History Comicbook / Annihilation

* DropTheHammer: Ronan has hammer which can restructure molecules, but he usually just uses it to hit people ''really'' hard.

** Peter Quill thinks this would happen if the Wave reaches Earth, whose mightiest heroes are having [[ComicBook/CivilWar 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.

* TheAlliance: The United Front.
* AlliterativeName: Richard Rider.

* AmazonBrigade: ComicBook/{{Gamora}} and the Graces.

* AndThisIsFor: '''"THIS IS FOR NOVA CORPS!"'''
* AnyoneCanDie: ComicBook/{{Quasar}}, though he got better in the pages of ComicBook/{{Nova}} a few years later. Same goes for the Super-Skrull. And Thanos. The only ones who have stayed dead so far are the heralds of ComicBook/{{Galactus}}.
** Moondragon in ''Conquest'' but like the above example, she got better. Honestly, even in cosmic Marvel, no one stays dead.
** Half of the killed heralds also turned out OnlyMostlyDead in ''Heralds''. [[AMillionIsAStatistic The majority of the universal population weren't so lucky though.]]

* BigBad: Annihilus.
* BigDamnHeroes:
** Set up by Annihilus' goons, the Silver Surfer is rescued by Firelord and Red Shift.
* BittersweetEnding:
** They saved the universe, 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. Oh and [[spoiler:Annihilus isn't quite dead. And let's not get started when The [[TheAssimilator Phalanx]] decided to take advantage of this]].
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Super-Skrull's miniseries, given that he's a jerkass who isn't above using violence and torture to get what he wants, against the Annihilation Wave.
* BlatantLies: On several occasions after introducing himself, Drax is met with some variation of "You mean, ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Destroyer]]''?" & his response is simple "[[TerseTalker No.]]"

* BugWar
* BullyingADragon: Three House Fiyero loyalists do this to Ronan, insulting him and trying to demand his arrest at gunpoint. While Ronan still has his Universal Weapon to hand. He promptly disintegrates them.

* ComboPlatterPowers: Kl'rt the Super-Skrull has all the powers of the Comicbook/FantasticFour, although he uses them a little more...dangerously. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Like stretching his arm so thin that it becomes like razor-wire and then cutting enemies in half with it.]]

* ContinuityCavalcade: A lot of obscure Cosmic Marvel characters appear throughout both events
* ContinuityLockout: Somewhat averted, since pretty much everything is explained in the series, but still, some things people won't understand until they've read back issues from the '70s, like who the heck Gamora is or what the history is between Thanos and Drax. (Which lead to Marvel releasing a trade called ''Annihilation: Classic'').

* DeadpanSnarker: Several galaxies worth of snarkers. Including forces of energy, on occasion.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: Why Gamora founded the Graces, and why she's so happy about becoming a Phalanx Select.

* DropTheHammer: Ronan's hammer, which can also restructure molecules. He usually just uses it to hit people really, ''really'' hard.

* EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: Averted. The Annihilation Wave doesn't touch Earth, which is probably a good thing, since, as the Xandarian Worldmind notes in its files, the planet's ability to defend itself is severely crippled by the combination of the depowering of the majority of its mutant population and the rest of its heroes too focused on fighting each other in Comicbook/CivilWar.
** And again in ''Conquest'', where Earth isn't even seen once.
** ''What If: Annihilation'' showed what would have happened if it had done - One of Annihilus's ships crashed in New York... Right where the climactic battle was taking place, with [[WhatTheHellHero Nova promptly calling all of the heroes out over their petty squabble about their secret identities whilst the rest of the galaxy is trying to stop the Annihilation Wave]].

* EldritchAbomination: Tenebous of the Darkness Between and Aegis, Lady of All Sorrows.
* EliteMooks: The Centurions.
* EnemyMine: 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.
** Also, 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.
* [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End of the Universe as We Know It]]
* 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.

* 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'.

** Quasar's Quantum-Bands
* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe:
** 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.
** Mantis, as well.

* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic:
** Averted with Richard Rider, who wears a helmet and is the most heroic and selfless character around, barring one or two moments early on in the war.

* HulkSpeak: Drax starts out speaking like this. Then he dies and comes back to life smarter.

* ImplacableMan:
** Drax, Ronan. The Annihilation Wave barely slows either of them down.
** Note that in Drax's case, he was on a planet being devoured by a ''weaponized Galactus'', and he still somehow survived.
* KilledOffForReal: Gabriel the Air-Walker, Red Shift.

* LittleMissSnarker: Cammi.
* MercyKill: Ronan does this to the Supreme Intelligence, once he finds what House Fiyero have done to it.
* TheMole: [[spoiler:R'kin]], who turns on Kl'rt just as he was about to destroy the Harvester of Sorrow.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: A boatload. There's Drax the Destroyer, Annihilus, Ravenous, Thanos, and, of course, the Harvester of Sorrow.
** Not to mention: [[spoiler:Galactus]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Drax finally manages to accomplish his goal in life, and kills Thanos... just as he was about to free Galactus.

** Ravenous claims he and the ComicBook/SilverSurfer are this, being servants to a higher power, when really Ravenous is just a murderous thug working for an OmnicidalManiac.

* OhCrap: Everyone's reaction when [[spoiler:they learn Annihilus has captured Galactus]].
* OmnicidalManiac: Annihilus, who wants to destroy both the regular universe and the Negative Zone just so he can be the last living thing standing. Even Thanos [[EvenEvilHasStandards tries to stop him]] after that.
* PlanetEater: Besides Galactus, there's the Harvester of Sorrow. After Super-Skrull blows that up, Annihilus and Thanos capture Galactus and ''make'' him into one (well... More of one).

* {{Reconstruction}}: For the Cosmic side of the Marvel Universe.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Super-Skrull, although he gets better after a few months.
* {{Ridiculously Human Robot|s}}: 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... pretty angry when they find out.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Richard tries this immediately after getting the Nova Force, winding up with his blacking out and crashing. He quickly admits that it was a stupid move.

* SanitySlippage: Richard Rider is unwilling to take the entire Nova Force because this happened to the last person who did it. Ultimately, there isn't much choice. He does have a momentary burst of rage, complete with SlasherSmile, but beyond that nothing.
** The fact that he's got the Worldmind and Drax nearby helps.

** Oh, Annihilus is about to blow up the entire universe? Drax doesn't care.
** Ronan as well. The war doesn't matter to him. Nothing matters except clearing his name, and after that becomes a moot point, finishing House Fiyero.
* SpaceColdWar: This is the status quo post-Annihilation.
* SpacePolice: The Nova Corps. They don't last long.
* 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, entire planets are destroyed, and where are the Shi'ar? Not remotely involved once, since the Wave goes right around them (and the Shi'ar are having their own internal dispute).

* WarArc: Self-explanatory.
* WeHaveReserves: House Fiyero doesn't even see them as reserves, more like resources to be spent as they chose.

* WouldHurtAChild:
** Kl'rt definitely did, but then, this kid [[LaserGuidedKarma kinda had it coming]].
* WretchedHive: Gothab Omega, the planet where Gamora and her Graces have holed up, along with several Kree soldiers.

In 2006, Creator/MarvelComics had their big CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/CivilWar''. 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''.

Not to be confused with the 2004 ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' novel ''Literature/{{Annihilation|2004}}'', or the 2014 SciFiHorror novel ''Literature/{{Annihilation|2014}}'' by Creator/JeffVanderMeer (or its 2018 [[Film/Annihilation2018 film adaptation]]).

* AmbiguousDisorder: Rocket Racoon in the ComicBook/StarLord miniseries has some obsessive-compulsive tendencies. And is asked by Bug, whether or not he has it.

* GreenLanternRing: Kl'rt the Super-Skrull has all the powers of the Comicbook/FantasticFour, although he uses them a little more...dangerously. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Like stretching his arm so thin that it becomes like razor-wire and then cutting enemies in half with it.]]

