The Infinity event was the centerpiece of Marvel's 2013 publishing calendar, serving as the culmination of the first year of writer Jonathan Hickman's ambitious, long-form narrative on the core Avengers and New Avengers titles. Hickman, known for his intricate, high-concept science fiction storytelling, had been laying the groundwork for Infinity since the launch of the Marvel NOW! initiative in late 2012. The event was formally structured around a core, six-issue limited series titled Infinity, which ran from August to November 2013. This central story was co-plotted by Hickman, with the main series art handled by a team of Marvel's top-tier artists: Jim Cheung, Jerome Opeña, and Dustin Weaver. However, Infinity was designed to be more than just a standalone miniseries. It was deeply interwoven with Hickman's ongoing titles, with crucial plot points and character arcs occurring in Avengers (Vol. 5) #14–23 and New Avengers (Vol. 3) #7–12. To fully understand the scope of the conflict, readers were encouraged to follow all three series. This narrative structure, while complex, allowed for an unprecedented sense of scale, with Avengers focusing on the galactic war against the Builders and New Avengers detailing the secret, desperate struggle of the illuminati against the Incursions while Thanos besieged Earth. The event also spawned numerous tie-in miniseries and issues across the Marvel line, including series like Captain Marvel, Thunderbolts, and Avengers Assemble, exploring how different corners of the Marvel Universe reacted to the dual threats. The creation of Thanos's generals, the Black Order (or Cull Obsidian), by Hickman and Opeña was a significant addition to Marvel lore, providing Thanos with a terrifying and memorable retinue that would later be adapted into the MCU.
The stage for Infinity was set by a confluence of cosmic-level crises, each a thread in Jonathan Hickman's overarching narrative. The first and most significant threat was the Incursion phenomenon, a multiversal decay causing universes to collide, with Earth-616 as a focal point. If the Earth of one universe was not destroyed before it collided with the Earth of another, both universes would be annihilated. This existential threat was being secretly managed by the illuminati (Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Namor, Beast, and Black Bolt), who were forced to make horrific moral compromises—including destroying other worlds—to save their own. Their desperate search for a solution formed the dark, parallel narrative in New Avengers. Simultaneously, a more ancient danger was reawakening. The Builders, the oldest and most powerful race in the universe, had begun a relentless march across the cosmos, destroying any civilization they deemed unworthy. Their fleet, of a scale never before seen, was headed directly for Earth. The Builders' motivation was seemingly to judge and cull the universe, but their true purpose was a desperate, genocidal attempt to stop the Incursions by destroying the focal point: Earth. They saw Earth not as a planet to be conquered, but as a cosmic disease to be excised. Seeing this cosmic threat approaching, Captain America and the Avengers expanded their roster into a massive “Avengers Machine” and led a galactic alliance, including the Skrull, Kree, Shi'ar, and others, into space to confront the Builder fleet head-on. This heroic act, meant to save the universe, left Earth critically undefended. Observing this power vacuum was Thanos, the Mad Titan. Having monitored Earth for some time, he saw the departure of the Avengers as the perfect opportunity to launch his own invasion. He dispatched his elite force, the Black Order, to systematically neutralize Earth's remaining heroes and demand a tribute from its nations: the heads of all Inhumans between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two. This was a lie. Thanos's true, secret motivation was the knowledge that he had fathered an Inhuman child years ago. His entire invasion was a brutal, planet-wide search-and-destroy mission to find and kill his own son, Thane, before the boy could potentially grow powerful enough to challenge him.
The MCU does not have a direct adaptation of the Infinity comic event. The film titled Avengers: Infinity War, along with its sequel Avengers: Endgame, tells a story that is primarily a loose adaptation of the 1991 comic epic, The Infinity Gauntlet. The core plot of the MCU's Infinity Saga centers on Thanos's quest to acquire the six Infinity Stones to achieve his goal of wiping out half of all life in the universe, which he believes will bring balance and prevent universal resource collapse. This motivation is a significant departure from his comic counterpart's original goal in The Infinity Gauntlet, which was to impress the cosmic entity, Death. Where the MCU borrows from the Infinity comic event is in the inclusion of Thanos's lieutenants, the Black Order (referred to in the films as the “Children of Thanos”). The film versions of Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Cull Obsidian (named after the group's comic name, with his comic counterpart being Black Dwarf), and Ebony Maw serve the same role as their comic counterparts: elite, powerful generals who carry out Thanos's will. Their invasion of Earth to retrieve the Infinity Stones from Vision and Doctor Strange thematically mirrors their invasion in the comics to find Thane. However, the other key elements of the Infinity comic are absent from the MCU:
Therefore, while casual fans may associate the name “Infinity War” with the comic Infinity, they are two vastly different stories, sharing a primary antagonist and his generals but little else in terms of plot, motivation, or outcome.
