Annihilation: Scourge

The Annihilation Saga #6

by Matthew Rosenberg, Dan Abnett, Michael Moreci

The Negative Zone is under siege! Now the Lord of the Negative Zone, Annihilus, makes a call for help to the very heroes he once fought against! It's an all-out battle as Nova, Silver Surfer and some of your favorite cosmic heroes try to prevent the next annihilation.

COLLECTING: Annihilation - Scourge Alpha (2019) 1, Annihilation - Scourge: Nova (2019) 1, Annihilation - Scourge: Silver Surfer (2019) 1, Annihilation - Scourge: Beta Ray Bill (2019) 1, Annihilation - Scourge: Fantastic Four (2019) 1, Annihilation - Scourge Omega (2019) 1

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

168 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 2020

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

"I haven’t always been a writer. My parents are writers and my brother is a writer, and I resisted that as long as I could. When I was 17, I hopped in a band’s van and I went on tour for a summer, and that was it, that was what I wanted to do. I ran a record label for 10 years, a small indie punk label. I did everything in music that you can do that doesn’t involve having musical ability. Eventually the music business, probably in a similar way to comics, will just start to break your heart, and I realized one day that I kind of hated music. I was resigned to thinking, if I’m going to be involved in music forever, I’m going to hate it for the rest of my life. I just stopped. I stopped having any sort of business with music, any involvement.

I read comics my whole life, so I just naturally fell back into another medium that is marginalized and hard to make a living in."

Source: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles...

Writer of comics WE CAN NEVER GO HOME, SECRET WARS JOURNAL, OUR WORK FILLS THE PEWS, 12 REASONS TO DIE, & MENU.

Reviews

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 4 out of 5]

So the third installment of the Annihilation wave is here, but Marvel only greenlighted six one-shots, man oh man, what a shame. First of all, you need a lot of baggage to fully understand what is going on here, you're gonna need to read the last two Annihilation epics by Dan Abnett, which pretty much spawned the modern version of Marvel's cosmic universe, also by Abnett, The Thanos Imperative, which featured the Cancerverse, and you also need to read Silver Surfer: Black, and at least have some awareness of who Nova and the Sentry are, so yeah, not a book for newbies.

Scourge could easily be another epic crossover event, in fact, I bet that was the plan all along, but with Marvel's constant wave of epic events, I guess they were afraid that this one was not gonna sell, so what we got was this preview of what it could've been, and it pisses me off that Space Marvel never gets the attention it deserves, this was also the perfect opportunity to establish the Sentry as a major villain, anyway, it is what it is and I'll take what I can get, and this was still a lot of fun to read, with some dope colorful art.

Recommended to old fans of cosmic Marvel, new readers should avoid it, try Dan Abnett's first Annihilation wave instead, which spawned the modern version of the Guardians.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would. Don't get me wrong; I wanted to enjoy it as it featured some of my all-time favourite characters, but I expected it to be the usual mediocre tosh you get when multiple creative teams all do a chapter each in this sort of crossover story. With this in mind, I was pleasantly surprised by how cohesive it all was.

It was also a lot of fun. The Revengers have escaped the Cancerverse once again and are being lead by an old frenemy. It's up to Nova, the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer, Beta Ray Bill and a whole mess of other heroes to stop them... and one of them might not make it out the other side of this one.

The only shame was that the epilogue wasn't given enough space and ended up feeling rushed and like an afterthought. Other than that, though, this one was a blast.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a pretty big Rosenberg fan. I enjoyed almost everything he did and even if something didn't fully work for me (second half of his X-men run) I still enjoyed parts. Annihilation was a small event consisting of two major issues and a few one shots to fill in the banks.

When a new creature/race is out to destory the world and the cancerverse, annihilus decides he needs some help from Nova, Fantastic four, and more to stop this. Now annihilus is a piece of shit so for him to come for help you know it's serious.

The opening issue is fantastic, and a great set up. The Nova issue is one of my favorites ever for Nova, funny, witty, and heartfelt. The rest of the issues very, some good (Fantastic four) some confusing (Silver Surfer) and some okay (The rest) and the ending issue is fun and exciting but I believe the very ending felt to rehashed and lost it's flare.

Saying that I did enjoy this event and had fun with it. Worth reading for sure if fan of the cosmic marvel universe. A 3 out of 5.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fui sem nenhuma expectativa na leitura deste quadrinho, mas tinha uma curiosidade em saber se iria manter a qualidade das duas outras Aniquilações que o precederam. Trata-se de uma narrativa que, dessa vez não temos a Zona Negativa e o Aniquilador como os principais antagonistas, mas uma praga que atinge aquelas paragens. Na verdade são intrusos do lugar conhecido como Cancerverso que vêm atacando a Zona Negativa e liderados por super-herói finado que você não pode imaginar e eu não darei spoilers. Bem no estilo das versões passadas, ele funciona como uma minissérie original (na verdade duas edições) e outras séries satélites. Os heróis que são contemplados com essas séries são os mesmos que estão na capa: o Quarteto Fantástico, Bill Raio-Beta, Nova e o Surfista Prateado. Como são escritas e desenhadas por diversos artistas, os resultados das publicações variam, mas o saldo na minha humilde opinião é positivo. Claro que essa edição fica aquém das gloriosas e altamente cósmicas Aniquilações que já tivemos anteriormente, mas fica aquele retro gosto na mente.

