Infinity War's Requiem Is a Multiversal Threat

CBR

Infinity Wars' Requiem May Be a Threat to Marvel's Entire Multiverse

By Tim Adams

Published Jun 10, 2018

Requiem's identity may still be a mystery, but Infinity Countdown #4 reveals the character's presence could be a threat to Marvel's multiverse.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Infinity Countdown #4 by Gerry Duggan, Aaron Kuder, Mike Hawthorne, Terry Pallot, Jose Marzan, Jr., Jordie Bellaire and VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.

The saga of the Infinity Stones is currently unfolding in the pages of Infinity Countdown, but the cosmic artifacts' story won't end there. Marvel Comics has already begun teasing its next event series, Infinity Wars, with the introduction of a mysterious new character named Requiem.

Sporting a mask that bears the infinity logo, Requiem was teased as being "death incarnate," as various Marvel heroes appeared with the new character in images stating "Death Wins."

Infinity Countdown #4 revealed the dwarf in the series' opening pages was crafting Requiem's mask, with the issue marking her actual debut. However, another first came several pages later when a pair of characters from the multiverse referenced Requiem by name, foreshadowing how big a threat the character is.

An Inert Reality Stone

The Guardians of the Galaxy returned to Knowhere after successfully defending the Power Stone from the Fraternity of Raptors. Though Richard Rider, Gamora and the Nova Corps all wanted the Power Stone for themselves, Drax wound up walking away with the Stone.

With that matter resolved, Star-Lord was greeted by the Collector and Grandmaster, who wanted to thank the Guardian for ridding their brother, the Gardener, of his madness. But that's not the only reason they wanted to see Star-Lord -- the Elders of the Universe have the Reality Stone. Or more accurately, a Reality Stone.

After inspecting the Stone, the three men come to the conclusion that something is different about it when compared to the Power Stone. Suddenly, a Phyla from the multiverse enters and reveals the reason the Reality Stone doesn't work is because it's not from this universe.

Of course, the re-ordering of the multiverse that Phyla is referring to happened in 2015's Secret Wars, which resulted in the previous Infinity Gems turning into Infinity Stones and scattering to all corners of the Marvel Universe, multiverse and timelines. The saga of the Marvel Prime Universe's Reality Stone played out in Captain Marvel.

Phyla didn't come alone to retrieve her universe's Reality Stone. She brought with her an alternate version of Moondragon, and this is where Requiem's multiversal threat comes into play.

Who Is Requiem?

One of the first teasers released for Requiem asked the question of who the character is. With the identity being kept a secret, the smart money is on Requiem being an established Marvel character for shock and awe purposes. Before they leave with their Reality Stone, Phyla asks Moondragon to scan Star-Lord, Collector and Grandmaster's minds to see if they know who Requiem is. What this revelation means is Requiem's reputation far exceeds the Marvel Prime Universe, adding another layer to the mystery.

The only way Phyla and Moondragon would be aware of Requiem's existence is if they crossed paths with Infinity War's dealer of death. Unless the duo makes a habit of traveling to different universes, then Requiem has ventured across the multiverse either in search of different Infinity Stones, or to murder those in possession of them.

If you consider which characters have the ability for multiversal travel, this development could offer clues to Requiem's identity. We've watched the cosmic character claim its uniform, so now we must see if Requiem's one-page preludes in Infinity Countdown continue to unfold.