The narrative of Infinity unfolds across three primary fronts: the Avengers' space war against the Builders, Thanos's conquest of Earth, and the Illuminati's secret struggle with the Incursions.
The Avengers, leading the Galactic Council's allied fleet, engage the Builders in a series of catastrophic battles. Initially, they are completely outmatched. The Builders' technology and sheer numbers decimate the allied forces, leading to the capture of the Avengers and the seeming total defeat of the galaxy's defenders.
The war culminates in a massive battle in Earth's orbit, where the returned Avengers, the Galactic Council, and Earth's remaining heroes unite to destroy the last of the Builder fleet, ending their cosmic threat forever.
With the Avengers in space, Thanos and the Black Order descend upon Earth. His forces easily overwhelm the planet's defenses. The Black Order splits up to pursue individual objectives, all part of Thanos's plan to find his son.
The focal point of the Earth war becomes the confrontation between Thanos and Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans. Thanos arrives in Attilan and demands the tribute of Inhuman heads. Black Bolt, knowing Thanos's true purpose, refuses.
While the galaxy burns, the Illuminati face their own crisis. Another Incursion event occurs, pitting them against another Earth. This forces Black Panther to face the horrific choice his comrades had made before: destroy a world to save their own. The stress of this, combined with Thanos's invasion, pushes the group to its breaking point. It is during their desperate work in the hidden city of Necropolis (Wakanda's city of the dead) that they discover Thane's location: a hidden Inhuman settlement in Greenland. Ebony Maw, controlling Doctor Strange, relays this information to Thanos.
The final battle takes place in Greenland. Thanos and the Black Order finally corner Thane, an unassuming healer who is unaware of his lineage. Before Thanos can kill his son, the returned Avengers attack. In the chaos of the battle, Ebony Maw frees Doctor Strange and reveals his true allegiance is only to himself. He unleashes Thane's latent Inhuman power. Thane's right hand gains the power of “living death,” encasing any living thing it touches in an amber-like substance, while his left hand has the power to… well, the comic is ambiguous on this. In an act of poetic justice, Thane traps his father Thanos and his ruthless general Proxima Midnight in a state of “living death,” frozen in a block of amber. The event concludes with several major status quo changes:
Led by Captain America's unassailable strategy and Iron Man's technological genius, the Avengers expanded into a global and eventually galactic fighting force.
The primary antagonists of the Earth-based conflict, a group of Thanos's most feared and powerful followers.
The cosmic antagonists of the event. They are an ancient, seemingly omnipotent race who seeded life throughout the universe billions of years ago.
A secret cabal of Earth's most brilliant and powerful leaders working from the shadows to solve the Incursion crisis by any means necessary.
While the event included dozens of tie-in issues, the core narrative can be experienced by following three main titles. A simplified, essential reading order is as follows:
The initial setup, where the Avengers leave for space and Thanos arrives on Earth.
The Avengers are defeated and captured in space, while Thanos hunts for his son on Earth.
The Avengers turn the tide against the Builders, and the final confrontation with Thanos occurs on Earth.
The confrontation in Infinity #4 is a standout. When Thanos demands the heads of Inhuman children, Black Bolt responds not with words, but with a planet-shattering scream. The raw power on display, the destruction of the Inhumans' ancient home, and the silent resolve of their king make this one of the most memorable moments in modern Marvel comics. It is an act of ultimate sacrifice and defiance that changes the world forever.
As detailed previously, the MCU's Avengers: Infinity War is not a direct adaptation of this comic. It borrows two key elements:
The actual plot of Infinity War—Thanos's quest for the Infinity Stones to erase half of all life—is an adaptation of the 1991 comic series The Infinity Gauntlet. The title “Infinity War” was likely chosen for marketing purposes due to its epic sound, and to acknowledge the inclusion of the Black Order, despite the film having no connection to the 1992 comic also named The Infinity War (which featured the Magus and evil doppelgängers).
The legacy of Infinity is most felt through the popularization of the Black Order, who have become recurring villains in Marvel media.
Infinity was not just an event; it was a crucial chapter in Jonathan Hickman's epic Avengers saga. Its consequences were the driving force for the next phase of his story, Time Runs Out, which detailed the final months before the collapse of the multiverse. The discovery of the Illuminati's actions by Captain America at the end of Infinity creates the central conflict between him and Iron Man that defines that final arc. Ultimately, the entire narrative thread, from the Builders to the Incursions to the final war between heroes, culminates in the universe-rebooting epic, Secret Wars.