Thanos
Thanos is a comic book character that first appeared in Iron Man #55
Thanos is a mutant Eternal of Titan. As such he is powerful enough to be a threat on a galaxy level. It is his cunning and god-like intellect that makes him a universal threat.
History
Origin
Born to the Eternals Mentor and Sui-San, Thanos was subject to the Deviant gene at birth. As a mutant of Titan (a moon of Saturn) he had a purple, hide-like skin along with strength and other physical abilities surpassing that of other Titans. This mutation also augments the powers he possesses as an Eternals. The most powerful Titan, his skin is able to absorb cosmic energy and transfer it to his use.
While never ostracized by his family or other Titans, Thanos distanced himself because for being different. He wondered why he was different, and as a youth he became obsessed with the occult and specifically the cosmic entity Death. At the age of ten he killed his own mother, brutally abducting her and eviscerating her, while everyone on the planet was attending to the fires of a nuclear disaster that Thanos himself created. He soon started killing others and then began detonating nuclear bombs through Titan, killing millions. He eventually became a tyrant to his people. His brother Eros ( Starfox) and his father, also Eternal Titans, formed a resistance against him.
He left Titan to become a man on the edge of the galaxy. In order to win Death's love he has trained to increase his power through meditation, mysticism and technology.
From here on until near the end of his life, Thanos is constantly searching for a means of either wiping out the entire universe or merely attaining Godlike power, and he succeeds in one or the other on multiple occasions, but every time he is defeated because of his own hubris and because, psychology, he knows he does not deserve to win and subconsciously inserts the means of his own defeat into his machinations.
The Cosmic Cube
Thanos began his conquest and decimation of the galaxy by attempting to overtake Earth. He was able to acquire the Cosmic Cube, an artifact that grants the user the ability to mold reality. Thanos used the Cosmic Cube to make himself a god. It took the combined forces of Adam Warlock, Captain Marvel, the Avengers and other heroes of Earth as well as the Resistance on Titan to thwart his plans.
Magus and the Star Destroyer
He realized Adam Warlock's powerful doppleganger, Magus, was a threat to his plans and aided Warlock in defeating him. It was during this alliance that Thanos was able to see the power of an Infinity Gem (Adam Warlock possessed the Soul Gem). He assisted Warlock in destroying the timeline which gave birth to the Magus. In this adventure Thanos had allied himself with Warlock and his two companions Pip the Troll and Gamora (who is Thanos' adoptive daughter).
Not long after this ordeal, Warlock and his companions become separated and Thanos becomes power hungry once more. Gamora learns of Thanos' plans and goes to warn Warlock but while en route is killed by Thanos' nemesis Drax the Destroyer. Around this time, Pip the Troll finds himself on Thanos' doorstep and, believing Thanos to still be an ally, boards his ship in the hopes of receiving Thanos' assistance in locating Warlock. Thanos seizes Pip and wipes his mind, leaving his near lifeless body for Warlock to find later on.
Thanos' next attempt was not about control, but of death. He planned to destroy the entire universe. He obtained the Infinity Gems and combined them. With this power he planned to destroy every star in the universe, one by one.
Warlock is too late to stop Thanos' power grab and he has to resort to calling in the Avengers and Captain Mar-Vell to assist in stopping him. Their first attempt fails and Thanos kills Warlock and imprisons the Avengers. The Avengers are soon freed by reinforcements in the form of Spider-Man and the Thing, and while the Avengers battle Thanos' army of space pirates, Spider-Man frees Warlock's spirit from the Soul Gem and Warlock turns Thanos to stone before returning to Soul World.
Thanos remains dead for some time, though while deceased his spirit is present during the death of Captain Mar-Vell to guide him into the afterlife.
Return from Death
Thanos was returned to life by mistress Death herself. She claimed she sensed a unbalance in the universe. There were too much populations heading toward eventual disaster. She thought in time the scale would imbalance giving more death than her power could handle. Thanos set out to kill fifty percent of the population of the universe. He quickly makes a new mortal enemy in the Silver SurferQuick on the heels of Thanos' rebirth, Mentor and Chronos revive Drax the Destroyer as well to track and destroy him.
Silver Surfer battles Thanos once more; seemingly defeating and killing him, though the body Surfer finds is in fact that of Geatar, the loyal henchman of Nebula (Thanos' supposed granddaughter), dressed in Thanos' outfit. Thanos allows himself to be thought dead for a time while he resumes his pursuit of the Infinity Gems.
The Thanos Quest & The Infinity Gauntlet
For the Dark Titan, Thanos, the Infinity Gauntlet was the Holy Grail, the ultimate prize to be coveted above all else. Although he had possessed the gems before, he admitted to not knowing how to properly use them. It was Thanos who began calling the sol gems the Infinity Gems.With it came omnipotence: the absolute control of all aspects of time, space, power, reality, the mind, and the soul. The gaining of supreme might meant the beginning of a black nightmare for the entire universe. Now, on the edge of Armageddon and led by a mysterious Adam Warlock, Earth's superheroes joined in a desperate attempt to thwart this nihilistic god's insane plunge into galactic self-destruction. Should the heroes fail, the astral gods of the universe wait to step into the fray. But in such an awesome cosmic conflict will anyone prevail? Will anyone survive?
Each gem (Time, Space, Power, Soul, Mind, Reality) individually gives the user mastery over its dominion. Collectively, the wielder would possess the power to destroy and create universes and all beings in them.
