#infinity 2013

In Marvel Universe, the Infinity saga is the quintessential Space Opera from the 90s. Written by Jim Starlin (creator or co-creator of Thanos, Drax, Gamora and Shang-Chi) and drawn by Ron Lim

Starlin is recognized for revamping Marvel’s space characters namely Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) and Adam Warlock. He is part of the Marvel’s writers’ club from the 70s who came up with characters that defied the norms established in the Golden Age of comics, yet his most notable achievement happens to be the Infinity Saga miniseries from the 90s. Amassing a bigger line-up of heroes than Secret Wars, the Infinity saga takes a lot of inferences from philosophical, historical, metaphysical and theological aspects such as Alpharabius/Al Farabi’s philosopher king (when Adam Warlock releases Good and Evil from his soul in order to rule with Infinity Gauntlet through rationalism), Jesus Christ and his challenge to the temple establishment (positioned as a messianic figure of Marvel’s cosmos & mostly in dispute with the Church of Truth), the philosophy of moral dualism (Goddess and Magus) and Thanos’ fascination with nihilism and death 

The saga is quite deep and might not be appreciated by those who find such concepts difficult to comprehend. Nevertheless, to the credit of Jim Starlin, his take on Marvel’s cosmos is one of the main reasons why it enjoys a cult following and it is one of his mini-series which is known as Infinity War with Adam Warlock as its central character 

MCU’s Infinity War

However, D23 Expo (2017) has revealed that Thanos & his Black Order/Cull Obsidian will be the main antagonists of the movie which makes it certain that the movie Infinity War will be loosely based on Jonathan Hickman, Jim Cheung, Jerome Opeña, and Dustin Weaver’s Infinity (2013) cross-over

Thankfully, the cast of characters is nearly the same (if only Inhumans are part of this movie) as the comic book story line involves Avengers, Inhumans, Illuminati (whose 3 members Iron Man, Dr. Strange and Black Panther are part of MCU) and Guardians of the Galaxy.  Making a movie with such a huge cast of characters is a huge challenge in itself and the way comic book readers have been disappointed by adaptations of successful story lines such as Civil War (Captain America), Age of Ultron (Avengers), Extremis (Iron Man 3) etc., it has only alienated die-hard fans of Marvel comics who appreciate a real mature, relatable portrayal of their favorite super-heroes and villains, too. For example, FOX’s blunder with Apocalypse remains a painful memory

Because a movie is only as good as its' 'villains', it remains to be seen if Thanos & his Black Order will establish themselves much like Darth Vader & his Grand Army of the Republic. Quite a high level of expectation but nevertheless, the opportunity is there for MCU to capitalize 

Reading Advice

Infinity (2013) is not as landmark of an even as Jim Starlin’s Infinity Saga from the early 90s. The story quality is incomparable between the two cross-overs and ever since Axel Alonso has been at the helm, there is a repetition strategy being employed i.e. Secret Wars (1984) and then there’s Secret Wars (2015), Civil War and now we have Civil War II. Similar to these two examples, Infinity (2013) was also a repetition of sorts of Starlin’s Infinity saga. The stories differ in terms of characters involved and their costumes and the art work but the fundamental premise of a successful story is used in a gimmicky fashion for the sake of short-term sales 

Read Infinity (2013) for the sake of the movie BUT for your reading pleasure, you’re better off with Starlin & Lim’s Infinity Trilogy, namely Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity War and Infinity Crusade 

Buy Infinity Saga from here:

Rebirth of Thanos

Infinity Gauntlet

Infinity War

Infinity Crusade

Infinity War: The Aftermath  

Kitra Cahana is a documentary and fine art photographer whose work explores important social, anthropological, and spiritual themes. Born in Miami, but raised in Canada and Sweden, Kitra earned her BA in Philosophy from McGill University and her MA in Visual and Media Anthropology from the Freie Universitat in Berlin.

As a documentary photographer, Kitra embeds herself in communities around the globe, often for years at a time, in order to learn the language of her subjects. She has chronicled the daily lives of teens at a Texas high school, told the story of a Venezuelan cult, followed a group of nomadic youth across the United States, bringing images to the covers of National Geographic and the New York Times.

As a fine art photographer, Kitra focuses on the less explicable, often pushing the possibilities of the photographic medium. Her work in this genre deals with themes of the body and spirituality, a topic she took on following her father’s stroke, which led him to become a quadriplegic.