WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Annihilation: Scourge Omega #1, by Matthew Rosenberg, Manuel Garcia, Rafael Fonteriz, Cam Smith, Wayne Faucher, Federico Blee, Rachelle Rosenberg, Erick Arciniega and VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
The Annihilation: Scourge crossover event has introduced a terrifying, seemingly unstoppable threat to the Marvel Universe in the form The Scourge. Hailing from the Cancerverse, where life grows corrupted and uncontrolled, these zombie-like creatures are connected together through the influence of the mysterious but powerfully evil deities known as the Many-Angled Ones and seek to infect all life.
Annihilation: Scourge and its tie-in one-shots have established that a rift that has opened between the Cancerverse and the Negative Zone. However, as the Fantastic Four, Nova, the Silver Surfer, Beta Ray Bill, and other cosmic heroes try to prevent the Scourge from invading the mainstream Earth-616 universe, they also must deal with the tragic aftermath of the attack on the Negative Zone. As much as the Annihilation is about preventing a crisis, it's also the tale of a gruesome one in the making.
Ever since Annihilation: Scourge Alpha, the antimatter universe's armies have been shown fighting back in vain following the arrival of the Scourge in the Negative Zone. Blastaar and Annihilus, both ruthless rulers of opposing races, have been forced to work together to drive back the invading creatures and save their homeworlds. The futility of the leaders' plans, the terror of their subjects and the vile way in which innocent people are transformed into mutated monsters have resulted in a curiously sympathetic portrayal of the Negative Zone's inhabitants, who are usually depicted as barbaric and violent. Annihilus' vicious bug army seems pathetic compared to the relentless onslaught, and the rest of those he governs over are mere civilian victims at the mercy of the Scourge.
This is supremely ironic, considering that the main villain behind Marvel's first Annihilation event in 2006 was none other than Annihilus himself.
Annihilation: Scourge Omega sees this slaughter come to a head in the form of a refugee crisis. As the Negative Zone literally burns away and falls into ruins, a wave of evacuees travels to Prison 42, close to the portal Reed Richards built to connect the Zone to the positive Eart-616 world. The Fantastic Four along with the Silver Surfer have tried to help these survivors, who are living in ramshackle huts and holding on to a thin strand of hope. The Silver Surfer explains that the refugees chose to flee to the Prison 42 site because they believe that the heroes have a plan to save them, although the Human Torch admits they don't actually have a clear idea of what the next steps are. Luckily for the survivors, Sue Storm has made the refugee planet invisible and created a forcefield around it to buy them much-needed time.
Reed Richards tells Beta Ray Bill that the refugee camp is the last stand in the fight between the Scourge and the forces of the living, both for the positive and negative universes. It demonstrates just how much the Scourge has penetrated the Negative Zone, as well as how dire the entire situation is. Still, the heroes of Earth-616 are a valuable source of leadership to the refugees, much to the chagrin of Annihilus, who sees his rule being undermined. He threatens to promptly purge Reed Richards as soon as the Scourge is dealt with, although ironically he is as much a part of the displaced as his people are. His reliance on the resources of Earth-616 is the culmination of his arc that established a more complicated side of the character within the Annihilation: Scourge titles.
Throughout the event, the Negative Zone has depended on Earth-616 for guidance and support. Fantastic Four set up Johnny Storm as a savior revered by the races of the Negative Zone, whereas Nova saw Richard Rider teaming up with Annihilus to try to halt the Scourge. As the brutality of Annihilus' army failed to effectively hold back the forces of the Scourge, his people and the other alien groups in the Negative Zone have latched on to other, more dependable leaders. The story demonstrates how these heroes can put aside their personal political issues in order to preserve life, even if it's located in an entirely other dimension.