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Marvel Infinity Reading Order, Jonathan Hickman’s event (+Inhumanity)

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Written by Jonathan Hickman with art by a rotating team of artists including Jim Cheung, Jerome Opeña, and Dustin Weaver, “Infinity” is a 2013 cosmic-scale crossover centered primarily around two series: Avengers (Vol. 5) and New Avengers (Vol. 3). Published during the Marvel NOW! initiative, the event is the culmination of plotlines Hickman had been developing since taking over both series, like the expansion of the Avengers roster, the rise of the multiversal threat known as the incursions, and the political maneuverings of the Illuminati.

The storyline unfolds on two major fronts. In deep space, a unified galactic alliance faces an existential threat from the Builders, an ancient race responsible for shaping early cosmic evolution. Their arrival, triggered as every Origin Site on Earth suddenly activates, initiates a destructive campaign across space. Led by Captain America, The Avengers join the interstellar coalition, leaving Earth temporarily unguarded as Iron Man stays behind in the hope of finishing the preparation for the last line of defense.

This absence creates the opening Thanos has been waiting for. Motivated by a long-hidden secret concerning Earth’s new Inhumans, The Mad Titan launches a coordinated invasion of Earth with the members of his Black Order, each targeting strategic locations and individuals.

As the Avengers wage a desperate war against the Builders in space, the remaining heroes on Earth struggle to repel Thanos’s forces and uncover the true purpose of his return.

Infinity Reading Order

The heart of the story is contained in the main 6-issue Infinity miniseries, and the Avengers comics written by Jonathan Hickman: New Avengers (Vol. 3) #7-12 & Avengers (Vol. 5) #14-23. But there are a lot more with single-issue tie-ins or even miniseries.

We are first listing where you can get those stories, then we are looking at a complete issue-by-issue reading order for the Infinity crossover, then the Inhumanity crossover, which directly connects to the end of the events.

Infinity Reading Order: The Collected Editions

Marvel Comics has yet to publish an omnibus collecting every issue related to the Infinity crossover. As time goes by, some collected editions are becoming rare items. The Infinity Companion book is the only way to easily read all of the tie-ins, but it’s become hard to find at a good price. Looking for the issues in digital format or in bargain bins may be the best options today.

To prepare for “Infinity”, Marvel collected multiple stories from multiple older comics in Infinity Incoming! Let’s notice the effort, here!

  • Infinity Incoming!
    Collects Inhumans Vol. 2 #2, Thanos Rising #1, Avengers Vol. 5 #1-2, New Avengers Vol. 3 #2, and material from Thor Vol. 1 #146-149.

But I’d recommend reading all of Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers comics published before the event to get a complete understanding of what is going on. The best way to do it is to go with the “Avengers By Jonathan Hickman: The Complete Collection.”

Those issues were also previously collected in slimmer, cheaper trade paperbacks, with the Infinity events in a separate book. It’s not as smooth a reading as with the more recent Complete Collection, but it may be what you are looking for.

Infinity Reading Order: Issue by Issue

As previously stated, I’d recommend a reading of all Avengers and New Avengers by Jonathan Hickman, starting with issue #1. Nevertheless, the following reading order focuses on the issues officially linked to the event.

Every comic book in bold is a must-read. Everything else is at best optional.

