yet? I know two trades have been released.

It's not collected into one whole book yet, just three separate trades.

The Annihilation crossover is collected as a set of three hardcovers:

Annihilation Book One:ISBN 0-7851-2511-6: Reprints Drax the Destroyer #1-4; Annihilation: Prologue; and Annihilation: Nova #1-4.
Annihilation Book Two:ISBN 0-7851-2512-4: Reprints Annihilation: Silver Surfer #1-4; Annihilation: Super Skrull #1-4; and Annihilation: Ronan #1-4.
Annihilation Book Three:ISBN 0-7851-2513-2: Reprints Annihilation #1-6; Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus #1-2; and Annihilation: The Nova Corps handbook.

esophagus

11-07-2007, 10:17 PM

I might pick it up in trades, but I'll probably scan through it first. If it's too science-fictiony, even for a comic book, I won't bother.

kahunablair

11-08-2007, 03:09 AM

Well hot darn!
Just finished the First issue, and I this really is being set up to be a doozy. Remember the scene in Sinestro Corps when the Anti-Monitor, Superboy Prime, and Cyborg Superman were all revealed?
This issue had two of those type moments.

Spoilery....

Adam Warlock is back and he's working with the High Evolutionary.

The Phalanx are being controlled by Ultron. That's right, that Ultron.

kwok_talk

11-08-2007, 03:10 AM

kahunablair

11-08-2007, 03:16 AM

Wow that is pretty big.

Cho T&A Ultron or regular Ultron?

I'm not really sure of the difference. I'm not really a big Avenger guy.. Here's a picture of the reveal though.
http://img40.picoodle.com/img/img40/5/11/7/f_untitledm_3e0a4ee.png

esophagus

11-08-2007, 05:44 AM

That art is snazzy. Like everyone else, though, I'm going to seek out the original first.

mastap

11-08-2007, 06:56 AM

God yes, I'm following this. Only picked up the Star Lord prelude (Rocket Racoon yo) so the Adam Worlock bit was confusing. But I'm loving this.

labor_days

11-08-2007, 07:36 AM

I enjoyed Star Lord but wasn't following any of the other books surrounding Annihilation. It got a bit confusing. I'll read it all in trade.

Wait, if Ultron is in space...how or when did he take over Tony's armor in Mighty Avengers?

kahunablair

11-08-2007, 07:44 AM

Good to know I'm not the only Starlord fan! What did you two think of the entire mini-series now that it's done?

Wait, if Ultron is in space...how or when did he take over Tony's armor in Mighty Avengers?
Well after Kwok asked, I'm guessing there are multiple Ultrons right?
I looked it up, and isn't the one in Mighty a woman/liquid metal type thing? This one is a wee bit different looking.

mastap

11-08-2007, 08:17 AM

Good to know I'm not the only Starlord fan! What did you two think of the entire mini-series now that it's done?

Well after Kwok asked, I'm guessing there are multiple Ultrons right?
I looked it up, and isn't the one in Mighty a woman/liquid metal type thing? This one is a wee bit different looking.

Newsarama interview with the writers about this (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=135562)

NRAMA: And moving on to the final reveal - Ultron, huh? We've also got "Ultron" in Mighty Avengers...so which Ultron is this? Is this Ultron "Prime," that is, the original? A spin-off? What's his relationship with the Phalanx?

DnA: He?s the real deal. We were approved to use Ultron right at the start of the project, knowing that he would appear in Mighty Avengers and then, in ways we shouldn?t yet disclose, be available to us. Unfortunately, the Mighty Avengers has run a little slow, and we?re overlapping. These things happen. Bear in mind that the events of the Mighty Avengers #1 thru #6 happen in a single day. Technically, the events of Conquest take place months after it.

davegraham

11-08-2007, 02:31 PM

At first I was like, "Ultron? What Hell? I thought he was in Mighty?" Then I made a snide remark about Frank Cho and moved on. I wasn't expecting a reveal and I got one that hit me almost as much as the Illuminati one.

Has anyone been reading the mini's? I passed on Quasar and Wraith, but Star Lord was very good. I say that without ever even hearing about the character before the first Annihilation series. I very much enjoy the Dirty Dozen schtick. And one of the characters is a talking raccoon. How can anyone hear that and pass on the concept?

kahunablair

11-08-2007, 03:27 PM

I read all the minis building up to the series except the Wraith one. I bought only 2 issues and I hated it.

Starlord is probably one of my favorite series from this past year. I remember when the first issue came out and I had an almost orgasmic reaction to it here on the boards.

davegraham

11-08-2007, 03:49 PM

Starlord is probably one of my favorite series from this past year. I remember when the first issue came out and I had an almost orgasmic reaction to it here on the boards.

