Reviews

The Infinity Gauntlet Trade Paperback

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have long been waiting to for the appearance of Thanos in the movies. The Mad Titan, as he is called has made cameo appearances in the end credits of the first Avengers movie and Avengers: Age of Ultron. He also played a part in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Readers of the comic books are of course salivating for the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War movie, which is obviously a cinematic retelling of the classic 1991 Mini-series The Infinity Gauntlet, written by Jim Starlin and drawn by the incredible George Perez and Ron Lim. For folks that enjoy the movies but have never seen or heard of the mini-series though, it can be a little confusing. There is a lot of history in the Marvel Universe, especially when you go back to 1991 before any major reboots and retcons were made. Even watching the movies with my wife I had to constantly explain who was who and how their appearance was different from what was in the comic books. Don't worry! I'm going to try to put it in a nutshell as best I can!

The Infinity Gauntlet saga actually began before the mini-series. In Silver Surfer #34 Vol. 3, the Surfer discovers a plot by Thanos to acquire the Infinity Gems, which will give the villain ultimate power. Yes, I mean the same Silver Surfer you may have seen in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. In comic book lore, the Surfer is a good guy, free from working for the world destroying Galactus and an ally of the Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange and many of Earth's heroes. The Surfer himself is a powerful being, but not strong enough to defeat Thanos (even without the Gauntlet) on his own. So he seeks help from Earth's heroes; and I don't mean the Avengers, though they become involved. He at first seeks out Doctor Strange, the world's most powerful magician and obstensibly the leader of the super-team, The Defenders. (see, I told you this would be complicated if you're not a comics fan) Of course others become aware or alerted to Thanos' machinations (especially when he begins his master plan, which is to kill pretty much all life in the Universe) and another Major Player…,Adam Warlock….shows up to stop him. You most likely won't see Warlock in the movies; his own story is long and, really strangeand complicated. I'll do my best to explain some of these characters for you.

THANOS: Thanos is a long standing villain from Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Starlin (who also created Adam Warlock) he debuted in Iron Man #55 (1973) and went on from there to fight practically everyone in the Marvel Universe at one time or another. He's a god-like being from Titan that is obsessed with pleasing his mistress, Death. (In the MU Death is a female physical being) Thanos harbors unrequited love for Death and has tried before to kill all life to please her. (At one point he tried to tried to destroy every star in the cosmos.)
THE INFINITY GEMS/GAUNTLET: The Infinity Gems are small jewels that represent the powers of Time/Space/Soul/Mind/Power/Reality/. Possessing all the gems (gathered on the gauntlet) gives the owner Ultimate Power over EVERYTHING. Thanos manages to wield the gauntlet in the miniseries.
ADAM WARLOCK: In the 1970's Starlin's Warlock series featured Thanos as a "friendly enemy" of the hero. Warlock's own backstory is very long and complicated, so I'd suggest reading this trade paperback to get all of it. Its way too long and strange (but a good read) to explain here. Warlock has always been the one hero that can consistently outwit and beat Thanos. You probably won't see him in the movie. The way it was set up in Avengers: Age of Ultron, it looks like The Vision is going to take his role in the Infinity War. (Note: Warlock is an artificial being, somewhat like the Vision in the comics…sort of…toldja it was complicated.)
DOCTOR DOOM: Look, if you're a comic book fan, you know who Doom is. He's pretty much the ultimate villain in the Marvel Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Fantastic Four # 5 (1962) Victor Von Doom has appeared in movies….the Fantastic Four Movies. Which means you won't see him in the Avengers Movies, because Sony has the rights to the FF. For that matter you probably won't see the Fantastic Four for that reason. Also, well, those movies didn't do well, and Marvel has discontinued the Fantastic Four books. (They want the rights back so they won't promote Sony's take on the characters buy publishing the books) It's a shame too. Believe it or not, the Fantastic Four was at a time the flagship book for Marvel Comics. Doctor Doom almost always is involved in any series spanning miniseries Marvel puts out.
THE X-MEN: You won't see them in the movie either, for the same reason as the Fantastic Four. Sony has the rights to them. The X-Men have been a very popular franchise for Marvel and Sony's movies weren't all that bad…. (Ok, the 3rd one, X-Men: The last stand was pretty bad).

