Annihilation: Conquest Omnibus

Annihilation: Conquest #1-2

by Dan Abnett (Writer), Andy Lanning, Keith Giffen

In the aftermath of the Annihilation War, a devastated galaxy struggles to rebuild. The Nova Corps are destroyed, leaving only Richard Rider. Who will rise to guard the galaxy from the threat of Ultron? When the Kree homeworld is invaded by the techno-organic Phalanx, Star-Lord must lead a ragtag team into battle behind enemy lines with a lineup that includes Mantis, Bug, Groot and Rocket Raccoon! Meanwhile, the new Quasar seeks a mysterious savior - and Nova and Gamora are taken over by the Phalanx! Who is the haunted loner called Wraith? Can the New Mutants' Warlock free Nova? And what are Ultron and the Phalanx really after?

Collecting: Nova 1-12, Annual; Annihilation: Conquest Prologue, 1-6; Annihilation: Conquest: Star-Lord 1-4; Annihilation: Conquest: Quasar 1-4; Annihilation: Conquest: Wraith 1-4; Annihilation Saga

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

872 pages, Hardcover

First published April 16, 2008

Reviews

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, a confession. Despite being a long-time Marvel fan, I never cared for the cosmic stuff. The Earth-bound heroes always had "feet of clay" making them relatable with powers that were measurable and understandable. Cosmic characters were mostly the opposite, especially the measurable powers so it was hard for me to relate, although I do like science-fiction so I get the draw.

Second, I didn't read Annihilation Omnibus. Conquest does fill you in on those events throughout, but note that it definitely spoils some of the finer points of the previous story. There's also a long summary in the back of this volume in case you want to know what happens.

Overall, I enjoyed it, especially the Nova parts, having never read any Richard Rider stories. The story is slightly formulaic, making for unlikely allies. I also think it would have been better to try and keep the big bad guy's identity secret instead of revealing it up front. Seeing the origins of the Guardians of the Galaxy was fun as well.

[Cameron H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attention, it is critical that you pay attention at this time! DnA’s cosmic comics are the best comics.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nova: Dark Reign (Nova #1-3). The first issue of the Nova appropriately shows the aftermath of Annihilation Omnibus, but then the story takes a rather surprising detour to Earth in the middle of Norman Osbourne's Dark Reign. It's a rarity, seeing this iteration of the Nova comic interacting with Earth, and it's interesting seeing how far Richard has moved beyond these Earthly concerns [7/10].

Conquest: Prologue. DnA do a great job of giving the newest threat to the galaxy an epic feel, while steel keeping the story very human. An enthralling start! [8/10].

Nova: The Early Conquest (Nova #4-7). These early issues of Nova do a good job of continuing the epic scope of the Conquest while also giving us the personal stories of both Richard and the new Nova, Ko-rel (who is great!). It's a wonderful balance and one that has very nice closure with the last issue, as Nova's Conquest story enters a new stage ... and we branch out to the stories of others ... [7+/10].

Star-Lord. The Star-Lord miniseries nicely bridges Star-Lord's past through Annihilation and sets up the Star-Lord who'll become famous on the big screen. More notably, it gathers together a pretty cool group of space heroes ... who turn out to be the Guardians of the Galaxy! Woot! Yeah, there's a plot here about Phalanx viruses, but it's all these characters who make the story [7/10].

Quasar. Phyla is a great character because she embodies the legacy of both Captain Marvel and Quasar, and this mini-series takes advantage of all of that, with a well-defined Moondragon only adding to the fun. On the downside, the whole story is a long macguffin quest meant to advance Conquest by a single plot point, and it also features endless battles against the Super Adaptoid (literally, one per issue). These unfortunately drag the story [6/10].

