Line #38 Comicbook/Annihilation


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/annihilation_2006_1_textless.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Counter-clockwise starting from the top: [[PlanetEater Galactus]], [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Drax the Destroyer]], [[ChromeChampion the Silver Surfer]], [[KnightTemplar Ronan the Accuser]], [[OmnicidalManiac Annihilus]], [[TheHero Nova]], and [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Moondragon]].]]
3
4	->''"Verbal log. Nova Corps Operative: 11249-44396 / Richard Rider... I...I was there...the last day of Nova Corps... I was there... I'm still here... God help me, I'm still here."''
5	-->-- '''Richard Rider''', Annihilation Day Plus 7
6
7	In 2006, Creator/MarvelComics had their big CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006''. But this conflict was confined only to Earth and the Marvel Universe contained many, many characters that were space-based. So they had a simultaneous CrisisCrossover just for them: ''Annihilation''.
8
9	At the maximum security prison the Kyln, in the area of space known as "the Crunch", a massive armada called the Annihilation Wave destroys nearly everything. Nothing can stand in the Annihilation Wave's path, especially as it destroys one of the first obstacles: the [[TheChosenMany Nova Corps]], where Richard Rider, Earth's ComicBook/{{Nova}}, is the only survivor. Elsewhere, the ComicBook/SilverSurfer senses an infestation; Kl'rt the Super-Skrull hears rumors of a strange superweapon; Ronan the Accuser becomes the accused; and ComicBook/{{Thanos}} has a conversation with [[TheGrimReaper Death]], who tells him "something wonderful" is going to happen. And as the Annihilation Wave bears down on the universe, at its head is [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Annihilus]] who shouts "Annihilus is the will and the way and he will not be denied!"
10
11	''Annihilation'' was spread out over a number of mini-series:
12	* ''Drax the Destroyer: Earth Fall'' 1-4 (actually a prelude)
13	* ''Annihilation Prologue''
14	* ''Annihilation: Nova'' 1-4
15	* ''Annihilation: Silver Surfer'' 1-4
16	* ''Annihilation: Super-Skrull'' 1-4
17	* ''Annihilation: Ronan'' 1-4
18	* ''Annihilation'' 1-6
19
20	In addition, there was an ''Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus'' spin-off tying up some loose ends. The fourth volume of ComicBook/{{Nova}} spun out of this event.
21
22	A few months later there was a sequel: ''ComicBook/AnnihilationConquest'', which followed the same format as its predecessor, save for the fourth mini-series being replaced by the then-current ComicBook/{{Nova}} series. A few months after the Annihilation War has ended, and the universe is beginning to rebuild. Unfortunately, new villains take advantage of the fragmented chaos, and take over the Kree Galaxy, shunting it out of space entirely, leaving only a few heroes capable of fighting them inside.
23
24	The fallout of these events would form part of Marvel's subsequent SpaceOpera crossovers, the ''ComicBook/WarOfKings'' in 2009, and ''ComicBook/TheThanosImperative'' in 2010, as well as starting off the second volume of ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''. It would also gain much later sequels in 2019's ''ComicBook/AnnihilationScourge'' and 2021's ''ComicBook/TheLastAnnihilation''.
25
26	Not to be confused with the 2004 ''Literature/WarOfTheSpiderQueen'' novel, or the 2014 first novel in ''Literature/TheSouthernReachTrilogy'' (or its [[Film/Annihilation2018 2018 film adaptation]]).
27	----
28	!!''Annihilation'' provides examples of:
29
30	%%* TheAlliance: The United Front.
31	%%* AlliterativeName: Richard Rider.
32	* AllYourPowersCombined: The Phalanx managed to get their hands on a Super-Adaptoid, which among its abilities are those of the early seventies Avengers, and the original Captain Marvel.
33	%%* AmazonBrigade: ComicBook/{{Gamora}} and the Graces.
34	* AnArmAndALeg: Rich orders an orbital bombardment on his position, and the narration mentions the med-techs growing him a new leg afterward.
35	* AntiVillain: Super-Skrull, who maims, tortures, and kills in his way to stop the [[PlanetEater Harvester of Sorrow]].
36	%%* AndThisIsFor: '''"THIS IS FOR NOVA CORPS!"'''
