INFINITY GAUNTLET CHRONOLOGY

[Matthew Pierce Williams]

Now that the final issue of the Infinity Gauntlet has hit the stands,
does anyone out there know the complete story chronology? I tried to
fidure it out but the stroy jumps all over the place. I would be
grateful to anyone who would share this info with me.

Thanks, Matt

[UD13...@ndsuvm1.bitnet]

Why? Why not! It's Halloween, drunken louts have taken over
the streets from the little kids, the main text has been put to bed,
the office is quiet, we've finished all our filing...
Presenting The Orb's Official Infinity Gauntlet Chronology.
Taa-daah, folks.

First off, a few disclaimers, folks: We can't e-mail with any
certainty here, so we're posting it. Besides, experience has shown that rac's
ever-willing volunteer corps of kamikaze critics will reduce any mistakes
we made into smoldering rubble, and that would be helpful to double-check
our own decisions. Those of you far more interested in this month's
Sandman are but one key click away of leaving this posting behind -- and,
truth be told, most of our staff will probably follow suit. Still, someone
did ask for help, and, well, inbetween waiting for that next Sandman and
following those ludicrous "Gene Roddenbury -- BITE ME!!" posts on ras, we
had to do something. Finally, this posting is a bit, ahem, long.
Oh, yes -- the Orb is an _actual_ underground publication in the great
frozen wastelands of North Dakota, whose editorial board is formed of a bunch
of people of vastly differing ideologies, who still figured that it's
far more important that differing ideas get presented than not seen at all.
Thus, it's kind of an anarchistic thing, but between the lot of us, we do
have a lotta data. One of our loves (besides political bickering) is
running a sort of comics fan service, and we keep track of various sorts
of things. Luckily for someone, a chronology of the Infinity Gauntlet
seemed to us, six months ago, as something, someone, somewhere, could
want.
So, here it is. All opinions are those of the office staff, or
at least the one's I agreed with, since they're not here now. By and
by, I guess this entire chronology counts as one huge

SPOILER

for those who
haven't read the series yet, so, Ye Have Been Warned.

First off, one bit of philosophy: the IG storyline is seriously
screwed, folks. Honestly. Not talking aesthetically or anything English
Dept. like that, but it contains enough contradictions to choke a good-
sized gremlin. Old hands at the comics continuity business will smile
and admit that nothing else has changed, but for our purposes we needed
to set certain guidelines just so we'd have a feasable amount.
Thus, since the meat of the series _was_ the IG title itself, we
decided that all happenings in the crossovers, and the x-over series
as a whole, did not happen until they appeared in one of the six IG titles
themself. This gave us some yardstick to measure by when the x-over titles
invariably told more, or less, of the action that was then RE-PRESENTED in
the IG title. Gack. After this, we're sticking to quantum physics.
So... ahem, ahem... we pull the curtain, we show the list...

First off, of course, comes the various issues of the Silver Surfer,
under the capable hands of Jim Starlin, and then the smashing good fun
of Thanos Quest, where all those insufferable Elders of the Universe get
their collective butts handed to them by Thanos. These are not IG stories
per se, but they lay the groundwork for the line, and aren't half bad, either.
Definitely more worth picking up than the first "official" title:
CLOAK AND DAGGER #18, which came out a good month _before_ IG #1,
sported the foreboding IG x-over logo in the top right cover corner, and
featured as its story the usual C & D confusion, made even more marketable
by the inclusion of Spider-Man and Ghost Rider as guest stars (yeah, there's

something a Marvel fan doesn't see every month). It's excuse for a x-over
has Mephisto leaving off his torturing of our heroes to slaver at the feet
of Thanos for a page, who's toobusy carving planets into large cameos of
his face to really care about Mephisto, or his pledge to Death (made some
Silver Surfer's ago) to kill half the universe. But more on that later.
All and all, a missable issue for collectors.
Next, QUASAR #24 & 25, which not only were IG "x-overs," they
were also the conclusion to Mark Gruenwald's Cosmos in Collision storyline,
one of the funkiest ideas to come from Marvel in many a moon. Actually,
neither issues 24 or 25 are marked externally as IG x-overs. Quasar 24 _was_
listed in Marvel Requirer as an IG x-over, and it does have Thanos on the
cover, and the one page it has of Thanos and Mephisto entertaining Maelstrom
had at least as much to do with the total IG storyline as the Cloak and Dagger
issue above, so we let it stand. #25 is included because, one, it is the
conclusion to the Collision storyline just one issue before; two, the very
next issue of Quasar _is_ an "official" IG crossover, so the mythical friend
of yours who just wants to "read the series" could wonderwhat happened to
the "missing issue" in there; and, three, taken as a whole, having the
Cosmos in Collision happen RIGHT BEFORE the IG mess looks really, ...weird!
I mean, here the universal powers just survive ONE threat to all reality, and