Wraith. Who is Wraith? What does he want? This questions keep the first few issues of Wraith going. But once we learn that that answers involve science-fiction gobblidigook and a simple revenge fantasy, the mini-series loses most of its interest. Even when we get attention to Ronin and Super-Skrull, two of the stars from Annihilation, it isn't enough to save this series which is ultimately dull, and the worst of the Annihilation: Conquest sequence. I also don't feel like it's paid off well enough down the line. [5/10].

Knowhere (Nova #8-9). Right in the middle of Conquest and DnA introduces Knowhere. Yowza! The concept of the place is cool and Cosmo is cool, but we don't actually get a sense of the society yet due to the chaos. And the story itself is a fight against an otherwise unknown beasty [6+/10].

Vore (Nova #10). This is a great model for Nova: picaresque stories of dangers across the galaxy. The weird environ makes for a fun story, but it's the personal interactions with Gamora that bring it up to the next level [7/10].

Dreams (Nova Annual #1). This is a rather sneaky piece of writing, mixing a supposed past and future into a compelling and mysterious story. In the end it ends up being totally irrelevant: you could skip from #10 to #11 without missing a beat. But it's too much fun to do that (and nicely revisits Richard's origins as Nova too) [8/10].

Kvch (Nova #11-12). Richard's magical mystery tour concludes with a visit to Kvch, the home of the technarchy. And Warlock! Now I've never understood the relationships between Phalanx and Warlock's people, but it's great to have Warlock in the story, offering the opportunity to better bring these two concepts together. The story of what Warlock's been doing and how it turns out is also quite enjoyable [7+/10].

Annihilation Conquest (AC #1-6). The mini-series that closes things off is a nice epic story. DnA embed it with major plot beats but also do a great job of touching upon old continuity. There's not as much characterization as I'd like here, particularly when compared to the Nova stories, but the primordial Guardians of the Galaxy do get some good attention. Overall, a good finale to this cosmic event [7/10].

Overall, Annihilation Conquest is a rather impressive balancing job of bringing together a whole bunch of miniseries into a coherent whole. Some of those series are eager than DnA's main work ... but so it goes. This is still a fun series that creates a whole galaxy of possibilities.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently read all the Nova issues in this volume. So I skimmed about a third of the material since I read it so recently. The Nova issues were pretty solid especially at the beginning where Rider is dealing with being the only Nova officer left.

There is a prologue issue and three mini series leading into the main event. The Star Lord mini is decent and if you liked Abnett and Lanning's GoTG this is important material to check out. The Wraith is a new character and his mini-series was one of the most interesting for me. The Quasar mini was my least favorite. The book is then capped off with the main event which was interesting and had some solid moments. While I enjoyed it and it was the worth the purchase and the time spent reading it, I think I enjoyed Annihilation a bit more.

[Matt Quann · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a vast improvement on the initial Annihilation series. DnA seem to have honed in on the characters and made for a gnarly cosmic event. Each of the characters seems more essential in the build up to the main event and when sparks start to fly it all feel appropriately epic.

I loved the immediate follow-up to Annihilation with a super-pressing second war. It really makes the newly established firmament of the cosmic universe seem precarious. It’s also where the more recognizable guardians begin to take shape.

Very fun and glad I stuck with this. Looking forward to continuing on with Guardians and Nova into War of kings!

[Malum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where the first Annihilation war was an all about big battles, the second war is more covert and dealt more with low tech spec-ops groups and finding a few special individuals to win the war in one powerful strike.
I think I liked the first Annihilation event a tiny bit more than Conquest. The first event was direct and to the point, with most of the action involving all of the main characters banding together and surviving huge invasions. In Conquest, the plot meanders a bit more, and most of the characters are off on their own side-stories until the very end. With so many characters doing so many different things, the story seems a bit slower and scattered.
That's not to say that this event is bad or not important. If you are a Guardians of the Galaxy fan this event is even more important to read. We get the first real Guardians of the Galaxy group (although they don't have a name yet). We get to meet Cosmo, the psychic Russian dog, and get to see Knowhere for the first time. The events in both Annihilation events also set up many of the plots and references in the Abnett and Lanning Guardians of the Galaxy books that followed these events (which, in my opinion, is one of the best Guardians of the Galaxy stories ever written).
Besides the Guardians stuff, I liked Ultron as the main villain in Conquest much better than Annihilus from the first Annihilation war.

