Avengers Annual #1
Avengers Annual #1 (2021) is the capstone chapter of Marvel's 'Infinite Destinies' crossover — an eight-part summer event told entirely through annuals — and delivers both the narrative conclusion to that saga and the debut of Multitude (Ward), the Soul Stone's new synthezoid host. Ward's story reframes the Infinity Stone mythology around questions of identity, personhood, and what it means for a created being to possess — or seek — a soul, giving the issue genuine philosophical weight beyond its plot function. The character's design consciously echoes the Vision's MCU origin while diverging sharply from it, making this annual a meaningful addition to Marvel's long tradition of android characters wrestling with humanity. As the closing chapter of 'Infinite Destinies,' it also set the stage for the subsequent 'Infinity Score' arc in Black Cat, giving it lasting ripple effects across the early 2020s Marvel universe.
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The 'Infinite Destinies' crossover was announced by Marvel in March 2020 but was delayed a full year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, finally running from June through August 2021. Editor Nick Lowe shepherded the project as a vehicle to spotlight newer characters alongside flagship heroes, with writer Jed MacKay serving as the primary architect across multiple chapters. MacKay and artist Travel Foreman — the same creative team responsible for the acclaimed Black Cat ongoing — were tapped to write and draw the Avengers annual specifically, bringing a consistent visual voice to the event's finale. Juan Ferreyra handled the concurrent 'Infinite Fury' backup, with Federico Vicentini providing the main cover and Travis Charest producing the 1:25 retailer-incentive variant.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Multitude (real name: Ward), a synthezoid — or 'synthetic person' as he insists on being called — who becomes the new host of the Soul Stone after it bonds with him during an attack by the mutant-hating Sapien League.
- Written by Jed MacKay with interior art by Travel Foreman (main story) and Juan Ferreyra (backup); cover by Federico Vicentini with colors by Alex Sinclair; edited by Nick Lowe.
- The issue is part 8 of 8 of 'Infinite Destinies,' a 2021 crossover event told entirely across eight separate Marvel annuals, making this the event's concluding chapter; story continued directly from Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1 (2021).
- Contains the conclusion of the 'Infinite Fury' backup serial, in which Nick Fury Jr. and Phil Coulson (Agent of Mephisto) play out their spy-versus-spy conflict — a thread that ran through all eight annuals.
- Ward's soul-projection ability allows Multitude to summon constructs of beings whose souls the Soul Stone has touched, including facsimiles of Captain America and Iron Man themselves, whom he defeats before choosing to stand down.
- A Marvel Database notation records that all of Multitude's soul projections in this issue are characters who were playable in the video game Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes — an Easter egg embedded in Travel Foreman's art.
- Released in shops on August 25, 2021; cover-dated October 2021; rated T+ (13 and up); 34 pages total.
- Multitude went on to appear in subsequent Marvel comics, including Ms. Marvel Annual #1, establishing him as a recurring Soul Stone-bearer in the post-'Infinite Destinies' landscape.
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Reprinted in Infinite Destinies #[nn] (2021)
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