37	* AppropriatedAppellation: Wraith decides to call himself that after a rant from Ronan.
38	* AssholeVictim: The leaders of House Fiyero. They turned the [[GodEmperor Supreme Intelligence]] into a vegetable, framed Ronan for treason and basically sold the Kree empire to Annihilus to save their skin. No one felt bad for them when Ronan executed them.
39	* BadassNormal: Peter Quill, the former Star-Lord, is probably the only normal human fighter in the resistance. [[NoodleIncident He doesn't like to talk about what happened to his powers.]]
40	* BadBoss: Annihilus blows up a small chunk of his fleet just for not taking a planet quickly enough. {{ComicBook/Thanos}} of all people calls him on it.
41	%%* BigBad: Annihilus.
42	* BigDamnHeroes: Set up by Annihilus' goons, the Silver Surfer is rescued by Firelord and Red Shift.
43	* BittersweetEnding: The universe is saved, but billions are dead, the Nova Corps is destroyed, the Skrulls are on the verge of extinction...and after Annihilus's death, they still have to cede territories to Ravenous and the leftover Annihilation Wave just so the fighting will stop, and Surfer has been largely stripped of his morals by Galactus. And [[spoiler:Annihilus isn't quite dead, with the [[TheAssimilator Phalanx]] deciding to take advantage of this]].
44	* BlackAndGrayMorality: In Super-Skrull's miniseries, the protagonist is a jerkass who isn't above using violence and torture to get what he wants, but is up against the Annihilation Wave, an army bent on destroying all life across the cosmos.
45	* BlatantLies: On several occasions after introducing himself, Drax is met with some variation of "You mean, ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Destroyer]]''?", but his response is always a simple "[[TerseTalker No.]]"
46	* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: The Silver Surfer manages to kill Aegis and Tenebrous, but at the very near cost of killing himself, until Galactus revives him.
47	* BrokenRecord: Gabriel the Air-Walker, as he begins to die, starts repeating his last words over and over.
48	* BullyingADragon: Three House Fiyero loyalists insult Ronan and try to demand his arrest at gunpoint. While Ronan still has his Universal Weapon to hand. He promptly disintegrates them.
49	* CallBack: When the Worldmind tries to talk Richard Rider into taking the entire Nova Force, Richard angrily brings up the case of Garthan Saal, who did just that and quickly went insane, back in Nova's old series.
50	* CaptainsLog: Richard Rider keeps a Nova Corps log.
51	* CatchPhrase: The Worldmind has "It is critical you pay attention at this time." It usually says this when Richard Rider does something dangerous or stupid. It says this a lot.
52	* CivvieSpandex: By the last mini-series, Richard Rider has gone from a normal costume to wearing a jacket over it.
53	* TheChosenOne:
54	** Mantis, the Celestial Madonna. It's apparently the reason the Kree imprisoned her.
55	** Peter Quill, formerly the Star-Lord. At one point he even mentions he never bothered checking what that meant.
56	* ClearMyName: Ronan's goal during the war is to get back his job and life, first by finding the Rigellian Tana Nile and learning who bribed her into testifying against him. Then the Annihilation Wave kills her, forcing a change in plans.
57	* CListFodder: The Nova Corps are wiped out in the first week of the war.
58	* LesCollaborateurs: House Fiyero eventually begin working with the Annihilation Wave. Ronan [[LaserGuidedKarma deals with them]].
59	* ComboPlatterPowers: Kl'rt the Super-Skrull has all the powers of the Comicbook/FantasticFour, although he uses them with lethal efficiency, like stretching his arm so thin that it becomes like razor-wire and then cutting enemies in half with it.
60	* ConflictKiller:
61	** Annihilus managed to get most of the Negative Zone under his rule by claiming the regular universe was destroying it (with the backup plan of beating the crap out of anyone who didn't fall into line).
62	** Peter Quill thinks this would happen if the Wave reaches Earth, whose mightiest heroes are having [[ComicBook/CivilWar2006 their own little problem]]. Richard Rider, normally the more idealistic of the two, thinks they'd probably still be bickering even as the Wave burns their world out from under them.