[Vladimír · Rating 4 out of 5]

Event Annihilation ma zvalcoval. Od začiatku som bol fascinovaný intenzitou a nemilosrdnosťou útoku, ktorému bolo marvelácke univerzum vystavené. Annihilation Conquest na tieto udalosti priamo nadväzuje a blížiacu sa katastrofu cítiť opäť od prvej stránky.

V úvode ma zaujal moment, keď Richard Rider navštívy Zem a krúti hlavou nad tým, aké malichernosti sa tu riešia v porovnaní s Annihilation wave. Zem odrazu vyzerá ako absolútne nepodstatné miesto na mape.

Štruktúra príbehu ostala zhruba rovnaká ako tomu bolo v Annihilation. Po prológu sledujeme minisérie zamerané na Star-Lorda, Quasar a Wraitha. Následne sa ich príbehové línie prepletú a vyvrcholia v spoločnej minisérii Annihilation Conquest. Tento model mám rád, keďže vďaka nemu človek spozná množstvo postáv a aj to ako udalosti vplývajú na rôzne miesta v galaxii.

Zároveň ma bavilo sledovať pomaly formujúcu sa zostavu Guardians of the Galaxy. Toto označenie síce ešte nezaznelo, ale niekoľko postáv tu už začalo spolupracovať, aj keď cesta k tomuto bodu bola veľmi tŕnistá - zdravím Gamoru. :P

Samotný konflikt hodnotím pozitívne. Celková situácia bola v istom bode opäť v stave absolútnej beznádeje a rozuzlenie nebolo vôbec kostrbaté, čo pri týcho masívnych eventoch často hrozí.

Oproti Annihilation event Conquest trochu zaostáva, ale naozaj len trochu. Stále ide o skvelý kozmický event, ktorý by mal skúsiť každý, koho vermíny Marvel čo i len trochu láka.

[MannyLikesPie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I think about stories I always wonder why are only the main cast the only people solving world ending problems, this shows how so many different people are involved in the same goal without knowing it and meet at the point where everyone needs to be

[Mohamed Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

i Was hesitant To Pick this After the Disappointment Of Annihilation, But it Turned Out Way Way better than Annihilation.

[Danila Kozlovs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give it a 3.5 if I could, not enough Nova. But thoroughly enjoyed the Starlord storyline. Oh and Quasar and Moondragon, my favourite lesbian couple !

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently interviewed the writer Dan Abnett and it was fucking awesome! Check out part 1 here https://youtu.be/vWI5mkTn8Ws and part 2 here https://youtu.be/A_VQ0ieJvhg

***second read***

Phenomenal. Better than I remembered it. This is an epic, epic story. This really is one of the great underrated gems. I’d include it as one of the top 5 marvel events ever.

It reads like a movie. Like Annihilation, it starts with 4 issue solo setups for all the players, and then they all join up spectacularly for a satisfying showdown. It’s amazing. The art is gorgeous. This is essential shit.

*****first read*****

Wow... what an undertaking.

There were parts I absolutely loved: Cosmo, Moondragon and Quasar’s love, finding out the badguy is Ultron, Adam Warlock coming back

There was one thing that annoyed me: Why the fuck isn’t there a moment where Adam Warlock, Drax, Gamora and Moondragon acknowledge the fact that this is a goddam Infinity Watch reunion?!?!?!?!?!?!??

Besides that, the art was beautiful, the characters were fun... overall, this was consistently awesome. Nova rules, and worldmind is really funny.