then they turn around, and there's Thanos with that damn glove! Namremm, lord
of Irony, insists that this issue be included in the complete chronology.
Now we get to the good stuff. INFINITY GAUNTLET #1 finally started the
whole thing off right, with gorgeous art work, a script that knew where it
was going, and no cosmic dust-ups. Quality followed quality as
HULK #383 hit the stands. The Hulkster appears here following his p. 34
appearance in IG #1, and has his first run-in with the Abomination. IG
scheduling demons, however, meant that the rest of the Hulk run came out
much faster than the IG storyline, meaning that we wouldn't see the rest of his
official x-overs until late in the storyline. The portal that takes Hulk

away at the end of this issue presumably leaves him outside Avenger's Mansion
in IG #3, page 11.However, the appearances of Silver Surfer and Doctor Strange
in this issue wend between pages in IG #1. Their first appearance, on page
13, presumably follows their appearance on page 15 of IG #1. Their appearance
here, on page 16, apparently immediately precedes their appearance in IG #1,
pages 35 - page 36, panel 6, which then cuts back to their one panel appearance
here on page 18, panel 1, which is immediately microseconds before IG #1,
page 36, panel 7 (the Surfer's hands are now completely on Strange's lapel,
not just one of them). As for how Spidey relates between page 16, panels 5-6,
to his spread in IG #1, it seems to be inserted inbetween panels 2 and 3 on

page 29, IG #1.
DR. STRANGE #31. Actually, the Doc's x-overs usually had the only
editorial hints as to how they fit in with the IG storyline, and so were
helpful in this respect. Their appearances here immeditately follow their show
in IG #1.
SILVER SURFER #51. Galactus gets hungry. Actually, most of this
issue is flashback between Nova and Silverado, which takes place immediately
before IG #1, natch. Of course, nobody in the flashback seems to be caring
that the Cosmos in Collision crisis is apparently going on right now (heck,
the Surfer even has enough time to teach Nova a lesson).

QUASAR #26. Quasar attends Eon's funeral, where Thanos gate-crashes. The
Silver Surfer appears here next, after his reawakening in DS #31.
QUASAR #27 appears to be next -- Eon's body is still rampaging out of
the FF's building, just like the end of last issue. Here comes the first
continutity goblin. Epoch, Eon's... offspring, has to be alive by IG #2,
even if she's called miscalled Eon during the rest of the series. Epoch
is not rescued until the end of this issue. However, Her meets Him (Adam
Warlock) outside the Doc's mansion half way through this issue, even
though the Doc don't meet him till half-way through IG #2. The only way
out of this one is to put the two pages of Her and Him happening sometime
after IG #2, especially since Adam's currently recruiting fighters in
this appearance. The fact that the end of this issue has folks like
Darkhawk, Sleepwalker, and Dethlok fighting Eon's corpse-goo is being
ignored as the act of an unsound mind.
Next, tha'god, is IG #2, where we finally see the results of the
IG proper on Earth. Lotsa people die, you bet. This is pretty straight-
forward, especially after Quasar's last gaffe, but there is a favor
the Orb would like to ask of the rac. On page 19 (book, not comic) of IG #2
there is a face barely visible in three-quarters profile on the screen
in front of Thor II. It looks suspiciously like Rogue. The Orb is
finishing up a complete chronology of that character (on commission for