63	%%* ContinuityCavalcade: A lot of obscure Cosmic Marvel characters appear throughout both events
64	* CurbStompBattle:
65	** Nova tries to take on Annihilus single-handed. He gets his ass handed to him.
66	** Ronan versus Ravenous, who only a few months before (in-universe) survived fights with the ComicBook/SilverSurfer. Ronan takes a good chunk of Ravenous's face off.
67	* CustomUniform: Richard Rider's Nova outfit is altered to a new design in order to regulate the full power of the Nova Force.
68	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Peter Quill, due to an unpleasant incident involving a former herald of Galactus and a colony full of innocents. As Kree captain Chan-Dar notes, these sorts of pasts have a tendency to catch up to people.
69	* DatingCatwoman: Nova, the last of the Nova Corps, and Gamora, the Deadliest Woman in the Universe.
70	%%* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: Why Gamora founded the Graces, and why she's so happy about becoming a Phalanx Select.
71	* DoomsdayDevice: Annihilus wants to turn [[spoiler:Galactus]] into a universe-destroying ''bomb''.
72	* DualWield: Drax happens to carry two big-ass knives on his person, and most of his plans consist of stabbing his opponent with them repeatedly.
73	* EarthShatteringKaboom:
74	** The Silver Surfer has a habit of doing this when pissed, though in at least one instance the planet was confirmed uninhabited.
75	** The Harvester of Sorrows eats planets after making them blow up.
76	** Terrax does this in ''Heralds'' when the inhabitants annoy him by asking for help.
77	%%* EldritchAbomination: Tenebous of the Darkness Between and Aegis, Lady of All Sorrows.
78	%%* EliteMooks: The Centurions.
79	* EnemyMine:
80	** Blastaar, usually an antagonist to the Nova Corps and the Comicbook/FantasticFour, supplies Nova, Peter Quill and Phyla-Vell with teleportation tubes that will allow them to get them close to Annihilus.
81	** Ronan and Super-Skrull are usually villains but help Nova and the others defeat the Annihilation Wave. In fact, Ronan and Super-Skrull being on the same side counts as well; Kree and Skrulls hate each other.
82	%%* EvilerThanThou: According to the ComicBook/DarkReign handbook, the Phalanx are this to the Annihilation Wave. Crosses into InformedAttribute, though, since the Phalanx want to [[AssimilationPlot take over the universe]], not blow it all up, not that it makes it any better.
83	* EvilIsPetty: The reason the Annihilation Wave attacked Xandar was to get the Air-Walker's attention.
84	* EyeScream: Phalanx infection is signposted by wiring coming out of and covering the infectee's eyes.
85	* FantasticRacism:
86	** The Kree don't like humans, because they think we're "monkeys". Apparently Peter Quill hit on his aide Ten-Cor repeatedly while drunk, only for her to turn him down because of this.
87	** As Rocket Racoon later points out, the Kree think everyone else is a lower life-form.
88	* FemaleGaze: Cammi takes a moment to note that Richard's outfit is very tight.
89	* FreudianSlip: During a particularly heated argument, Nova calls the Worldmind "Dad".
90	* FromBadToWorse: From day one. First the [[SpacePolice Nova Corps]] is wiped out. Then {{ComicBook/Quasar}} gets killed, allowing Annihilus to take his quantum bands, becoming even more powerful. Then the Wave ploughs through the Skrull Empire. The [[TheAlliance United Front]] manages to hold them off for a while, and then the Wave manages to [[OhCrap capture Galactus]], and turn him into a weapon. After that, the United Front just gives up, forcing Nova, Phyla-Vell and Quill to try and take on Annihilus alone. And just when the heroes finally "killed" Annihilus and started bringing stability to the universe, Ultron and the Phalanx come a-knockin'.
91	* TheGadfly: The Super-Skrull loves making pithy comments at Ronan's expense every few seconds.
92	* GottaCatchEmAll: Annihilus' forces are hunting down the heralds of Galactus. They irreparably damage the Air-Walker when they learn he's just a robot.
93	* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe:
94	%% Gamora, the Deadliest Woman in the Universe. ''Annihilation'' has her as what had been her standard olive-green, but from ''Conquest'' onwards she's a very vivid green.
95	** Annihilus is first seen with two green-skined insect babes as his PaidHarem in his throne room.