It’s a good book. You should read it.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride! I enjoyed this one more than Annihilation. I can't wait to get into Guardians of the Galaxy.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this compilation. In addition to the various mini-series included in this sequel to the Annihilation event, it also includes issues 1-12 and the first Annual of the Nova series that started around the same time. What's even nicer is it breaks up the Nova series to show how the events in the series take place before and during the other books of the story. It moves at a good pace; the artwork is phenomenal throughout the series [some of it is still better than others, though, which is always interesting to see], and it had good character development. This was the 'event' that helped kick off the second Guardians of the Galaxy series. And, it's a sci-fi tale using a plethora of super-powered [gifted] individuals. It's a lot of fun to read!

The inclusion of the Nova comics helped move the story along, I thought. Richard Rider has been soaring around the section of the galaxy destroyed by the Annihilation Wave Event, trying to save as many races as he can from danger. The problem is, he is only one man and he is burning himself out. He returns to Earth to try and refocus and discovers the changes that have occurred after Earth's "superhero Civil War" as well as amongst his family. He realizes how hard it is to return home and that he cannot return to his former life, as life has moved on and what he remembers has been left behind. It is interesting to read because if he had taken the time to do as Worldmind had asked of him [restarted the Nova Corps as promised], he would have been able to create a force that could meet the increasing number of distress calls from races who relied upon the Nova Corps for protection and enforcing the law. It is honorable he was trying to save as many individuals and peoples as he could, but so many others died because he could not be everywhere at once. Had he done as he had promised the World Mind, things would have been different.

I thought it was sad that he felt the need to leave Earth behind and his human friends. I imagine, though, that after having flown around the galaxy a time or two, Earth would be a nice place to visit for some R&R but not necessarily a place to live. hahahah I do realize why he had to leave, though. He felt out of place and still had the responsibility of the galaxy resting on his shoulders. The writers did a nice job describing [revealing?] the internal struggles that Richard was dealing with in terms of trying to decide if he should stay or if he should go back off planet. It had to be heart-rending, knowing his parents (especially his father) was so unhappy with him. Granted, his having been a member of the New Warriors no doubt had something to do with his father's animosity directed at Richard. Leaving Earth, he again resumes trying to meet the ninety-four thousand-plus distress calls on his own. Soon, he discovers that the Kree are in danger and need assistance, so he flies to Hala to aid his former allies.

Groot's story traced an interesting path over the course of the series, and it was interesting to see the beginning stages of his relationship with Rocket Raccoon and how it evolved over the series. It is kind of amusing in the sense that Groot starts out talking in an "imperiously normal" fashion initially, then after his 'first body' is destroyed his speech is more limited in nature and not quite so imperious. He can still speak, but he tends to say "I am Groot" quite a bit instead of using full sentences. After his second body is destroyed, the tale ends showing Rocket watering Groot's twig in hopes that Groot will regenerate a third time [which obviously happens in time for the Guardians of the Galaxy series.

I enjoyed Rocket's quip about how he fled Earth to outer space to escape an arboreal lifestyle and still ended up becoming friends with a giant, sentient tree-based life form that walks and talks. His observation about needing to develop new [better] friends was pretty funny. I also thought it was hilarious how Rocket gave Groot the moisture Groot needed to continue to regenerate after the first time Groot's body was destroyed. Groot's response to Rocket's action was equally funny [more like hilarious]. I was kind-of surprised that Groot did not peel off a second shaving of himself like he did the first time; perhaps he was unable to do so, for some reason, in his second body. The two made a great team, I felt, no doubt due in part to the comedic elements.

I liked that Deathcry was included in the Star Lord mini-series. She was a part of the Avengers for a bit, and then she just up and disappeared [maybe she had to return to the Sh'iar Empire and I missed that issue?], so it was "fun" to see her back in action. She definitely had become quite a bit "edgier" than she had been in the Avengers; I assume that had to do with the time she 'disappeared' from the scene and returned to space. I was equally shocked that she died in the series; I had expected her to last until the end of the "event", to be honest. Her death was a harbinger of things to come. Still, though, I was glad to see her included in Star-Lord's team of 'ragtag misfits' a la The Dirty Dozen [more like "Half-Dozen" hahahah].