Honestly, in the mini-series there are too many characters with too many backstories to involve in the movies. I'm sure they'll hint at them for the fans, but for non-fans, they'll probably be lost. I'd recommend reading the mini-series to them. It's well drawn and well written, and you get a chance to see many of Marvel's major characters duke it out. Here are some handy-dandy links to places where you can order the trade paperback of the comics and a bit of backstory on the characters.

All images used are properties and trademarks of Marvel Comics™

The Dark Knight Returns Trade Paperback

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that most living, breathing people on the planet know who Superman is and who Batman is, even if you're not a comic book reader or fan of those characters. If you are a fan you're probably looking forward to seeing the upcoming movie Batman VS Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Opinions vary between fans whether the movie is going to be good or not, but personally I have high hopes for it. It's the DC Cinematic Universe equivalent to the Avengers franchise and the introduction for Wonder Woman and Aquaman into the movie franchise. Of course the big draw is to see Superman and Batman fight each other.

Non-fans, however may not realize that this is not the first time the Dark knight and the Man of Steel have gone one on one with each other. The epic fight I'm talking about took place in 1986 with the 6 issue mini-series The Dark Knight Returns, written by Frank Miller and illustrated by Miller and Klaus Janson….and yes, it is a classic.

Miller had already set the standard for dark, gritty, troubled heroes when he revamped Marvel's Daredevil in the early eighties. His take on Batman in this mini-series became the new standard for Batman and it did not disappoint. This isn't the chummy, happy Batman kids were used to from watching the old Adam West show or Super Friends cartoons.

The story is an alternative future but set somewhat in the 1980s. You can tell that because though they don't mention his name, Ronald Reagan is the president. A 55 year-old Bruce Wayne (Batman's millionaire alter-ego) has retired from crime fighting. Heck, Batman's friend, Police Commissioner Gordon, is about to retire himself. Gotham City is still full of crime, and a dangerous gang called the Mutants runs rampant. The police seem unable to really stop them, and Batman hasn't been seen in years.

But when Batman's old enemy Two-Face is supposedly cured of his insanity and released from Arkham Asylum Wayne once again takes up the mantle of Batman because Two-Face quickly returns to a life of crime. The return of Batman on the streets of Gotham City sets off a series of events involving the Joker (also supposedly cured and released from the Asylum) and brings Batman into a confrontation with Superman. In this alternative future the heroes have been forced into retirement by the government, but Superman secretly works for the president covertly.

Batman's re-emergence also inspires a teenaged girl to become the new Robin. I will admit, that personally Robin was never one of my favorite characters, but Miller pulled it off well in this series. I think it was the costume. The little pixie shorts always looked ridiculous to me on a guy. But on a young woman? Well, not to sound sexist, they fit better. (though I'd suggest pants or leggings for any gender if you plan to go around leaping from rooftops and fighting crime.)

I won't give up any details on how it all unfolds because Batman fans have most likely read it and I don't want to spoil it for those that have not. It's a very good read and you won't be bored at all…the story is solid, the artwork is excellent and Batman's motivations and attitudes are portrayed in a compelling and clarifying way.

While this story is not the scenario you can expect to see in the movie, the confrontation between Superman and Batman is clearly inspired by it. For those that don't want to buy or read the trade paperback of the miniseries there is an animated movie version that practically identical to the comics. It's available on DVD and Blu-Ray and you can order it here. If you're a fan of superheroes, comics or Batman in general, you won't be disappointed.

You can read about the character bios and order the trade paperback from the links below!

All images used are properties and trademarks of DC Comics™