It was very good, wasn't it? I only knew of Starlord from the previous series. I knew Bug from an appearance in the Peter David Captain Marvel series. The rest of the characters I knew of, but knew no details about the stories they were in. However I am completely psyched about all of them. I will, at the very least, sample any issue where they appear. And if Marvel wanted to make Starlord an ongoing, I'd add it to my pull list in a heartbeat.

labor_days

11-08-2007, 04:23 PM

Starlord was fun sci-fi. I liked the approach and challenges Quill (hope that's right) and crew had to take on given the nature of the Phalanx.

It was fun watching them run around but I had no idea why/who/what the consequences were. Kept wishing I had been introduced to the character(s) outside of the mini.

davegraham

11-08-2007, 05:25 PM

It was fun watching them run around but I had no idea why/who/what the consequences were. Kept wishing I had been introduced to the character(s) outside of the mini.

See, I had more fun going, "Is that guy a tree? That's weird. He is a pompous ass. Hey, he is sacrificing himself doe the team. He wasn't a jerk. He was cool. Hey, tree guy is back. Tree guy lives!"

It didn't matter who the tree guy was before the series began. All that mattered was that at the beginning he was dysfunctional (per the norm of the Marvel universe) and he redeemed himself in some way by the end. All of the characters did. Great series.

labor_days

11-08-2007, 06:57 PM

esophagus

11-08-2007, 07:19 PM

Are any of these minis (especially Starlord, from the sounds of it) out in trade yet?

davegraham

11-08-2007, 07:38 PM

Are any of these minis (especially Starlord, from the sounds of it) out in trade yet?

No, the Starlord series just wrapped up this week. I don't know if any of the previous mini's were traded or if they appeared in the Annihialtion hardcover.

kahunablair

11-08-2007, 07:55 PM

No, I mean I wanted to get to know these characters outside of the current event. I enjoyed them that much and wanted to delve deeper into their world. But with the same sensibilities they had in the mini.
I am aware of Rocket Raccoon in the larger sense. But I want to read this Rocket Raccoon more.
I was actually shocked to see that every single one of the characters actually were around before this series. The fact that it literally is a Dirty Dozen of the Marvel U, made me love it even more.
Plus the art was fantastic!

Are any of these minis (especially Starlord, from the sounds of it) out in trade yet?
I'm sure they'll be included in the Hardcovers for Conquest, but as of this moment they aren't collected.

nicknack18

11-09-2007, 09:35 AM

And one of the characters is a talking raccoon. How can anyone hear that and pass on the concept?

Rocket Raccoon has been around for a while i don't know his first App. but i have some Sensational She-Hulk issues that he shows up in.

The thing i love about Annihilation is that first its a space WAR, and second that they are taking characters that have been forgotten and bringing them back re-vamping them and making them cool again. exp. most of the chars in the star lord mini.

davegraham

11-09-2007, 06:15 PM

...The thing i love about Annihilation is that first its a space WAR, and second that they are taking characters that have been forgotten and bringing them back re-vamping them and making them cool again...

You said it all right there. I am disappointed they haven't found a way to spin Darkhawk into it. The guy needs to be apart of something more than that whiney, west coast, Runaways-wannabes, self-help group.

hbd

11-09-2007, 11:23 PM

Summaries of the minis (contains spoilers):

Quasar: Quasar's bands are running out of energy because of being cut off from the "source". Moondragon becomes an actual dragon. They find Adam Warlock who can't remember a thing, looks a lot younger, and is now apparently a part of the Black Adam Family (his outfit).

Star Lord: Star Lord and his ragtag bunch of ex-cons try to make a low-tech invasion into Phalanx/Kree territory to find out how to counteract the Phalanx's technorganic virus. Ex-Avenger Shi'ar Deathcry dies, and Captain Universe loses the Uni-Force, but they get the cure.

Wraith: Nameless Shi'ar gets infected with soul-eating aliens, but beaks free and, under the orders from the Supreme Intelligence, uses his new-found powers to release Ronan from the Phalanx. Also, he allows the Supreme Intelligence to be killed, but absorbed it into himself thanks to the soul-eating aliens in him, but no one else knows this and thinks Supremor is dead.

kahunablair

11-09-2007, 11:38 PM

Summaries of the minis (contains spoilers):...