The Star Lord mini-series was fun to read. It was clearly a takeoff of The Dirty Dozen and had the most 'humor' out of all of the books in this story. The humor was more sarcastic, "black" [gallows-humor], and dry, but it was still there. There are numerous quips to Peter Quill's memories of life on Earth, and it also uses the arrogance of the Kree as a source for quips to be made and a type of commentary on the Kree's attitude in general to other species. I did like how the "Captain Universe" power [the Unipower] took over one of the Phalanx creatures in order to discover more about the Phalanx and its capabilities.

As much 'fun' as it was to read, it was also serious and had it's 'dark moments', too. It is a story about warfare and a small team sent on a suicide mission. I was shocked when Deathcry died in the series; I did not expect that to happen. Neither did I expect Groot to "die"; I was quite happy to see that he managed to survive by splintering off a portion of himself to escape his impending doom.

The team learns that the inhabitants of the planet itself are used as factories to breed more of the Phalanx "Virus" that is used by the Phalanx to take over their opponents. However, despite being taken over by the Phalanx Virus, individuals still have their "free will" [albeit limited]; they can still make decisions and act on their own [to a limited extent]; so it was an interesting amalgamation of control and free-will with which they had been infected. As the Phalanx takes over any and all technology, the team had to use "low tech" weapons in order to battle the Phalanx warriors, which made for some interesting moments. All-in-all, a good story.

I thought this version of the Phalanx was interesting [clever, maybe?]. We learn that they have been suborned by Ultron after Ultron's A.I. escaped Earth [fleeing after the events of being repelled from Stark's body], and the Phalanx's purpose [program] for existing has been altered. One is led to believe, initially, that all life forms that become a part of the Phalanx are given a sense of purpose in their life that replaces the sense of emptiness or "loneliness" an individual might feel, but we soon find out that this is not their final 'fate'. Eventually, the individuals not deemed fully necessary for the Phalanx's continued expansion and conquest are used as a source of fuel to satisfy the Phalanx's rapacious demand for energy.

Still, though, it was interesting how being infected by the Phalanx Technovirus affected individuals. Gamora indicated she felt her life had been empty after the Annihilation Wave and Nova leaving her; the Phalanx gave her a sense of purpose, of utility, of belonging that she had never before experienced. When the Phalanx technovirus was removed from her body, she felt worse than before and wanted to remain one of the Select because of how 'good' it made her feel inside. I thought that was a fairly powerful statement about the Phalanx and how they could affect people.

Or, one could take Drax as an example. Whereas before he was angry with the Universe at large and was portrayed as willing to kill everything, the Phalanx Technovirus made his anger more focused. He still felt angry and constantly wanting to either kill someone or break something, but he also felt like he was "completed" after being absorbed into the Phalanx collective.

I enjoyed seeing 'the old gang' from the Annihilation Wave back together along with some new allies. At the same time, it did seem as if some of the characters were created exclusively for this storyline, as I do not recall them ever being used again in subsequent books [stories]. I was shocked when Gabe died; I did not see that coming. Neither did I expect Heather Douglas [aka Moondragon] to die; I thought she would last until the end. I was equally sad that Praxagora died as a result of Ultron's hijacking her body; I thought for sure she would live for quite a while longer [especially after the last page of the Super Skrull mini-series from the initial Annihilation storyline]. It was crazy that Blastaar let himself be taken captive in order to ensure Groot's spores were delivered into the Babel Spire in order for Mantis to be able to "see" the layout of the Spire. It was equally crazy that Blastaar was tortured to the point where he died; I did not realize that Blastaar had the ability to appear to die, which would allow his body to regenerate to the point that Blastaar would appear to have 'risen from the dead.'

