Comic Vine Review

32 Comments

Thanos Rising #1

3

Who was Thanos before he became the terror of the universe? This book sheds a lot of light on the character.

The Good

There's always been something about Thanos that has fascinated me. I've never been able to quite put my finger on it. Thanos is simply a villain bent on destroying everything in order to impress Death.

We've seen glimpses of Thanos' past before. We know the story of his birth and could imagine what it must have been like growing up on Titan with his appearance. We also get a look at Thanos that we haven't seen before. Jason Aaron takes a big risk in his portrayal. It may not be what everyone wants to see but there is something to seeing this part of his life.

This may change how some look at Thanos. That could be good or bad. What is important is seeing the character fleshed out. As I mentioned, I'm not quite sure why exactly I like Thanos so much. I realized I now have five Thanos action figures. He just always seemed like a badass dude that had the Infinity Gauntlet. Now we're seeing why he became the way he is.

Of course it needs to be said that Simone Bianchi's art is amazing. He always manages to capture a wide range of emotions in a single image. Throughout the book we see moments of ominous evil as well as ones of pure innocence. Believe me when I tell you, you've never seen Thanos drawn this way.

The Bad

Thanos as a kid. It's weird. It's hard at times to decide if seeing Thanos like this is truly something we needed to see. Seeing the journey does help define the character but it also takes away some of the mysticism. There is a necessity in seeing Thanos in this way but right now it just feels a bit strange. You can almost see where the story is going. It's sure to pick up next issue especially when we see more of the repercussions from what happens here. It's clear that there is more going on than Thanos realizes.

The Verdict

Who is Thanos? Why is he one of the greatest and most evil villains in the Marvel Universe? That's what Jason Aaron is setting out to show us. It's hard to fully take in what we're seeing. We know that Thanos had to be young at some point. It's interesting to see but almost sheds new light on Thanos in a bad way. A big part of me didn't want to see Thanos as a kid. But I do trust in the vision Jason Aaron must have for this series. I'm more looking forward to what's in the next issue. We can't forget Simone Bianchi's amazing art here either. It might be a rocky start but you can't help but be excited to see what Aaron and Bianchi have coming up.

32 Comments

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CrosisDePurger

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Can't believe he gave this 3 stars. This comic breaks the mold and goes in an interesting direction. I'm hyped for this series after reading the first one. 5 of 5 for me.

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Teerack

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I felt so bad for Thanos' mom. D:

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johnkmccubbin91

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CrimsonAlchemist

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@jonesdeini: with ya there this could of easily been a hit but it's a miss Aaron's better off writing The Hulk he had a awesome run there.

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tomlikesfries

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I only got around to pick this up today and I've to say it really surprised me. I'm not a sucker for origin stories and, despite the fact that Thanos is among my favorite villains, I was not so sure about picking this up. However, Aaron did one hell of a job, as did the artist. This is not the usual "my family never had enough food or cash to make a living" sort of story. It's certainly a lot more interesting. Can't wait for issue #2.

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devil leonx

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@devil_leonx said:

I can see what G-man is talking about, seeing Thanos like this...it just doesnt feel right. Wont say the issue doesnt do what its trying to. It does , very well I might add, but in my opinion this isnt the Thanos we all know and love and I felt it was a bit too close to Anakin from the prequels not to mention the allusions to Hitler are kind of heavy....

I would have prefer a confident kid, not evil but not caring ether rather, him being more philosophical about how things are and how they come to an end...thats just me though. Also I was bothered by how the people of Titan acted.. the kids especially..if it wasnt for the clotheing i would have expected to see this on a school play ground pretty much any where.

I really feel like Aaron far and away misses the point of who Thanos is and why he appeals to his fans the way he does. I'll not be reading anymore of this story, even if Bianche's drawing it.

I will continue to follow the story, I hope it gets better but if it doe not then well its just a another proven case of unnecessarily adding "more layers" to an origin that needed nothing. Honestly I'd be more interested in finding out how things went for Thanos in the after life or how he came back to the Marvel 616 Verse after the whole explosion in the cancer verse.

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JonesDeini

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I can see what G-man is talking about, seeing Thanos like this...it just doesnt feel right. Wont say the issue doesnt do what its trying to. It does , very well I might add, but in my opinion this isnt the Thanos we all know and love and I felt it was a bit too close to Anakin from the prequels not to mention the allusions to Hitler are kind of heavy....

I would have prefer a confident kid, not evil but not caring ether rather, him being more philosophical about how things are and how they come to an end...thats just me though. Also I was bothered by how the people of Titan acted.. the kids especially..if it wasnt for the clotheing i would have expected to see this on a school play ground pretty much any where.

I really feel like Aaron far and away misses the point of who Thanos is and why he appeals to his fans the way he does. I'll not be reading anymore of this story, even if Bianche's drawing it.

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devil leonx

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Edited By devil leonx

I can see what G-man is talking about, seeing Thanos like this...it just doesnt feel right. Wont say the issue doesnt do what its trying to. It does , very well I might add, but in my opinion this isnt the Thanos we all know and love and I felt it was a bit too close to Anakin from the prequels not to mention the allusions to Hitler are kind of heavy....

I would have prefer a confident kid, not evil but not caring ether rather, him being more philosophical about how things are and how they come to an end...thats just me though. Also I was bothered by how the people of Titan acted.. the kids especially..if it wasnt for the clotheing i would have expected to see this on a school play ground pretty much any where.

