The Annihilators

[sherkahn]

ComicBookResources has the announcement of the team that will replace the Guardians of the Galaxy.



From Marvel:

Marvel Unleashes The ANNIHILATORS!

The Silver Surfer! Beta-Ray Bill! Gladiator! Quasar! Ronan the Accuser!
The greatest heroes of the cosmos join forces this March in the oversized Annihilators #1 (of 4)! Marvel’s space action masters Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, along with Eisner Award winning artist Tan Eng Huat unveil the only team mighty enough to face the Dire Wraiths! With galactic civilization in disarray after The Thanos Imperative, the Annihilators must band together to prevent the sinister shape-shifting horde from destroying the universe itself. Innocent worlds teeter on the precipice of destruction…so it’s time for the best of the best to unite and unleash righteous justice!

“The Annihilators is the cosmic dream team…the biggest hitters forming the most powerful super-team in the known Universe!” said DnA. “Prepare to feel the Cosmos shake!”

Every issue of Annihilators features two full-length stories—that’s over 40 pages of all new content from your favorite Cosmic creators! In the second story, join DnA and artist Timothy Green II as they launch Rocket Raccoon and Groot on an adventure that’ll change their lives forever. In commemoration of this can’t-miss story, this issue also features a variant cover from legendary creator Mike Mignola!

Editor Bill Rosemann added “Take the assembled majesty of Marvel’s most powerful heroes, add on the cult-fave duo of Rocket Raccoon and Groot, pile on a ridiculous amount of writing and artistic talent, and top it all off with cool covers by Alex Garner and the one and only Mike Mignola. That, True Believers, is a recipe for face-melting, brain-frying, pedal-to-the-metal, that’s-why-I-read-comics awesomeness.”

This March you can’t miss Annihilators #1 (of 4)!

Comments

[kd_the_movie]

Can't say I care for the name...plus I miss the Guardians already :(

and where the hell is Nova?

[cypherfdp]

Dead?

[doomisay]

Nova and Starlord are presumed dead, because they were left behind in the "Cancerverse" with Thanos.

[icon_uk]

Okay, now that's a seriously powerful team (and I love me some Wendell), but even my male-centric outlook immediately cottoned on to the absence of an XX chromosome pairing anywhere in the mix.

[sir_razorback]

I'm sure someone's going to correct me on this one, but I don't think there are any at that power level. The only one I know of is Phoenix, and she's still down with a moderate case of death.

[silicondream]

Rachel Summers would fit in fine, if she was re-Phoenixed via any number of plot devices. Or Frankie-Nova or Mantis on a good day.

[sherkahn]

That's right, the Starjammers are still out there.

[bluefall]

I don't know, is Bill all that powerful? He's basically on a level with Thor (pre-Odinpower) and Herc, right? I mean, that's still a pretty high tier, but I can think of fights where I'd want Sue Storm or Monica Rambeau or Moondragon over Herc.

[alexanderlucard]

Beta Ray Bill was actually stronger than Thor before getting the hammer. So he's actually a lot more powerful now. Although, it does depend on whos writing him. Under Simonson BRB would be definitely Power Cosmic levels, but most writers seem forget the whole "Bill beat Thor without Norse God powers."

[icon_uk]

Rachel Summers and Frankie Raye were high on my list, as was Moondragon... or to continue their revamp of old, throwaway characters, try Sundragon, or Kismet, or maybe even Erica Fortune, the Spellbinder,

[jarodrussell]

Gamora handled Ronin in a fight back during Annihilation.

Crystal is still somewhere in the cosmos, and her element powers are no slouch.

[nezchan]

I read that as Gamera the first time, which would also have been awesome.

We need more kaiju in this team.

[jarodrussell]

...

"Gamora: Friend to All Children" a reality show where Gamora uses her skills as the universe's deadliest woman to help troubled teens straighten up...or else.

[icon_uk]

"And what lesson have we learned today Uncle Thanos?"

"That all life is an aberration and we must embrace and worship glorious Death!"

"Wasn't that the lesson we learned last week too?"

"Well... yes, but it's a very all embracing philosophy."

[stubbleupdate]

Hawkeye Ronin, or the other Ronin?

[jarodrussell]

Ronan. Sorry, I can't keep Ronan, Ronon, Ronin, and Ronin straight.

[sherkahn]

Ronan the Accuser.

[thanekos]

you'd pretty much have to be a standard giant spaceman to stand on the other side of that and not start rethinking what led you to this.

[proteus_lives]

Love me some Beta Ray Bill.

[polarisnorth]

Wow that... is a lot of testosterone.

[glprime]

That or a lot of constipation.

Silver Surfer: Forward, my friends! To the nearest drug store!
Quasar: Hrrrrrrggghh!

[skalja]

*yawn*

[nezchan]

Seriously, swashbuckling space opera is way more interesting than just piling on the cosmic heavy-hitters.

Besides, if it ain't got Rocket Raccoon (not to mention Groot), what's the point?

[jarodrussell]

I'm not sure if I'm just in a bad mood this month or if the proximity to Christmas break has me more interested in the flights of fancy I plan to engage in with my Trio, but...it's like Marvel put DNA's GotG into a centrifuge and split it down to it's two base components: low-powered badassery (H4H) and cosmic space opera adventures (The Annihilators) expecting to sell twice as many comics...and I don't care for either.

