The Infinity Gauntlet is a weapon (and a great story) that allows the user to gain control of the machinations of the universe. It is all powerful and way too deadly, so the Illuminati took the orbs from the Gauntlet and hid them in various parts of the world unknown to each other. It looks like someone has figured out their locations, though, and all Hel (get it?) is about to break lose.
In Avengers #7, it was confirmed that we would be seeing the return of the Illuminati as well as Rulk joining the team. However, what was more surprising is when Marvel released the solicit to Avengers #8 early at Comic Book Resources’ T & A article, featuring the following news:
The return of the Illuminati! Marvel’s super-secret braintrust has come back together again because someone is trying to put the Infinity Gauntlet back together. Who is it and will the Avengers be able to stop them in time? And what does any of this have to do with the Red Hulk? Plus, is there a little romance brewing? Another blistering blockbuster chapter in Marvel’s Premier super hero team by Bendis and Romita Jr. Plus another illustrated chapter of the Oral History of the Avengers
This kind of makes sense, given the amount of attention Marvel has slyly been giving to the Infinity Gauntlet. We’ve got Clevinger’s re-imagining of the original tale in “the Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet”, we’ve got the Infinity Gauntlet prop from Comic Con with no explanation, and there was even a mention of the Infinity Gauntlet in Bendis’ Ultimate Mystery last month. So despite people’s adverse reactions to the announcement Rulk was joining the team at Comic Con, it still looks like we have quite a bit to look forward to in the upcoming months in the Avengers!
