The Annihilators are a fictional team appearing in American comic books published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

. They are a group of powerful space-based characters from various alien races. They act as a deterrent to galactic war.

Publication history

The team first assembled in ''

The Thanos Imperative ''The Thanos Imperative'' is a six-issue comic book limited series published in 2010 by Marvel Comics. It was written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and was bookended by two one-shot comics, ''Ignition'' and ''Devastation''. The story focuses o ...

: Devastation'' one-shot (Jan 2011). They starred in a four-issue

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered * Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...

, with a backup featuring

Groot Groot () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Tales to Astonish'' #13 (Nov. 1960). An extraterrestrial, senti ...

and

Rocket Raccoon Rocket Raccoon is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Keith Giffen, the character first appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #7 (Summer 1976). He is an intelligen ...

, which was previously announced as a separate limited series. A second four-issue limited series, ''Annihilators: Earthfall'', ran from September to December 2011. In August 2014, the team appeared in the original graphic novel ''Thanos: The Infinity Revelation'' by

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, a ...

Fictional team history

After a string of galactic-level threats (the

Annihilation Wave "Annihilation" is a 2006 crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics, highlighting several outer space-related characters in the Marvel Universe. The central miniseries was written by Keith Giffen, with editor Andy Schmidt. Publication histo ...

, the Phalanx's conquest of the Kree, the

War of Kings "War of Kings" is a comic book crossover storyline written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, published by Marvel Comics, and set in Marvel's main shared universe. The six-issue limited series was published between March

, and the Cancerverse invasion),

Cosmo Cosmo may refer to: Business and media * ''Cosmopolitan'' (magazine), a magazine for women, sometimes referred to as "Cosmo" * ''Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure'', a 1992 video game * Cosmo On-Line, a Brazilian generic Internet portal * Cosmo Radio ...

tries to fulfill the dream of his deceased friend and former Guardian of the Galaxy

Star-Lord Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a fictional character and superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, first appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 19 ...

by assembling a proactive team to stop threats before the universe is in danger. He recruits the most powerful individuals he knows: the human

Quasar A quasar is an extremely luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a mass rangin ...

, the

Kree The Kree, briefly known as the Ruul, are a fictional scientifically and technologically advanced militaristic alien race appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are native to the planet Hala in the Large Magellanic ...

Ronan the Accuser Ronan the Accuser is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Ronan was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby and he first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #65 (August 1967). He is the Supreme ...

, the

Shi'ar The Shi'ar ( ) are a fictional species of aliens appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Shi'ar Empire (or Imperium), is a vast collection of alien species, cultures, and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree E ...

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

, the Korbinite

Beta Ray Bill Beta Ray Bill is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in the Bronze Age of Comic Books, the character was initially intended to be a surprise; an apparent monster who unexpectedly turns out ...

, and

Herald of Galactus Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, Galactus is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of t ...

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first ...

. Each of them is initially resistant to the idea, but agree to join after they work together to defend Kree territory from

Blastaar Blastaar (, ), sometimes called the Living Bomb-Burst and Blasstaar, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Blastaar is an opponent of the Fantastic Four and lives in the Negative Zone. He is also ...

. They are joined by the Galadorian

Spaceknight Rom the Space Knight is a superhero, originally a toy and then a magazine lead. Rom was created by Scott Dankman, Richard C. Levy, and Bryan L. McCoy for Parker Brothers and is now a Hasbro asset. After the toy was licensed to Marvel Comics, Rom ...

Ikon, who needs their assistance protecting her planet from Doctor Dredd. After fending off

Dire Wraith The Dire Wraiths are a fictional extraterrestrial species appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. The Dire Wraiths are the main opponents of Rom the Spaceknight. Publication history The Dire Wraiths fi ...

s and

Immortus Immortus (; Nathaniel Richards) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the future self of Pharaoh Rama-Tut, Scarlet Centurion, Kang the Conqueror, and Iron Lad / Kid Immortus, and a desc ...

, they ultimately reveal Doctor Dredd to be a

Skrull The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated ...

imposter. Later, while trying to end a conflict between two factions of the

Universal Church of Truth The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

, the Annihilators learn of a plot to revive the

Magus Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin '' magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...

. They travel to Earth where the resurrection is happening but are unable to prevent it due to a conflict with the

Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...

, who mistake the Annihilators for an invasion force. Quasar, Ikon, and Spider-Man discover the Magus has emerged from his cocoon in the form of a young boy. The Magus attempts to possess other humans on Earth, but Gladiator, Quasar, Ronan, and Iron Man are able to trick him back into his cocoon. The Annihilators take custody of the cocoon.''Annihilation: Earthfall'' #4 (Dec 2011)

Publication history

Fictional team history

Collected editions

References

External links