  • New Avengers #7 – Prelude issue
  • Avengers #14-17 – Prelude issues
  • Infinity #1
  • Nova Vol. 5 #8-9 – At the very beginning of the Invasion, Thanos sends a vicious assassin after Nova to kill him because of his father. Barely connected to the rest of the story.
  • Infinity: Against the Tide #1-2 (Infinite Comic) – Prelude involving the Silver Surfer, leading to some Skrull-related scenes in Infinity #1.
  • New Avengers #8 – labelled as a prelude, it takes place after Infinity #1.
  • Thunderbolts Vol. 2 #14-15 – Issue #14 is not connected to the event, except for the last page. Issue #15 is set at the beginning of what is happening in New York.
  • New Avengers #9 – The New Avengers comics focus on what’s happening on Earth against Thanos’s army.
  • Mighty Avengers #1-3 – Luke Cage, Superior Spider-Man, Spectrum, and others are fighting the Invasion in the streets of New York.
  • Thunderbolts Vol. 2 #16 – The Thunderbolts are pursuing their mission and become involved with the invasion.
  • Avengers #18 – The Avengers comics focus on what’s happening in Space against the Builders’ Armada.
  • Avengers Assemble #18 – Recount the events of Avengers #18 from Spider-Woman’s point of view.
  • Captain Marvel #15 – The same as Avengers Assemble #18, but from Captain Marvel’s point of view.
  • Infinity #2
  • New Avengers #10 – picks up directly after the last panel of Infinity #2.
  • Avengers #19
  • Infinity #3
  • Avengers Assemble #19 – Develop a part of the events told in Infinity #3 from Spider-Woman’s point of view.
  • Captain Marvel #16 – The same as Avengers Assemble #19 but from Captain Marvel’s point of view.
  • Infinity: The Hunt #1-4 – Starts during Infinity #1 but ends here. Kid superheroes from different schools unite to fight off Thanos’s army at the beginning of the invasion. Better read it in one go
  • Avengers #20
  • Infinity #4
  • Fearless Defenders #10 – Follows the Defenders in the streets of New York City, dealing with events detailed in Infinity #4.
  • Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #3-4 – A follow-up to the Mighty Avengers. Superior Spider-Man & co. are still in the streets of NY fighting back against Thanos’s army, but (following Infinity #4) a new problem emerges.
  • Infinity: Heist #1-4 – Starts at the beginning of Earth’s invasion but is quickly touched by events occurring in Infinity #4. Only uses the event as a backdrop. It’s about a team of second-rate villains taking advantage of the situation to organise a heist at Iron Man’s tower.
  • Avengers Assemble #20 – The Wasp, Wonder Man, and Scarlet Witch deal with very secondary events on Earth related to what happened in Infinity #4.
  • Secret Avengers #10-11 – Set parallel to Avengers Assemble #20, it follows the S.H.I.E.L.D. in action in New York, dealing with Thanos’s invasion-related events.
  • Thunderbolts Vol. 2 #17 – The Thunderbolts story is advancing, still barely involving the characters in the events, but changes from Infinity #4 are depicted.
  • Avengers #21
  • New Avengers #11
  • Infinity #5
  • Avengers #22
  • Avengers #23
  • Guardians of the Galaxy #8-9 – The Guardians receive a call for help and join the fight to save Earth.
  • Infinity #6
  • New Avengers #12 – Epilogue
  • Thunderbolts Vol. 2 #18 – Mostly set earlier, can be read directly after issue #18, but the last pages let’s suppose the war has ended at that time.
  • Wolverine and the X-Men Annual #1 – Follows Kid Gladiator from the start of the war against the Builders to after it concluded, a lot of spoilers, better read here.
  • Thanos: A God Up There Listening (Infinite Comic) – Follows what happened to Thane after the ending of the events, plus flashback stories featuring Thanos.

Inhumanity Reading Order

The fallout from Infinity directly sets the stage for Inhumanity, coming from Matt Fraction and Olivier Coipel. With Thanos defeated and the Terrigen Bomb detonated during the final confrontation, a massive cloud of Terrigen Mist spreads across the globe, triggering latent Inhuman genes in ordinary humans. This sudden worldwide transformation — known as the “Inhumanity” — leads to the emergence of countless new Inhumans, the collapse of traditional Inhuman society, and a wave of political, social, and scientific upheaval.

The event explores how Earth’s heroes, governments, and newly awakened “Nuhumans” respond to the crisis, functioning as both an epilogue to Infinity and a launch point for Marvel’s renewed focus on the Inhumans.

All the issues related to the Inhumanity event crossover are collected in one book:

  • Inhumanity
    Collects Inhumanity #1-2, Avengers Assemble #21-23, Uncanny X-Men (2013) #15, Indestructible Hulk #17-19, New Avengers (2013) #13, Iron Man (2012) #20.INH, Inhumanity: The Awakening #1-2, Avengers AI #7, Mighty Avengers (2013) #4-5, Inhuman (2014) #1, and Inhumanity: Superior Spider-Man #1.

Inhumanity Reading Order: issue by issue

  • Inhumanity #1 – Karnak explains to the Avengers the origins and effects of the Terrigen Mist.
  • Indestructible Hulk #16, #17.INH, #18.INH, #19.INH, #20
  • Uncanny X-Men #15.INH – Students and teachers go shopping and found a cocoon.
  • Inhumanity #2 – Medusa must get over her loss to start fighting for the coccoon-Inhumans all over the world.
  • Avengers Assemble #21-22, 23.INH, 24-25 – Spider-Girl teams up with Spider-Woman and Black Widow to find the stolen coccoon of her teacher.
  • Iron Man #20.INH – Iron Man is looking for a solution.
  • Mighty Avengers #4-5 – The Mighty Avengers are now a team and have to deal with the mess in New York.
  • Avengers A.I. #7.INH – Hank Pym and Doombot help Daredevil with a client affected by the mist.
  • Inhumanity: Awakening #1-2 – Young students from the Avengers Academy and the Jean Grey School help a new Inhuman with her powers and family.
  • Inhumanity: Superior Spider-Man #1 – The Superior Spider-Man helps with the cleaning of New York’s streets when he finds himself dealing with danger.
  • New Avengers #13 – The Illuminati go back to work.

What to read after Inhumanity?

As Infinity redefined the place of the Inhumans in the Marvel Universe, Inhumanity set the stage for the launch of a new Inhuman series, a new 14-issue comic book series written by Charles Soule.

Jonathan Hickman’s run on the Avengers continued for a while, leading to the 2015 Secret Wars event that redefined the whole Marvel multiverse.

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