[RG · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just couldn't get into it

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annihilation is a title that invokes a lot of strong feelings - both the original and Conquest are basically flawless, and kickstarted the Marvel Cosmic movement that gave us the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies and some excellent comics along the way. So if you're resurrecting the title, it better be for a good reason.

I'm happy to report that it is. This is a series of six one-shots, four that focus on different characters and an Alpha and Omega, that tell one cohesive story about the return of the Cancerverse and the threat that its new leader poses to the Negative Zone. With four writers across the six one-shots (including OG Guardians writer Dan Abnett) it's surprisingly cohesive, and while each of the focused one-shots is obviously told from their respective lead characters' perspective, it's all aimed towards one conclusion and each story feeds into the greater whole in a way that the original Annihilation mini-series fed into the main story, which itself dances neatly through the complicated continuity raindrops of the Marvel Cosmic scene.

The art's a bit more of a mix-up, with most of Marvel's second tier talent on display here including Junan Ramirez, Manuel Garcia, Paul Davidson, Alberto Albuquerque, Ibraim Roberson, and Diego Olortegui. Five of the six issues have one artist though, which is nice especially since they're all extra-sized.

Annihilation holds a legacy that few Marvel events can come close to, and while Annihilation Scourge isn't quite as good as the original, it's a worthwhile successor that does the Annihilation name proud.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Alex Sarll]

The original Annihilation crossover was initially a fairly minor Marvel event, off in the cosmic margins only a few die-hards much cared about – but from that sprang the Guardians Of The Galaxy as millions now know them. So you can understand the appeal of harking back to that, even without much of the same creative team on board (though Dan Abnett does write the Silver Surfer issue of this). For the most part, though, it feels a lot like going through the motions. Annihilus, the big bad of the original run, is now reduced from cosmic tyrant to impotently raging as part of an odd couple set-up, first with Blastaar and then with Johnny Storm. And is it just bad luck that I've barely finished a Marvel comic with Blastaar in before another hoves into view? See also that tiresome albatross the Sentry, who was apparently bounced here straight from Agents Of Wakanda. A time I almost wish I'd been spoilered, so I could have taken more of a breather. Here, his tedious personality issues have been amplified by contact with the deathless, horrific Cancerverse – a brilliant idea when first introduced, increasingly wearying ever since – and now they're invading and parasitising the Negative Zone. Which is apparently negative in more ways than I'd known, such that the Cancerverse can actually be killed there, in which case that was a bloody stupid target, wasn't it? Arrayed against them, various heroes, including some who only turn up at the last minute to save the day, which always feels like a bit of a narrative cheat even if it does make perfect sense within the rules of the universe. Among the ones who arrived on time, there are some it's good to see again – Cosmo the space dog, obviously, but most of all Beta Ray Bill and Lockjaw, two of my favourite Marvel characters who are apparently now adventuring together! YES. Long-running series and film trilogy of this ASAP, please. Away from the bits where I'm easily pleased, there's even the first recorded instance of my giving a toss about any on-page appearance by a member of the Nova Corps, even if that is mainly because he's drunk. Plus, I don't recognise the name Paul Davidson, but he has a lovely James Stokoe-except-glossier thing going on with the art for the Surfer issue. On the whole, though, it feels very event-by-numbers, all the more so because the basic mechanisms – unlikely alliances, invading space-fleets, well-meaning past decisions sowing the seeds of future doom – are being used again already in the big summer event Empyre, whose first four issues I already found underwhelming enough without realising they were a retread of this from only last year.

[❀ Linnybella ❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great read, although a bit flawed in its pacing. The first half of the volume, primarily focusing on the FF and Nova was incredibly strong and well-written. It perfectly laid out the foundation of the story to be told, and did so effectively. Admittedly as well, Rich stole the show as a humorous, yet darker persona. It was a bit jarring to write him out for a majority of the latter-half, and only have him suddenly reappear at the end. Then, he was quickly absorbed into the cancerverse, and once again, seemingly “dies.” The ending defeat was illustrated with a fully black page, and three text bubbles. This feels underwhelming, considering the buildup to this moment being so profound. The ending did feel rushed, but what else can one expect from a six issue volume? The Beta Ray Bill chapter could have been done away with, and might have potentially cleared space up for a more grandiose ending. All in all, it was still a fun read! I am glad that Marvel did not forget about Rich for once again, lol! (Although currently, he is not having the best of luck, along with all of Marvel’s additional cosmic superheroes).

