The Infinity Saga of the MCU is defined by the Blip, a momentous event that draws inspiration from the Infinity Gauntlet storyline in Marvel Comics. While the comics explored the aftermath of the erasure of half of all life, the MCU chose to omit a significant battle that would have added to the impact of the Blip.
The Blip refers to the five-year period following Thanos’ Infinity Snap, which wiped out half of all life in the universe. This event was depicted in Avengers: Infinity War, where Thanos collected the Infinity Stones and used them to achieve the Snap, resulting in the Blip.
Although trillions of lives were lost in an instant when Thanos snapped his fingers, the true consequences of the Blip were not fully realized until later. In Avengers: Endgame, it was revealed that the Avengers were unable to reverse the damage caused by Thanos, and they had to endure five years of failure before a solution was found. During this time, the world suffered in silence. However, while the situation was dire in the MCU, humanity faced even greater horrors in the Marvel Comics universe.
During the events of Infinity Gauntlet, Annihilus initiated an attack on Earth
This issue of Infinity Gauntlet delves into the extent of the heroes’ failure to stop Thanos. The majority of Marvel’s heroes were either erased from existence by Thanos’ Infinity Snap or killed by his hand during their attack. However, their deaths would have been justified if the plan to swipe the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos’ hand during the heat of battle had succeeded. Unfortunately, it failed, and the universe continued to suffer.
Earth was one of the areas that suffered the most during this time, as it was under attack by Annihilus, who took advantage of the chaos to cross over from the Negative Zone. Although the battle is only briefly mentioned in this book, the subsequent Annihilation event highlights the true devastation caused by Annihilus and his forces, painting a bleak picture of what the defenseless survivors on Earth endured during Infinity Gauntlet without any heroes to protect them.
An invasion similar to Annihilus during the Blip would have made for an incredible subplot in the MCU
During the aftermath of the Infinity Snap in Marvel Comics, the Avengers and various superhuman/cosmic entities were occupied with Thanos. However, this was not the case in the MCU. Thanos’ endgame was the snap, which meant that he was no longer a threat after its completion. For five years, the Avengers were consumed by their loss, but what if they had faced an Annihilus-like invasion during that period? What if the original Avengers had to unite to prevent an invasion of Earth?
The MCU’s Infinity Snap differed from the comics in that nothing else occurred. This made the once cosmically epic event seem somewhat hollow. While this may have been intentional, it was not entirely satisfying, particularly for fans of the source material. However, if the MCU had included a massive Marvel Comics battle in its Infinity Saga, it would have made the Blip feel more fulfilling.