The Infinity Gauntlet gets a new owner in Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty

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Even the Philadelphia Flyers are paying homage to George Pérez by giving Gritty the Infinity Gauntlet

Philadelphia Flyers Infinity Gauntlet poster and cover of Infinity Gaunlet #1
Philadelphia Flyers Infinity Gauntlet poster and cover of Infinity Gaunlet #1 (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

A fresh face is joining the Avengers in Marvel Comics ... well, sorta. 

Popular Philadelphia Flyers hockey mascot-turned-meme Gritty is taking center stage on a special Marvel Super Hero Day promotional poster drawn by JL Giles which pays homage to the legendary George Pérez's cover of the first issue of the legendary 1991 Marvel Comics story Infinity Gauntlet (#1 on Newsarama's list of the best Marvel stories of all time), going so far as to place Gritty himself in the role of Thanos, possessor of the eponymous Gauntlet.

Infinity Gauntlet #1 cover by George Pérez (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

One might go so far as to say Marvel Comics cover tributes are recently getting out of hand (get it? Out of hand? Gauntlet?), with the Infin-Gritty Gauntlet poster (we really couldn't help ourselves) representing just the latest in a trend that has included DC variant cover tributes to Spider-Man #1, X-Men #151, and even Spider-Man #1 cover artist Todd McFarlane himself creating a variant cover for his upcoming Scorched #3 which pays homage to his fellow former Marvel Comics artist and Image Comics co-founder Jim Lee's own 1991 X-Men #1 cover.

At the same time, the first 5000 fans to attend the Flyers' Marvel Super Hero Day home game against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, taking place on March 5 at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, will receive a variant edition of February 9's Avengers #53 with a variant cover featuring Gritty teaming up with Iron Man drawn by Ron Lim, an image that is also available on t-shirts as part of a special edition ticket package.

Gritty's cult popularity, which goes well beyond NHL fandom, is proof that he's one of Earth's Mightiest Mascots - but does he have what it takes to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers? Well, Iron Man seems to think so.

This rare Gritty variant cover for Avengers #53 is only available at the Flyers' Marvel Super Hero Night, but your local comic shop is usually the best place to shop for variant covers, special edition releases, and more.

George Marston
George Marston
Entertainment Writer

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011, and now I'm the Entertainment Writer at GamesRadar+. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)