Wraith was an interesting character; I hope they did utilize him more in subsequent comics. I thought it was pretty crazy how he was able to merge his abilities with Praxagora's to ensure that fifteen thousand Kree Sentries would be immune to the Phalanx's Technovirus. He was an interesting addition to the storyline, I enjoyed his interactions with Ra-Ven [although Ra-Ven kind-of disappeared from the scene [and story] once they reached Hala].

I was surprised at the number of Galadorian Space Knights who were killed throughout the course of the series. I guess they were 'red-shirted' early on by being taken over by the Phalanx like they were. Granted, the Phalanx were not portrayed as having a large number of 'well-known' characters in their control that "could be killed" over the course of the story. I was surprised that Korath appears to have been killed; I do not think he has shown up in any subsequent stories, so his death might be a 'sure thing' [although I'd have to look at the War of Kings storyline to see if he shows up there].

I did enjoy seeing Warlock and his adopted offspring Tyro in the series. I thought they were a welcome addition. I liked that Warlock had returned to his home planet and was attempting to help his race evolve by modifying the programming of young ones at an early age. This was the second time I came across Professor Xavier having directly influenced an alien race with his teachings; I thought the author's did a great integrating Warlock and Professor X's message into this second "Annihilation Event". Warlock had started with Tyro and was in the process of training Tyro further when Richard Rider showed up on Warlock's home planet. The Siredam that showed up to take on Tyro was crazy, and it was even crazier that Tyro was willing to give up his own life in hopes that his programming would overcome the Siredam's programming once it ingested Tyro in an attempt to kill Tyro. Another part of the storyline that I greatly enjoyed, especially as it expanded upon the backhistory of the Technarch society that Warlock was attempting to change from within.

Of course, one question I did have while reading about Nova's encounter with Warlock and Tyro was why the Siredam was seeking out Tyro, specifically. The Babel Spire that was created on the surface was created through the absorption of the bodies of Gamora and Drax. So that being the case, why would the Siredam have been after Tyro? Why would it not equally have been after Warlock? It made me wonder if there was some aspect of Tyro's parent's programming that was involved in the Phalanx that Ultron took over.

I found it funny/curious/interesting that either Supremor or the Supreme Intelligence "hired" the High Evolutionary to try and create a new, advanced race of "Nu-Kree" to help ensure the Kree would not remain in their "evolutionary dead-end". It is funny to me because there have been other times [events] where the Supreme Intelligence has supposedly found the "genetic breakthrough" the Kree need to continue evolving as a race, yet these 'advances' and 'breakthroughs' are constantly ignored by subsequent writers. The "genetic breakthroughs" of "Maximum Security" were ignored in this story line, and the High Evolutionary's breakthroughs in this storyline were ignored by the writer's of the War of Kings storyline. Still, though, it was interesting to see the High Evolutionary being involved with the Kree like he was, as well as his apparently turning traitor to work with the Phalanx to create the perfect techno-organic hybrid body for Ultron [setting Ultron up to take a fall].

I have to admit, I was SO hoping that this would be the last time Ultron would be seen. I do get a little tired of the character; I guess I should be grateful that he no longer has that blasted adamantium body that he had had for so long. It turns out he is behind this rapid expansion of the Phalanx into the Kree Empire; the strength and power of his will alone suborned the programming of the Phalanx who collected his signal as he fled Earth into outer space. Unfortunately, this was not to be the last time that Ultron would appear; as an insidious program, he has been shown to have hidden himself in all sorts of programs over the course of the comics.

Overall, it was a fun series to read, and a welcome addition to the "sci-fi" roster for Marvel comics. I especially liked how the Nova series was broken up to show how those stories interrelated with this 'cosmic event' overall. It does have some phenomenal artwork in it, that is for sure. I know I'll be reading it again at some point in the [relatively near] future.