* {{Abusive Parent|s}}: Elysius, Phyla-Vell's mother, was incredibly cold and uncaring toward her daughter, only telling her about her brother's death while upbraiding her.

* AngstComa: Essentially the reason Adam Warlock was a no-show for the first Annihilation. The sheer amount of dead overwhelmed his mind and caused him to go into a coma for several months.

* ATeamFiring: Peter Quill, after getting his cybernetic implants removed, takes a while to get back into the hang of aiming.
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: [[spoiler:Ultron's final form in ''Conquest'' is a giant version of himself.]]

** [[spoiler:Ultron vaporises Korath the Pursuer, the first being he made a Select, for not apprehending Adam Warlock.]]
* TheBerserker: Deathcry. It's how she wound up being arrested by the Kree, as well as how she [[spoiler:gets killed]].
* {{BFG}}: Rocket Racoon loves his guns. During preparation for their suicide mission, he takes a shine to a minigun. Peter Quill is incredulous.
-->'''Peter Quill:''' How's he going to carry it around? On a little cart?

** [[Comicbook/TheAvengers Ultron]] for the sequel, ''Annihilation:Conquest''

** In ''Conquest'', [[spoiler:Nova and his allies, especially Warlock of the Technarchy. Dramatic punches from offscreen stop Ultron from laying a beatdown on one of our heroes twice in three pages.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Warlock:''' Ultron-Phalanx! You face the wrath of your parent race! And we are ''not pleased!'']]
** Another one comes earlier, when Peter Quill is saved from death by Rocket Racoon in his [[MoreDakka usual style]].
-->'''Rocket Racoon:''' (After having killed every Phalanx in the room) "And ''that'' is how we do things in the Racooniverse!"

** ''Conquest'' as well. The Phalanx and Ultron have been stopped, but the universe has taken a serious beating, several million more Kree have been killed, [[spoiler:Mantis is badly hospitalised, and Moondragon is dead.]]
* BizarreAlienBiology: Blastaar of the Negative Zone can enter a catatonic hibernation that makes it look like he's dead. Comes in handy if you need someone to infiltrate a Phalanx Babel Spire.

* BodyHorror: If someone with Phalanx tech in them goes near K'vch tech, they turn into a Babel Spire. Worse, Drax and Gamora, two of the deadliest characters there are, are ''screaming'' as it happens.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Technically the victims of the Phalanx during the ''Conquest'' arc. Some of the characters being Richard Rider, Gamora and Drax. Curiously, some of them know they're brainwashed, and are angry about it, yet still praise being Phalanx.

* 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.
** When talking with Ten-Cor, his attaché, Peter Quill notes she acts like his old ship, Ship.

* ContinuityNod: During ''Conquest'', Ultron's encounter with the ComicBook/MightyAvengers is mentioned, and given as his explanation for changing the Phalanx's tactics.
* ColdBloodedTorture: The Phalanx resort to this when Peter Quill claims any attempt to integrate him will automatically kill them. Ultron calls them on it and brings out the [[MindRape Encephalo Ray]].
* CoolSword:
** Phyla-Vell's default construct with the Quantum Bands is a sword. She has a meltdown when she breaks it.
** Gamora's still got her sword, Godslayer.

* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: Peter Quill regards his choice to take cybernetic implants as "rejecting his humanity".

* DefiantToTheEnd: Facing off against several Phalanx, and [[spoiler:Ultron in Adam Warlock's body]], Peter Quill just tells them to do their worst. Fortunately Nova chooses that moment to pull a BigDamnHeroes moment.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: PlayedForDrama between Deathcry and Gabriel Vargas. He sees vaporising an attacking drone as helping a teammate, while Deathcry takes it as a slight, because Shi'Ar honor-law dictates that by doing so, he's implying she couldn't have done it herself. Unforunately, Gabe [[DamnYouMuscleMemory does it a second time]], setting Deathcry off and resulting in her [[KillingInSelfDefense death]] and Gabe's HeroicBSOD.

