Gerry Duggan has been setting the cosmic stage for something big the last half of a year. His Guardians Of The Galaxy series has been instrumental in making the cosmic side of Marvel matter again. After some major teases and reveals in Marvel Legacy #1, Infinity Countdown has now begun.
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
We already knew the Infinity Stones would be at the heart of this story. Infinity Countdown Prime #1 does a swell job of reintroducing readers to the different stones and their capabilities. What we didn’t know was that one of the major players, and stone possessors, at the heart of this story was going to be the Ultron/Hank Pym hybrid.
In this issue, we spend a little time with each of the different carriers of the stone, and they’re all intriguing in their own way. Logan, Super Skrull, Ultron/Pym, Turk Barrett, Captain Marvel, and the GOTG are our current carriers. There are also plenty of interested outside parties, including the likes of Thanos and Adam Warlock. Needless to say, the stage is set for a star-studded epic.
Ultron/Pym kills Magus to acquire the Soul Stone and officially enter the game. When he does, Hank Pym’s soul enters the Soul World that Duggan has been playing with in GOTG. This is where an old lady Gamora’s soul is trapped as well. Could this be the first seed planting in a possible resurrection of Hank Pym?
This would be huge, and totally unexpected. We haven’t seen Hank Pym as a singular entity since Jonathan Hickman’s “Time Runs Out” back in 2015. If Marvel’s “Fresh Start” plans are about resetting some of the pillars of the 616 Universe, Pym would definitely be a big addition.
As one of the top minds in the universe, a resurrected Hank could potentially play a big role in finding the Richards family and rightfully returning the Fantastic Four to the heart of Marvel Comics where they belong.
Infinity Countdown was already shaping up to be one of the biggest comic book stories of the near future, implications like this make it even bigger. Gerry Duggan has done phenomenal work in a short amount of time with Marvel cosmic. We’re in more than capable hands.
Infinity Countdown Prime #1 is a fantastic second chapter, building major hype before things really get underway next month. It even comes with a historical rundown of the Infinity Stones throughout Marvel history in the back of the issue. It’s money well spent on a story that’s likely to be monumentally important for the 616 Universe.