[Sami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annihilation Conquest
Writers; Keith Giffen, Andy Lanning, Dan Abnett, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Christos Gage
Artist; Mike Lilly, Brian Denham, Mike Perkins, Sean Chen, Timothy Green, Tom Raney, Paul Pelletier, Kyle Hotz, Wellinton Alves.
Published by Marvel, 2008

Synopsis:
The Phalanx has invaded the Kree Empire and quarantined the empire to other civilisations.

Review:
This is an event that kind of felt overhyped for me. There is definitely some stuff that you should check out like the great Nova issues that deal with Civil War or the beginning of the GOTG with Keith Giffen. They are supported by great art and kind of felt like the backbone of the event. The Quasar mini was alright but kind of felt misplaced with it not being massively interesting to read, it was important to the overall story of the event with the return of a certain Warlock and our main villain being revealed. I do also like that like the previous Annihilation event, they have used some rather obscure characters like Xemnu and Super-Adaptoid.

The Wraith mini didn't really hit with me as i think it's not really a good way to introduce a brand new character during an event with the magnitude like this , it also didn't help that the art was not really impactful and/or good to read. I get that Wraith is this dark brooding character and the art reflects that but when the character isn't really interesting and just kind of is like a self insert. Hell i don't even like this term but it felt like the character was written as a Gary Sue, being portrayed as this cool and edgy guy but it just doesn't work.

I think the event also drops the ball with the villains, the Phalanx are designed wonderfully with this weird horror aspect to it but the build up to their leader being Ultron didn't make sense. The character didn't feel like a constant threat unlike the Phalanx

Star Rating = 3,5 stars out of 5
I think you should check it out if you liked Annihilation but lower the expectations

[Bram Ryckaert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abnett and Lanning do a great job with Nova in his solo series, but some of the tie-ins aren't as strong as Rider's adventures. Quasar's mini in particular was a severe drop in quality compared to Nova. Keith Giffen however delivered with a fantastic Star Lord mini, with great art by Timothy Green. This miniseries shows the genesis of the modern Guardians of the Galaxy, witty banter between team members included. This was the highlight of the entire run.
When the major players get together it's a hit or miss affair, because some of the characters can't carry arcs like Nova or Peter and his misfits can. The finale and payoff also feels a bit lackluster compared to Annihilation. That event disappointed even more in the setup, but had a better and more satisfying conclusion. At least Conquest is a bit more consistent and has a few true highlights.

Reading Hickman's FF run before all this has spoiled me. None of these events feel as tightly constructed as that series. But I will soldier on, still have a lot of Cosmic Marvel left to read with (road to) War of Kings and Realm.

[Lucas Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annihilation était l'un de mes premiers pas dans l'univers cosmique de chez Marvel, et avait mis la barre sacrement haut. Cette suite n'est pas juste une tentative de capitaliser sur le succès du premier évent, mais bien très bon successeur. Même si l'escalade de l'action pour en faire toujours plus n'est pas ma tasse de thé, ici elle pave la route au développement de plusieurs personnages emblématiques de l'univers cosmique, ainsi qu'à de nouveaux venues. On se prend d'affectation pour cette nouvelle Quasar, on suit avec peur Nova, qui semble le dernier rempart face à cette nouvelle invasion, et quand tout espoir semble perdue, on s'en remet aux nouveaux gardiens de la galaxie.

Cet univers cosmique est une totale découverte mais qui semble pourtant si familier. Et ce n'est que le 2eme des 5 omnibus de cette saga mise en branle par Abnett. Prochaine étape, War of Kings prelude.

[TK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can we just talk about Phyla-Vell as Quasar? Can we talk about Quasar and Moondragon? Can we talk about the beautiful metaphor that is their relationship? There are some no fun typical lesbian relationship tropes here (RIP MD), but what I love about it is the moment where they realize that they don't actually need a physical relationship to have intimacy. I'm a fan of non-traditional queer relationships being represented in subversive ways and I think Q&MD's relationship could be a form of asexuality, partners working through trauma or even just this idea of multiple layers of intimacy in a relationship.