The reason GotG worked is because it was Pragmatic Space Batman (Star-Lord) and his team of Almost Weres, whose internal chemistry resonated so closely to Stargate: Atlantis that I believed that, enjoyed when, and loved how they handled crises far greater that you'd think they could have managed.

I want my fucking Reece's Cup, not this damn chocolate and peanut butter.

[nezchan]

Damn you, now I want a Reece's!

[sherkahn]

Oh look, a yummy Reece's!

[nezchan]

I hate you with the fury of a million suns. ;D

[nezchan]

So what you're saying is, GotG was Doc Savage and his "Fabulous Five"?

[jarodrussell]

...and Charlie's Angels, in the Pegasus Galaxy, fighting space vampires, yes.

If GotG had been more familial in the first issue and a bit less snarky, if Star-Lord had been a little less grim-focused-heroic, I'd say it was like Buckaroo Banzai in Space, but I think Stargate Atlantis maps pretty well to it: Star-Lord = Sheppard, Mantis = Teyla, Drax = Ronan, Rocket = Rodney, Cosmo = Zelenka, Jack Flag = Major Lorne, and Knowhere = Atlantis.

[nezchan]

See, that's my point. That's the essence of quality space opera right there, that team dynamic and over-the-top sensibility. It's awesome, inspiring, sometimes absolutely silly in the conceits it takes seriously, and I love the stuff.

But this crew doesn't have that. For one thing, most of them seem like distant loners, deadly serious about themselves and their Incredible Cosmic Powers (tm), so where do you get that "team of shmoes exceeding themselves" dynamic from? Heck, I'd be very surprised if most of them like each other.

Despite the fact that in space opera you start with impossible and work your way upwards (see the Lensman series for an object example), folks like Silver Surfer and such are already at ludicrous, and there's not much place to go than shit like the cancerverse invasion. The only reason they'd have to team up would be for incredibly rare events that threaten everything, and then where's your human-level plot for your readers to identify with?

I think I'm rambling now...this wine sure is tasty.

[jarodrussell]

I love me some over-powered dudes...ask me about my man-crush on Majestic sometime...but you're right. Those five are just a bullet...not even a gun.

I see two ways this could work: (1) if Ronan (I misspelled Ronon Dex before) or Gladiator takes the lead, with Quasar as their McCoy/Spock cosmoscientista, Beta Ray Bill as their Ronon Dex/Teal'c, and Surfer as the Sixth Ranger; (2) Silver Surfer collecting these guys because he has a plan and needs players in place, because even he can't be everywhere at once. It could work if the point of the Dire Wraith attack is, much like all the previous wars, that no matter how powerful you are, sheer numbers can overwhelm you.

It works if...and only if...DNA play it like the pilot episode of Leverage, where these guys only work together because no matter how much they don't need each other, they need each other this time and we're only going to do it this one time.

I'm still probably going to tradewait this, though...said that before...and move toward Batman books for the time being. It's really hard to see how these five will be able to play off each other at all.

[icon_uk]

Quasar's never been a "cosmoscientista", he's the MU's Hal/Kyle fusion; an ordinary guy given cosmic level powers and responsibilities, but still dealing with it on a human level.

[jarodrussell]

Doesn't he have some kind of cosmic awareness thing?

[icon_uk]

He might have done momentarily in a story in the past, but it's not a standard part of his powerset, or it didn't use to be at least.

[thatnickguy]

Galactus just shit his cosmic pants.

[nova_prime]

Awesome!

CosmicBookNews has a write up as well and includes a link to an article about the Dire Wraiths! BTW, regarding Nova - Nova Antiquus from Avengers #5 chalkboard is still out there.

Annihilators Assemble in Double Sized Issue! Rocket & Groot Second Story!

[joasakura]

This... does not send me. I like Quasar and Beta Ray Bill, but as folks have said above, this doesn't look like it will have the awesome chemistry of GotG.

Plus, DAMN but do I hate Gladiator.

[elsewhere7.livejournal.com]

Are they sure that's Tang Eng Huat? Because that art looks legible.

[naela]

As much as I love Silver Surfer and I'm delighted to see him get some page time, he really works best in minis and the occasional appearance, not an on going. He's way too powerful to make most threats feel, well, threatening unless they really water down his abilities. It's the same sort of contention I have with Phoenix.

With that said, Rachel Summers with a fragment of the Phoenix power is A-Okay by me and would definitely add some XX to balance out this sausage fest.

[turtlefu]

It's not an ongoing.

[schala_kid]

I miss Nova and Star-Lord already :(

[pyrotwilight]

I know Silver Surfer's the most famous Marvel cosmic fellow but why not use one of the other Heralds?

Like Franke Raye/Nova, Stardust or even Firelord? The first two would be a nice thing too given how male centric the group is.

[turtlefu]

We have how many Avengers books and we can't have ONE good cosmic ongoing!
I will give DnA my money until Marvel gets the message!

[jlbarnett]

the message they're getting it, there's enough people to occasionally justify stories, but not an ongoing. Because minis there's not enough time for people to check out.

[ogrebear]

I wants some Man-Wolf/Stargod in there too!

or even Edifice Rex!