96	** The Kree officers Ten-Cor and Ko-Rel are blue skinned space babes.
97	%%** Mantis.
98	* HiveMind: Pretty much all of the Annihilation Wave is controlled through Annihilus and his Queens. Which is good, since killing him or the Queens will pretty much leave the wave without direction. The lack of individuality means none of them will risk their lives for one another.
99	* HulkSpeak: Drax starts out speaking in meaningless sentences that reflect his debilitated mental state. Then he dies and comes back to life smarter.
100	* IKnowMortalKombat: According to her Nova Corps file, Cammi became a talented pilot due to her years of playing video games.
101	* ImplacableMan: The Annihilation Wave barely slows Drax or Ronan down. In Drax's case, he was on a planet being devoured by a ''weaponized Galactus'', and he still somehow survived.
102	%%* KilledOffForReal: Gabriel the Air-Walker, Red Shift.
103	* KnightTemplar: Ronan the Accuser. Although he generally kills bad people, he really doesn't care about the consequences or what happens afterwards.
104	* LastOfHisKind:
105	** Stardust, when the Annihilation Wave destroys her race. And then again when she hands the survivors over to Galactus.
106	** Tenebrous and Aegis are the last of their kind, the rest having died long ago.
107	%%* LittleMissSnarker: Cammi.
108	* MercyKill: Ronan euthanizes the Supreme Intelligence, once he finds what House Fiyero have done to it.
109	* TheMole: [[spoiler:R'kin]] turns on Kl'rt just as he was about to destroy the Harvester of Sorrow.
110	* NeutralNoLonger: The Silver Surfer was content to stay out of the war, seeing it as not his problem. Then Annihilus went after all of Galactus' heralds, eventually drawing the Surfer into the fight.
111	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Drax finally manages to accomplish his goal in life, and kills Thanos... just as he was about to free Galactus, the one being capable of saving the universe from the Annihilation Wave.
112	* NoodleIncident: The exact reason Gamora ended up on Gothab Omega isn't clear, but Korath mentions she'd been spurned by the cosmic forces.
113	* NotSoDifferentRemark:
114	** Ravenous claims he and the ComicBook/SilverSurfer are servants to a higher power, when really Ravenous is just a murderous thug working for an OmnicidalManiac.
115	** Thanos and Annihilus acknowledge they have several things in common.
116	* OhCrap: The heroes are horrified when [[spoiler:they learn Annihilus has captured Galactus]]. Since one of the most powerful beings in existence has fallen, they have little to no hope of defeating the villain.
117	* OmnicidalManiac: Annihilus wants to destroy both the regular universe and the Negative Zone just so he can be the last living thing standing. Even the Mad Titan Thanos [[EvenEvilHasStandards tries to stop him]] after finding this out.
118	* PlanetEater: The Harvester of Sorrow is a gigantic bioweapon that destroys planets and transforms the remains into rations that feed the Annihilation Wave. After Super-Skrull blows it up, Annihilus and Thanos capture and enslave Galactus to use as a replacement.
119	* PreAsskickingOneLiner: After several panels of House Fiyero desperately trying to save their sorry butts, Ronan just declares "Know that House Fiyero stands accused". The next shot is him walking calmly out of the room, alone.
120	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: A lot of the final battles in ''Annihilation'' end with one large battle cry. Special mentions go to Ronan's '''"GUILTY!"''', Galactus '''"HERALD MY RAGE!"''' and Nova's defiant '''"THIS IS FOR THE NOVA CORPS!"''' [[spoiler:as he finally kills Annihilus, ending the war.]]
121	%%* {{Reconstruction}}: For the Cosmic side of the Marvel Universe.
122	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Subverted. [[spoiler:Super-Skrull sacrifices himself to destroy the Harvester of Sorrow, and the epilogue shows his efforts have been rewarded, as later generations of the Skrulls come to hail him as one of the Empire's greatest heroes. However, he is brought back to life shortly afterwards]].
123	* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Gabriel the Air-Walker is a ridiculously Xandarian robot, but since the average Xandarian looks pretty human, he still qualifies. It's also a plot point. The Wave forces had no idea he was a robot, and are infuriated when they find out, since they intended to study his biology in order to harvest the herald's cosmic power.
