The name “Infinity War” holds distinct meanings in its comic and cinematic contexts, each a landmark in its own right. The comic book series, titled The Infinity War, was a six-issue limited series published by Marvel Comics in 1992. It was a direct sequel to the universe-defining 1991 event, The Infinity Gauntlet. The creative team was the same powerhouse trio responsible for its predecessor: writer Jim Starlin, penciler Ron Lim, and inker Al Milgrom. This series was the second part of what is commonly referred to as Starlin's “Infinity Trilogy,” which concluded with Infinity Crusade in 1993. The story capitalized on the massive success of The Infinity Gauntlet, delving deeper into the cosmic and philosophical ramifications of ultimate power through the character of Adam Warlock. The film, Avengers: Infinity War, was released in 2018 and stands as the 19th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo from a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, it was conceived as the first part of a two-part finale to the “Infinity Saga,” the overarching narrative that encompassed the first 22 films of the MCU. The film's development was an unprecedented undertaking in cinema, weaving together plot threads and character arcs established over ten years of interconnected storytelling, beginning with the post-credits scene of 2012's The Avengers which first revealed Thanos as the cosmic puppet master. While it borrows its title from the 1992 comic, the film's plot is primarily a loose adaptation of The Infinity Gauntlet (1991) and elements from Jonathan Hickman's Infinity (2013) event.
The narrative genesis of the Infinity War differs profoundly between the comic books and the film.
The comic book event The Infinity War does not begin with Thanos, but rather with his foil, Adam Warlock. Following the events of The Infinity Gauntlet, where Warlock wrested the Gauntlet from Thanos and used it to restore the universe, he was ordered by the Living Tribunal to separate the six Infinity Gems 1) to prevent anyone from ever assembling them again. Warlock complied, giving one Gem to each of his chosen guardians, forming the group known as the Infinity Watch. However, in his brief time as a near-omnipotent being, Warlock made a crucial error: to become a creature of pure logic, he forcibly expelled all good and evil from his soul. These expelled aspects did not vanish; they coalesced into two new, powerful cosmic beings. The “good” side became the Goddess, while the “evil” side became the Magus—a twisted, future version of Warlock himself who had been a major cosmic villain in the 1970s. This newly reborn Magus became the central antagonist of The Infinity War. The Magus's goal was to re-acquire the Infinity Gauntlet and reshape the universe in his own dark image. His strategy was insidious: using the power of five cosmic cubes, he created a trans-dimensional realm and began replacing Earth's heroes and villains with evil, monstrous doppelgangers. This sowed chaos and distrust among the superhero community, as no one could be sure who was real and who was a duplicate. His ultimate plan was to manipulate events so he could seize the Infinity Gauntlet from Warlock. The conflict escalated to a massive cosmic scale, forcing the heroes of Earth to reluctantly ally themselves with Thanos, who, despite his past atrocities, recognized the Magus as a universal threat that needed to be stopped.
The MCU's Infinity War is the direct culmination of Thanos's long-brewing plan. His quest for the Infinity Stones was seeded throughout the Infinity Saga:
The film opens with Thanos having already achieved his first victory. As revealed in the opening scene, he has decimated Xandar off-screen to acquire the Power Stone. He then intercepts the Asgardian refugee ship (last seen at the end of Thor: Ragnarok), overpowers Thor and the Hulk, kills Loki and Heimdall, and takes the Space Stone from the Tesseract. This act sets the entire plot in motion. The Hulk is sent to Earth as a herald of doom, crash-landing in the New York Sanctum Sanctorum to warn Doctor Strange and Tony Stark that “Thanos is coming.” From this point, the conflict fractures into multiple, simultaneous fronts as Thanos and his lieutenants—the Black Order—hunt the remaining Stones, forcing the universe's scattered and divided heroes to mount a desperate, multi-pronged defense.
This section primarily details the plot of the MCU film Avengers: Infinity War, as it is a linear narrative event, unlike the more sprawling comic storyline.
The film's narrative is a relentless, fast-paced chase across the cosmos, with Thanos consistently one step ahead of the heroes.
“The end is near.” - Ebony Maw
Several critical decisions made by the heroes, while understandable in the moment, directly contributed to their failure.
The effect of the Snap, known as the Decimation, is instantaneous and horrifying. Across Wakanda and Titan, heroes and soldiers begin to disintegrate into dust. Bucky Barnes, T'Challa, Groot, Wanda Maximoff, Sam Wilson, Peter Quill, Drax, Mantis, and Doctor Strange are all among the vanished. On Titan, a horrified Tony Stark watches Peter Parker fade away in his arms. The surviving heroes—Captain America, Thor, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, James Rhodes, Rocket, Okoye, M'Bala, and Nebula—are left to grapple with their unimaginable failure. The film's post-credits scene shows Nick Fury and Maria Hill witnessing the chaos in New York City as people vanish around them. As they too begin to turn to dust, Fury manages to send a final, desperate message on a modified pager, which displays the symbol of Captain Marvel.
The Earth-based defense was led by a fractured Avengers team, still divided by the events of Captain America: Civil War.
The heroes in space fought a more direct, but equally doomed, battle against Thanos himself.
The antagonists of the film are Thanos and his adopted “children,” the Black Order (referred to in-universe as the Children of Thanos).
While Avengers: Infinity War shares its name with the 1992 comic, its plot is an amalgamation of several key Marvel storylines.
This is the primary source of inspiration for the MCU film. Written by Jim Starlin, this six-issue series sees Thanos acquire all six Infinity Gems. His motivation, however, is vastly different: he seeks to impress the cosmic entity Lady Death, with whom he is pathologically infatuated. To prove his love, he performs the Snap, erasing half of all life in the universe in a single, horrifying panel. The surviving heroes of Earth, led by a resurrected Adam Warlock, unite with other cosmic beings to launch a full-scale assault on Thanos. The story contains many elements adapted for the film, including the heroes' desperate battle against an omnipotent Thanos and their ultimate, catastrophic failure in the initial confrontation.
This epic crossover event, written by Jonathan Hickman, provided major plot elements for the film's Earth-based battle. In Infinity, the main Avengers team leaves Earth to fight a galactic war. While they are away, Thanos and his Black Order (in their first comic appearance) invade Earth to find Thanos's long-lost Inhuman son and to demand a tribute of children's heads. The invasion of Wakanda in the film, with Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive leading an army of “Outriders,” is visually and thematically lifted directly from the pages of Infinity.
As detailed previously, the actual comic book event named The Infinity War has almost no plot resemblance to the film. Its story of the Magus and heroic doppelgangers is a complex cosmic tale of internal conflict and existential identity, centered on Adam Warlock. The filmmakers likely chose the title for its brand recognition and because it powerfully conveys the scale of the conflict. This difference is a frequent topic of discussion among fans, highlighting the way the MCU remixes and re-contextualizes decades of comic book lore.
The catastrophic nature of the Infinity War has made it a popular focal point for “what if” scenarios across different media.
The Disney+ animated series explores several alternate timelines branching from the events of the Infinity Saga.
The concept of who wields the Gauntlet is a common alternate-reality trope in the comics. Storylines in the What If…? comic series have explored scenarios where other characters, from Doctor Doom to Silver Surfer, gained control of the Infinity Gems, almost always with disastrous results. These stories reinforce the core theme that absolute power is too much for any single being to wield responsibly, a theme central to both the comic and cinematic versions of the Infinity War.