[Ondra Král · Rating 2 out of 5]

Páni. Marvel udělal po 10 letech pokračování Abnettova kosmického runu a v návaznosti je dost konzistentní. Cancerverse je zpátky, tentokrát pustoší negativní zónu.

Bohužel, Scourge je krásný případ toho, jak dokáže slibně rozjetý příběh zabít úplně debilní konec. Kvůli Omega sešitu jen 2*, byť je zbytek průměr/nadprůměr.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not used to the inter-universe stories but they are epic. I liked the Ftaghn Four. And reading Silver Surfer is always a treat.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised that Marvel had crafted another Annihilation event after so long, but I guess there's always room to explore this side of the Marvel Universe. The cosmic heavy-hitters rarely get threats worthy of their full attention and this book was a decent attempt to bring another big threat.

I was never a big fan of the Cancerverse that had come up in the Realm of Kings event since it was a very weird idea but I guess it still made sense. It was a good antithesis to the likes of Thanos, who worships Death, but a rather contrived way to sneak in Lovecraftian-style horrors into canon.

This book has its highs and lows. I rather enjoyed Annihilus not being so near-omnipotent, as he had been depicted in various Annihilation arcs before. I appreciated them bringing in the Silver Surfer after the events of Silver Surfer: Black (which was another weird mini-series) and gave a bit more purpose to his new intangible form. Their use of Nova wasn't the best out there and I feel more of the action took place outside this main book (e.g. when he gathers cosmic heroes to take the fight to the Negative Zone), but still it was a nice callback to Nova against the universe like what we got in the prior Annihilation events.

On the whole it was decent fun. Who doesn't want Beta Ray Bill battling with Lockjaw at this side, right?

[Derek Moreland · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun as hell story with an interesting twist--the Sentry is now an outright villain, shades of SIEGE notwithstanding--shattered by a deus ex Machina climax that looks terrible and reads worse.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The original Annihilation books reset the Marvel cosmic universe and are a huge reason why Guardians Of The Galaxy became mainstream successes. This book tries to continue some of those story trails and to some point does a decent job. Rosenberg and Abnett like playing in this world and it shows. The book is continuity heavy and new readers would be absolutely lost. There were some solid story elements but I felt the ending was extremely quick and mostly odd. The art was pretty standard throughout as nothing stood out nor offended. Overall, a book steeped in Marvel cosmic history that doesn't feel as important as its predecessors.

[Martin Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a few sparkling moments to be found in this mini-event, but ultimately it’s yet another modern cosmic Marvel series that rehashes earlier (better) stories for little reward (in this case DnA’s Thanos Imperative, which I’m convinced no-one at Marvel has actually read, given both this and Bendis’s GotG Original Sin don’t seem to know what happened in it). The final issue is severely undercut by some mediocre artwork too.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really GREAT book/series. Unfortunately, also badly flawed. Too much crammed into too little space, bad linkage, far too many unanswered questions. This could have been SOOOO much better. Great characters and plot wasted by the rush. Should have been 5 stars; could have been considred 2 stars if I didn't like some of what it intended so much. Better luck next time...

[Beelzefuzz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has some cool scenes and fun moments, but overall spends way too long shifting between character introductions and has maybe 2 issues' worth of plot, which ultimately just stops and restarts a status quo, leaving the book to be pointless.

[ik.ben.henri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good marvel comic.

Makes me want to reread the original big annihilation events. I don't remember all the details anymore of those two events. But it's fun to see nova, king blastaar and annihilus again.

[Trece · Rating 2 out of 5]

El lado cosmico de Marvel es mi favorito, pero estos eventos basura solo te dejan disfrutar el ver varios superheroes reunidos y no mas que eso. Una historia debil y mal aprovechada.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perdida de tiempo. Lo peor fue la ultima viñeta, aquí no pasó nada.

[Kim Wong · Rating 2 out of 5]

Making an epic space opera out of a series of connected one-shots means that the story feels half complete and paced terribly.

[Marcella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Low stakes and quite rushed, but enjoyable enough, and I got to read about some heroes I don't know much about.

[Chambers Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always loved the Annihilation storyline.
And Rosenberg takes it to the next level!
So much fun!

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

First one to the half-baked conclusion is a rotten egg!

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Thank goodness it wasn’t Knull for the big bad.

The cosmic prices worked well together overall.

[Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the art and colours are really, some aren't for me.
The story was fine.

Definitely a digital read.

[Mei Ridorsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ni fu ni fa. Té una estructura diferent als seus predecessors Annihilation i Annihilation: Conquest ja que consta exclusivament de números de diferents sèries, tot tie-ins i cap event principal. L'argument, que no està malament, queda molt danyat per aquest motiu.