124	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Richard tries to eradicate the Annihilation Wave immediately after getting the Nova Force, winding up with his blacking out and crashing. He quickly admits that it was a stupid move.
125	* RousingSpeech: Just before infiltrating the Babel Spire, Quill gives one of these to his team... only to be met with blank looks, before muttering "thought not" and moving on.
126	* SanitySlippage: Subverted. Richard Rider is unwilling to take the entire Nova Force because the last person who did so went mad. Ultimately, he doesn't have a choice, but even though he does have a momentary burst of rage, complete with SlasherSmile, his mental faculties are preserved for the rest fo the series.
127	* SealedEvilInACan: In the beginning of the universe, Galactus imprisoned Tenebrous of the Darkness Between and Aegis Lady of All Sorrows in the Kyln. The Annihilation Wave set them free.
128	* ShellShockedVeteran: Richard Richard was the last survivor of the Nova Corps. He spent four days alternating between not doing anything and passing out, until the Worldmind summoned him, and even then he's still in a nasty state of shock.
129	* ShoutOut: During the Silver Surfer's mini-series, Annihilus's throne-room looks [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi familiar]]...
130	* SomeoneElsesProblem:
131	** The Silver Surfer is amazingly unconcerned about the war, up until it gets personal.
132	** Drax doesn't care that Annihilus is about to blow up the entire universe. He only joins the fight because he figures the conflict will bring him closer to Thanos, whom he obsessively intends to kill.
133	** The war doesn't matter to Ronan. He just sees it as a temporary setback to his true objective, which is clearing his name, and after that becomes a moot point, finishing House Fiyero.
134	%%* SpaceColdWar: This is the status quo post-Annihilation.
135	%%* SpacePolice: The Nova Corps. They don't last long.
136	* SupermanStaysOutOfGotham: There's a massive army tearing its way through the Andromeda Galaxy, followed by the Lesser Magellanic Cloud. Skrulls and Kree start dying in the millions and entire planets are destroyed, but the Shi'ar choose not to get involved, since the Wave goes right around them (and the Shi'ar are having their own internal dispute).
137	* StealthSequel: Very broadly, but ''Annihilation'' runs with some elements introduced in the Jim Starlin's short-lived 2003 ''Thanos'' series.
138	* ThatManIsDead: Peter Quill is very insistent that "Star-Lord" is dead.
139	* TimeSkip: Annihilation tie-ins end at different points in time ('Annihilation: Nova' ends 11 days after Xandar's destruction, 'Annihilation: Ronan' 99 days, for example). Nova, Ronan, Silver Surfer and Super-Skrull never meet each other during their respective tie-ins. The main series starts several months later, with some of those characters already having organized a unified resistance.
140	* TookALevelInBadass: Richard Rider takes several, going from perennial C-lister to one of the most powerful superheroes Marvel has.
141	* VillainousRescue: [[spoiler:Galactus]] plays a vital role in bringing down the Annihilation Wave.
142	* WarArc: The series is about an intergalactic war between the Annihilator and Marvel's cosmic superheroes.
143	%%* WeHaveReserves: House Fiyero doesn't even see them as reserves, more like resources to be spent as they chose.
144	* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Praxagora is actually in love with Kl'rt the Super-Skrull, who is a colossal jerk to her. [[spoiler:Though, he does show some sorrow when Ultron takes control of and self-destructs her, saying that she deserved a better death]].
145	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
146	** The Graces just disappear after Annihilation. Which is definitely not a good thing, given most of them are criminals and murderers.
147	** Cammi disappears along with Skreet. Cammi would eventually reappear years later, but Skreet is nowhere to be seen.
148	* TheWorfEffect: Nebula and Stellaris, both of whom are major-grade cosmic threats (Nebula blew up the home planet of the Nova Corps some decades ago), fall pretty quickly to Ronan.
149	%%* WouldHurtAChild: Kl'rt definitely did, but then, this kid [[LaserGuidedKarma kinda had it coming]].
150	%%* WretchedHive: Gothab Omega, the planet where Gamora and her Graces have holed up, along with several Kree soldiers.
151	* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: With no House Fiyero and no Supreme Intelligence, Ronan ends up in charge of the Kree Empire.

Context Comicbook / Annihilation