* DoesntLikeGuns: Mantis.

* TheDreaded: The Phalanx actually fear Wraith.

* EvilIsPetty:
** The reason the Annihilation Wave attacked Xandar was to get the Air-Walker's attention.
** [[spoiler:What's Ultron's ultimate goal? Return to Earth and rub how powerful he is in [[ComicBook/AntMan his father's face]].]]
* EvilutionaryBiologist: The High Evolutionary, once again, who was hired by the Kree Supreme Intelligence for exactly that reason.

* FelonyMisdemeanor:
** Why is [[KavorkaMan Bug]] in prison? He got an otherwise unimportant Kree woman pregnant. The Kree take things like 'genetic purity' seriously.
** Rocket Racoon was imprisoned for parking tickets. He claims the Kree didn't say he couldn't park there until they arrested him.

* FireForgedFriends: None of Peter Quill's team get on at first, with one of them trying to ''kill'' another. By the time they finish their SuicideMission, this has changed, and the survivors go on to help found the ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Mantis mentions that they've lost three team members, confusing Star-Lord, who points out they've only lost two so far, so why's she saying three?
-->'''Mantis''': Because this is the part where Ultron teleports in and hits me.
-->''(Cue Ultron teleporting in and hitting her)''
* {{Flanderization}}: Groot's habit of saying "I am Groot" starts in Annihilation: Conquest. He is capable of saying other things, but come ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy, this falls by the wayside. [[ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2019 The fifth volume]] brought back his capability to say other things, though.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** When the Phalanx block Kree space from the rest of the universe, Phyla sees a glimpse of Wraith, a cocoon, Rocket Racoon, Bug and Deathcry.
** At the end of Conquest, Adam Warlock mentions that a war is coming that would make the Annihilation war look small.
** The physical design of the Phalanx gives small hints that [[spoiler:Ultron is their leader]].
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Nobody on Quill's team seems very upset when Deathcry bites it.

* AGodAmI: The High Evolutionary is convinced he's a god. He's powerful, and really clever, but he's not a god yet.
* GodzillaThreshold: In an attempt to break through the Phalanx's barrier, the Badoon use something called a Continuum Ram. The captain of the lead ship on hearing this remarks that he doesn't know which is worse; that the Badoon ''have'' such a weapon, that they don't care whether everyone else knows it exists, or that it [[NoSell didn't work]].

* GotVolunteered: Peter Quill's [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits squad]]. They were all in prison before hand, most of them for [[FelonyMisdemeanor minor acts]]. Rocket Racoon, for example, was in there for parking tickets. But since none of them are Kree, they're the perfect choice to send on a SuicideMission.
** Rocket claims Groot volunteered to [[spoiler:bring down the Babel Spire by being set on fire]]. Apparently his exact words were: "I AM GROOT!"
* GrandTheftMe: Adam Warlock's body is stolen by [[spoiler:Ultron]].

** And again with Peter Quill, come ''Conquest''. He's given a fancy-looking helmet by the Kree, and keeps it even after everything's over.
* HeroicSacrifice: Groot, in Conquest, in order to bring down the Babel Spire. [[GoodThingYouCanHeal He gets better.]]

* HonorBeforeReason: Deathcry keeps getting offended by Captain Universe accidentally making slights on her honor. Combined with a HairTriggerTemper, and she eventually tries to kill him. He vaporises her without meaning to in self-defense.

* [[HumanResources Kree Resources]]: The Phalanx do this to fuel their Babel Spire, killing thousands of Kree a day.

* InsistentTerminology: The Phalanx are very clear that Great Ultron is to be referred to as Great Ultron.
* ItsAllMyFault: Peter Quill in regards to the Phalanx invasion.
* KilledOffForReal: Gabriel the Air-Walker, Red Shift, Deathcry, Captain Universe, Korath the Pursuer, [[spoiler:Praxagora]].