a client) and we'd like some other comic fan's opinions as to whether that
is the southern mutant or not. Anyway...
DR. STRANGE #32 is next. Notice that the "coffee guests" Strange
has over are commenting on the planet-quake that ended up IG #2.
IG #3. Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to war we go, as Marvel's Heroes
Assembled (TM), both cosmic and Earth-bound, get into their huddles to
discuss strategy. Also features the first appearance of Terraxia,
Thanos' own attempt to prove that Death is a babe.
SILVER SURFER #52's first page and a half predate IG #1 (with
Surf' crashing through Doc's roof), but most people should be able
to piece the scene together. Meanwhile, the rest of the issue is
describing how Drax and Firelord deal with stress. Remember that our
yardstick for chronology is that it had to happen in IG first, so that
even though most of this issue happens, in time, before IG #3, it would
be read by that neutral reader afterwards.

goes and zaps him back in time. Much fun ensues, you bet.
SILVER SURFER #53 is next, mainly because it comes numerically
before SS #54, although it could happen any time during the IG storyline.
Against all odds, blue and pink Kree team up (!!!!!) to reunite their
empire. Plus, Clumsy Foulup.
SILVER SURFER #54. Norrin, feeling pensive, leaves inbetween IG #3
pageswhere the Hulk's being stubborn, and runs into the Rhino at a zoo.
DR. STRANGE #33. Doc's just sent the goodies off to battle Thanos,
so the Gauntlet-guy zaps him back in time in revenge. Much fun ensues,
you bet.

SILVER SURFER #55 and 56. These are the much maligned "imaginary
story" issues. The Surfer, watching the carnage of Earth vs. Thanos
from afar, has a strange dream and inflicts all his readers with nightmares.
Actually, these two issues seem almost as deliberate filler, to keep the
Surfer on par with the perpetually late IG issues.
IG #4. Rumble in the stars. You Wolverine followers out there should
note that he performs against Thanos about as well as you thought he should
against an omnipotent being -- swiss cheese time for the Canuck.
DR. STRANGE #34. Meanwhile, Doc's rescued Doom's torched body, along with
a few other corpses, from the wreck of IG #4, and goes on a seriously weird
quest to restore Dr. Doom to his proper inhumanity.
HULK #384. Finally being shrunk down in size in IG #4, Banner backskips
to an issue now four months old or so, as he gives the Abomination some of that
old-time religion.
SILVER SURFER #57 & 58. Surfer, being a cosmic type hero, and lesser-level
cash cow, is not killed for his impunity by Thanos, but only sent up into the
cluthces of... yes... ANOTHER Marvel COSMIC ENTITY! This, we needed? Still,
at least it wasn't imaginary.
IG #5. Cosmic gods versus Thanos. Thanos wins. Nebula beats Thanos. Yep.
SILVER SURFER #59. Surfer and Thanos finally have out their differences as

Dr. Strange and Warlock try to act as cavalry to the cosmic gods. Yep.
IG #6. The Final Battle. And the Universe sighs...
HULK #385. But the Hulk still has one decent issue left to go. Since he
vanished sometime in IG #5 or 6 from the second assult of Earth's heroes, and
since the Gauntlet falls into Warlock's hands sometime during this episode,
this issue must happen right here.
And that's that. Gack. A few issues of note: the very nextSS (#60)
has him... yes, getting sidetracked again as he goes to destroy Thanos'
shrine to Death; SPIDER-MAN #17 has him in the clutches of Thanos (and Death)
back when Thanos had the Gauntlet _and_ was friendly with Death, but otherwise
is so bereft of other references that it can be placed anywhere before, say,
IG #3; and one issue of SLEEPWALKER has him fighting off some silly convicts
or something after dissolving a bunch of Eon's corpse-slime but still during
the Gauntlet chronology.

All in all, the whole storyline wasn't as bad as, say, Secret Wars II.
Damn with faint praise that we may, the first couple of issues, and especially
the great lead in in the Silver Surfer run under Starlin, was truly excellent
material, good socky-chocky superhero type stuff. It's just when you have
three pages in a row of cosmic entities slogging off side dimensions in a
brawl, humans lose all possible frames of reference that would let them care.

Well. Any other timeline questions (our specialties are Marvel and Mutants
-- but we have a lot of strange stuff in many other fields)? Have a nice
November, folks. It's probably warmer there than here.

--The Orb
submissions accepted