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Night Thrasher

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This issue was either brilliant or the set up for a huge letdown. I love that Aaron didn't go with the "evil from birth" angle or the "forced into the 'dark side' by his enviorment" angle. Thanos seems to be a loving somewhat neglected child that was going to be great one way or another and that just seems right.

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Gonzo33

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I like that Thanos wasn't written as a "he was bullied so he became evil." character. He a good, popular kid who took a wrong turn. I like that kind of story. I argee with the 3 stars, really looking forward to see where this story takes us.

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saoakden

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Looking forward to reading this series. Always been curious about his origin and now we'll get it in one title.

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SC

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SC  Moderator

Not sure was a good idea to make story like this, as far as many Thanos fans love the character because it gives them a chance to live vicariously as this big bad nihilistic cynical badass who can slap Thor and Hulk and Avengers around. Hard to project on to a character when you actually start giving the character details that remove some of the mystery and ambiguity. Now Thanos could be construed as an sensitive bitter emo or worse like some kind of geeky nerd hipster with a grudge. Personally I liked Kid Thanos and want him and Kid Loki and Kid some other Bad Guy to zoom around the galaxy on space scooters beating up bullies.

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laflux

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I was psyched for this series, but the $4 price point combined with the mediocre review has me thinking I'll take a wait and see approach before buying it.

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DonFelipe

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Wow! That was surprisingly exciting. This issue is much better than the 3 stars unless we argue about the art that is nothing special really and pretty dark at times. However, the dark and creepy atmosphere adds to the plot nicely. The scenes in the cave (survival of the fittest!) and when Thanos is telling his mother about his dreams are brilliant. Overall, I like this first issue much better than Age of Ultron #1.

I'm excited about the next issue.

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Dayvid3

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Edited By Dayvid3

Always eager to get more stories with the best 3 marvel villains Thanos, Apocalypse or Sabertooth imo of course :) I'm rather interested to see how he elevates himself from Titan to whatever you'd describe his current level now. Like the databases always say he had bionics installed. Just what does that mean, are they still a part of him or has he evolved past them (escially after dying and being reborn). That kind of jazz

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Gambit1024

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Edited By Gambit1024

I thought it was solid, but I feel like I need to read more to get a better judgement. I don't want the whole story told in one singular narrative, I want jagged fragments. Aron's been pretty good lately, so I bet he'll deliver.

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Dman1366

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I think this issue deserved a 4. Your criticisms seem a little bit off, G-Man. That is an awfully short "bad" paragraph for a 3, and you really don't go very in depth in your critiques. I'd like to know what specifically felt "off" about the story. Just saying that it felt off and that it might not be a necessary story to tell doesn't really seem like grounds for that low of a rating. And I don't think it's fair to judge a story based on it's necessity- whether it's necessary or not, we're getting it, so let's judge the story on how well it's told, not whether it needs to be told.

All in all, I don't think this rating is entirely fair.

This was great. should be 5 or 4 stars.

I agree with these. That issue was amazing. That part where you see the lizards eating the kids *shiver*.

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thanosrules

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I liked it. I was worried when I read an early review on newsarama... and then I saw your 3/5 here... but I stayed optimistic. I rated it a 4/5 - but then again I am hugely biased.

I think this was a great start to a coming of age story...

I am also hugely intrigued as to who "the girl" is... man I have some theories, but I do not want to spoil anything.

Thanks for the great review Tony. :)

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gmanfromheck

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@avengers_4everxx: Dude, reviews are opinions. Seeing Thanos as a weak kid wasn't how I see the character. You're obviously welcome to write your own review and rate it how you felt it was, in your opinion. That's why we give that option.

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MadeinBangladesh

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This was great. should be 5 or 4 stars.

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Avengers_4everXX

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I think this issue deserved a 4. Your criticisms seem a little bit off, G-Man. That is an awfully short "bad" paragraph for a 3, and you really don't go very in depth in your critiques. I'd like to know what specifically felt "off" about the story. Just saying that it felt off and that it might not be a necessary story to tell doesn't really seem like grounds for that low of a rating. And I don't think it's fair to judge a story based on it's necessity- whether it's necessary or not, we're getting it, so let's judge the story on how well it's told, not whether it needs to be told.

All in all, I don't think this rating is entirely fair.

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stu630

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Edited By stu630

im picking that up for sure!

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owie

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owie  Moderator

It was interesting. But I feel like evil like Thanos' can't really be explained. This just makes it another abused-child-turns-psycho story. Maybe it will add more twists as it goes along.

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impossibilly

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I was psyched for this series, but the $4 price point combined with the mediocre review has me thinking I'll take a wait and see approach before buying it.

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Cavemold

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Edited By Cavemold

ah this is disappointing . at least the art is pretty

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dondave

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Edited By dondave

The last page was so bad-ass

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Trevel8182

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Edited By Trevel8182

I can't decide who young Thanos reminded me most of: Milhouse of the Simpsons, Bad Luck Brian, or prequel-era Anakin Skywalker.

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kid Apollo

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Edited By kid Apollo

totally gonna get this in trade, cover looks sweet

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G_Money_Christmas

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I almost bought it but I picked it up, flipped through the pages and put it back down. It just didn't interest me enough

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Mucklefluga

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Anyway this series interested me but i dunno, i like Thanos and all but it'll probably be a better-read story collected.

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the_stegman

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Edited By the_stegman  Moderator

I'm interested in Thanos..but I think I'll wait for the trade for this...

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Mucklefluga

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'Sam was right'