** The Phalanx believed that Groot's species was extinct. As a later miniseries would show, they were anything but. They just don't like leaving home.

* MercyKill:
** Ronan does this to the Supreme Intelligence, once he finds what House Fiyero have done to it.
** [[spoiler:Ronan's plan in ''Conquest'' is to send an army of Phalanx-proof sentries to MercyKill all the Kree on Hala. Fortunately, this doesn't come to fruition.]]

* MindRape: Ultron's encephalo ray. Even with Mantis providing a buffer, it still makes Peter Quill scream his head off.

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Mantis suddenly turns out to have the ability to hide herself from Phalanx detection just as Quill's squad get captured. Quill is understandably pretty miffed at this.
* NewSuperPower: Adam Warlock gets some new powers after he wakes up, but since he was woken up early, there's a lot of initial teething trouble, which causes him physical pain at the worst possible moments.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** Drax finally manages to accomplish his goal in life, and kills Thanos... just as he was about to free Galactus.
** Fighting the Super-Adaptoid gives it enough information to copy Phyla-Vell's Quantum Bands for itself.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: The Super-Adaptoid copies and steals Phyla's quantum energy for itself, allowing her to absorb it back into her bands and kill it.
* NinetiesAntiHero: Wraith fits the trope to a tee: Mysterious and brooding loner? Check. Short and dark name? Check. Got his powers from evil entities? Check. He even has a bike similar to Lobo's.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: A not-completely turned Ronan inflicts one of these on Wraith, finally ending with him being ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice. It still doesn't kill Wraith.

* NotInThisForYourRevolution: Groot doesn't care about saving the Kree. He's just up against the Phalanx because they ''might'' one day be a threat to his home planet.

* OneSteveLimit: Averted in Annihilation: Conquest, where there's Adam Warlock, and Warlock of the ComicBook/NewMutants.
* OneWingedAngel: Ultron tries this at the end of ''Conquest'' to stave off defeat by forming all of Ronan's Kree Sentries into a [[HumongousMecha giant version]] of himself.
* OnlyMostlyDead: Even after being lobotomised and given a MercyKill by Ronan, the Supreme Intelligence was still alive, until the Phalanx found it. Wraith manages to kill it for good (until a couple of years later, that is).

* RevengeBeforeReason: Phyla tries to rush Ultron after [[spoiler:he kills Moondragon, never mind that she's hopelessly outclassed. Adam quickly rescues her]].

* ScaledUp: Moondragon turns into a dragon in ''Conquest''. She makes it clear it's a one-way thing, and that [[spoiler:it's also the result of DemonicPossession by the Dragon of the Moon, which she has a history with]].

* ShootingSuperman: At the beginning of ''Conquest'', a group of thugs try to shoot Phyla-Vell. It goes as well as you'd expect.
* ShoutOut:
** During the Silver Surfer's mini-series, Annihilus's throne-room looks [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi familiar]]...
** Peter Quill explicitly compares the suicide mission to the Dirty Dozen.
** The Uni-Force and Gabriel Vargas discuss their options. [[Franchise/StarWars They decide "Use The Force"]] is their best option.

** Wraith, meanwhile, really doesn't care about the whole "Phalanx taking over a galaxy" thing until it starts bothering him.

* SpiderSense: Bug has his own version.

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: In order to deal with Ultron, the High Evolutionary blows up a star, as it's "the only way to be sure". It only pisses Ultron off.

* VillainOverride: Ultron manages to take over [[spoiler:Praxagora, and makes her self-destruct in the process]]. Then he takes over several hundred Kree Sentries.

* WeHaveReserves: House Fiyero doesn't even seem that as reserves, more like resources to be spent as they chose.

** Ten-Cor is a Kree soldier who features throughout the ''Conquest'' one-shot that begins that event, and is taken over by the Phalanx... and is never seen again.

** The Phalanx have no problem liquefying children for fuel.

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!"