[Judith Groen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I think I liked Annihilation a little bit better, but this one is also very good. I loved the Nova tales the best. How he struggles with being the last of the Nova Corps left. I thought I would dislike the Quasar story, but it was not that bad to be honest. I also thought Wraith was a very interesting character. The start of the Guardians of the Galaxy was also very fun to read. The Annihilation Conquest issues themselves were also very interesting. I did not get the WOW OMG vibe like I did with Annihilation (especially the ending), but it was entertaining nonetheless.

[Jeremy Raines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the individual issues, not the hardcover Omnibus itself. Marvel Cosmic is great and this one does a fun job of incorporating Ultron of all characters. Also, kind of weird seeing the modern Guardians of the Galaxy before they took that name and having Starlord be just a really bland Han Solo. Still, these stories made me want to read more Nova, Quasar, and Moondragon; three characters I didn't know/care about before I read it. Also giant bugs fighting a bunch of robots is always fun.

[Jirka Navrátil · Rating 5 out of 5]

V první řadě musím říct, že jsem fanoušek kosmických věcí od Marvelu. Už ze všech tří omnibusů War of kings jsem byl vedle jak ta jedle a extrémně mě to bavilo, ale toto, toto je opravdu bomba. hodně se mi líbili jednotlivé příběhy hrdinů, kteří měli svou vlastní cestu k Phalanaxu. Hodně se mi líbil příběh Novy a Wraitha. A závěrečný boj proti Ultronovy taky super. Prostě opravdu jsem se bavil a hltal to plnými doušky.

BTW: už aby byl reprint Annihilation Omnibusu

[Troy-David Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read this storyline in it’s original format, and I loved it then.
I am a big fan of the Omnibus editions: the larger pages and higher quality paper really make the art stand out.
An excellent sweeping galactic epic, focused on many lesser light characters but for me much beloved characters.
In particular I love the Nova story and the arc focused on Starlord and the future Guardians of the Galaxy.

[˗ˏˋ ★ libby ★ ˎˊ˗ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, I just feel like there were too many story lines. They should have just kept it as the Adam Warlock, Phyla-vel and High Evolutionary stuff as the main story with the Guardians of the Galaxy as the B plot. I skimmed read the other stuff because it added very little to the story.

The cosmic side of Marvel has always been my favourite. This had all the weirdness I love about cosmic Marvel.

[Chris Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Marvel galaxy is a rough place, tumbling right into another crisis right after Annhilus and his wave carved a path of destruction. Now, the Phalanx are the next wave, again forcing an interesting mix of heroes to combat this threat. Lots to like in this series, but it is, in essence, a repackaging of Annihilation. Solid art. 3.5 stars.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow!
Now that is a galactic story.
A lot of ground is covered. Many players, big stakes.
The Annihilation part was just a sidenote.
What matters are the actions of Wraith, Star-Lord and Nova.
Read this one long and hard.
The Kree may rise again..?

[Derek Moreland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit, I’m biased. But Ultron is my favorite Avengers villain, and as a longtime MARVEL TWO IN ONE lover, I’ve always been positively inclined towards the High Evolutionary. So getting to see them both here at the end kicked this up from a 4 to a 5 for me.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first re-reading of the Annihilation series.

In my memory, I had pegged the first Annihilation series as superior to Conquest. Boy, was I sorely mistaken! Annihilation Conquest vastly improves upon its predecessor in just about every way.

[Valerio Pastore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only a GREAT arc, spanning 6 episodes and 4 different miniseries, it also features the foundation of the modern Guardians of the Galaxy and the return of Rocket Raccoon! A lot of interesting characters, and one of the direst threats to life comeback!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heard it was great. Mostly just good.

[Callam Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The actual annihilation conquest comics are the good bit

[Sam Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5