Nice write up, hbd! Very succinct.

mister-s

11-10-2007, 03:19 AM

Magus, not Black Adam! lol

kahunablair

11-10-2007, 03:40 AM

Magus, not Black Adam! lol

I know that's what they're saying but does this...
http://img33.picoodle.com/img/img33/5/11/9/f_untitledm_68ad709.png

Look like this..
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c6/Themagusoriginal.png
OR
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/Blackadam52.PNG

esophagus

11-10-2007, 05:37 AM

The answer to that is obvious. He dreamt of playing professional baseball, so he knew he'd have to cut out the steroids. Also, that overly large helmet eventually flattened his hair.

six-gun

11-10-2007, 05:48 AM

I'm not really a Marvel space guy either

mastap

11-10-2007, 06:58 AM

davegraham

11-10-2007, 03:59 PM

I'm not really a Marvel space guy either

Could you detail exactly that that means? Are you normally into sci-fi, but the way Marvel does it turns you off? If so what does Marvel do that isn't appealing to you?

I get not being interested in any of the characters. At best these are b-level characters. But to say you're not a "space guy" confuses me, because I dont see how setting a story against a cosmic background changes any of the hero themes or character archetypes.

I don't mean to single you out. It is just something I keep hearing in regards to this story and I honestly don't get what people mean when they say it. The first story was great and this looks like it is going to be a decent enough sequel.

kahunablair

11-10-2007, 04:07 PM

I loved the first one ever since I became an unwitting participant to it by buying the Drax mini (which ended on a cliffhanger the day they announced the first Annihilation). But originally I wasn't going to buy Conquest. Untill I saw Rocket Racoon.

Wow, Apparently that Drax book was the gateway drug, huh?
I picked it up as well, the art was pretty good, and it was a light week. Next thing you know I'm hooked in the original Annihilation.

kahunablair

11-10-2007, 04:08 PM

Could you detail exactly that that means? Are you normally into sci-fi, but the way Marvel does it turns you off? If so what does Marvel do that isn't appealing to you?
...

I'm the same as Six on this one, so I figure I can help my brother out here.

Space books normally take themselves too seriously. Hardcore Sci-Fi isn't for everyone. It seems like they are normally more about the COSMIC aspects, and less on the character aspect.
"Oh look.. we have space lasers and we're fighting aliens. Who cares if we are all cookie cutter characterizations?"

Annihilation was much more of a War book, then it was a cosmic book though. I think it got grouped into that above group for most people that didn’t pick it up.

davegraham

11-10-2007, 04:36 PM

I'm the same as Six on this one, so I figure I can help my brother out here.

Space books normally take themselves too seriously. Hardcore Sci-Fi isn't for everyone. It seems like they are normally more about the COSMIC aspects, and less on the character aspect.
"Oh look.. we have space lasers and we're fighting aliens. Who cares if we are all cookie cutter characterizations?"

Annihilation was much more of a War book, then it was a cosmic book though. I think it got grouped into that above group for most people that didn’t pick it up.

I don't agree with everything you write there, but I will get in line with Annihilation being more a war book than 2001-like or Twilight Zone-like sci-fi. These series are certainly not like the sci-fi that is in that novel/movie or that television show. It is very similar to the war stuff that went on in Star Trek Deep Space Nine. However I think you guys are just talking about bad storytelling and I would say that the same happens all the time with street level superheroes, team superheroes, westerns, and crime.

Is something like Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Farscape, Battlestar Galactica "hardcore" sci-fi to you, because to me those are very softcore? And Annihilation has been similar to those.

Check out Peter David's Captain Marvel series from a couple of years ago. He had quantum bands that shot lasers, he fought aliens, he was in cosmic Marvel, but you tell me if Genis-vel and Rick Jones are cookie-cutter characters.

kahunablair

11-10-2007, 04:53 PM

However I think you guys are just talking about bad storytelling and I would say that the same happens all the time with street level superheroes, team superheroes, westerns, and crime.

I know I was talking about bad storytelling. That's why I emphasized the "Shiny gadgets over character" aspect in my post.
Bad writing happens all the time, I just feel that the space books I've picked up pre-Annihilation pretty much were all badly written.
Now that was a generalization, and I know if I thought long and hard about it, I could come up with well written examples, but we're talking about pre-concieved notions here.

Is something like Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Farscape, Battlestar Galactica "hardcore" sci-fi to you, because to me those are very softcore? And Annihilation has been similar to those.

To be honest with you? Yeah I do think of most of those as being a little more then softcore Sci-Fi's.
(Star Wars for some reason, not so much.)

cam-

11-10-2007, 04:59 PM

You want some crappy cosmic Marvel? Check out that new Surfer mini. (it stinks).

"Yes Mr Sherman everything stinks"

kahunablair

11-10-2007, 05:01 PM

You want some crappy cosmic Marvel? Check out that new Surfer mini. (it stinks).

"Yes Mr Sherman everything stinks"

It was HORRIBLE. I didn't even finish it.

I had my hopes up after reading both the Requiem series (fantastic) and the Annihilation series.
Is he not back to being Galactus' guy anymore? Where did I miss that?