Drax and the Silver Surfer together battle Thanos, who easily dispatches them; sticking them in Soul World where they encounter Warlock, Pip and Gamora and set into motion the events that will soon bring them back to life. Warlock helps the pair out of soul world. With the Infinity Gauntlet now his, Thanos announced his presence to the universe once more, recruited Mephisto as his servant and, in an
To further impress Death, Thanos kidnaps his brother Starfox and his barely alive so-called descendant Nebula and tortured them horrendously. This proved not to impress Death, and Thanos' anger creates a devastating shockwave across the universe. So to simultaneously soothe his ego and show up Death, Thanos creates new life in his image, his new lover Terraxia.
At this point, Adam Warlock gathers a strike force of the remaining superheroes of earth (and Doctor Doom) to take Thanos on, though he keeps himself and the Silver Surfer in reserve while sending Captain America and the rest under Cap's command to their likely doom. Thanos massacres Warlock's forces but is so distracted by his efforts to impress Death that Warlock's true plan of having the Surfer swoop down and snatch the Infinity Gauntlet off Thanos' hand nearly works. Woken up to his folly, Thanos wises up just in time for the next strike force, consisting entirely of cosmic entities attacks. Even the Great Powers of the Universe ( Eternity and sister Infinity, Lord Chaos and Master Order, Galactus, etc.) were unable to subdue him. Thanos' power also surpassed Mistress Death, herself a supreme power of the universe, who turns on and attacks him at this stage.
Warlock tells Thanos that because he was encased in the Soul Gem that he knows Thanos' secrets, dreams and personality better than anyone, including Thanos himself. He tells Thanos that although he seeks ultimate power he feels he does not deserve it. This is why after three chances at godlike powers he has failed. Subconsciously, Thanos always supplied the means for his own defeat. He agrees to help the heroes retrieve the gaintlet from Nebula. After a new scuffle against Nebula, the Gauntlet is claimed by Adam Warlock.
Thanos, defeated, fakes his death once more and briefly continues to serve Death. Realizing he can never please her, he secludes himself to rest, farm and meditate on an unnamed planet. His costume is used as a scarecrow and he becomes a simple farmer, although he still dabbles in the affairs of the universe.
At some point not too long from here, the Living Tribunal rules that the Infinity Gems must not be allowed to work together anymore, so Warlock is obligated to disperse them. Warlock forms the Infinity Watch, keeping the soul gem to himself but giving the others away to those he trusts (Pip, Gamora, Moondragon, Drax, and a secret unseen final person who is later revealed to be Thanos). Warlock giving Thanos the reality gem (by all means the most dangerous of them all) is never shown.
Thanos is only ever shown to use the gem but once, in a backup story, where he briefly brings Captain Mar-Vell back from the dead and simply has a chat with him before returning him to oblivion. Thanos was angered over a recent meeting with Death in which she wanted the Silver Surfer as her consort. Thanos captured the Surfer and offered him as a gift to his love, but demanded that he be the consort. Once again, Thanos was refused. She also barred him from her realm, cursing him with immortality. He planned to use the gem to create a reality where Death loved him as much as he loved her. Captain Marvel talked him out of this (which is exactly why Thanos chose Mar-Vell in the first place).
Infinity War
Thanos has sensed a great energy in the universe and decides to leave his farm to investigate. He soon discovers the source - the Magus has returned and plans to rule the universe in his own evil way. Magus believes Thanos to be similar to himself, but after some time, Thanos has thought much and changed his priorities. He believes that neither of them are meant to possess such power. The Magus casts him from his dimension.Thanos realizes he will acquire assistance in his efforts to stop Magus once again. He goes to Adam Warlock and the Infinity Watch to form an alliance. They traveled to Death's realm and used the Infinty Well to learn how Magus came to be and what his plans were. They soon learned of the gathering of Earth's heroes. Thanos realized this was no coincidence and Magus must have planned all of the events thus far.
The Magus leads them all to a dimension nearby his own, in hopes of them battling. He as lead Earth's heroes to believe Thanos and Adam Warlock are behind everything. They battle but are interrupted by Galactus, and he uses a scan to read all of their thoughts. They soon realize they are on the same side. Warlock gathers the Infinity Gems together at Thanos' request to use the power to stop the Magus. But the gems lose their power when brought together, the doing of the Living Tribunal. The Magus then abducts Warlock.
Thanos takes command against the wishes of Earth's heroes. He tells them that only he can save them now. He gets the Ultimate Nullifier from Galactus' Ship. He claims that he is not pure enough to use it and whoever does will be killed. He chooses Quasar to make the sacrifice to save the universe. He know fully understands Magus' plans and deceptions and adjusts to them. But Quasar hesitates and the Magus is able to obtain the Infinity Gauntlet when it is repowered by Eternity and the Living Tribunal.
Thanos knows he must know make his move. Captain America does not trust him and tells him they are coming too. Thanos tricks them into fighting a battle with the doppelgangers as opposed to sending them on a suicide run. He plans to face the Magus on his own.
He finds his own doppelganger, who plans to turn on the Magus. They battle each other and the true Thanos is the victor, despite his doppelgangers power advantage. It is here that Thanos overcomes his own self doubt and is able to absorb his power and knowledge to finally become whole again since the events of the Infinity Gauntlet. He stands and fights the Magus and manages to distract him long enough for Adam Warlock to break free of the Magus' capture. Thanos had planned all along for the Magus to miss one important key - the Infinity Gauntlet had a fake Reality Gem, thus he was not omnipotent. Adam Warlock defeats the Magus but this puts him in a catatonic state.
Thanos parts ways with the Infinity Watch whose gems have been given back to them. Thanos is now a changed man, being instrumental in the defeat of Magus and saving the universe. At no point in time did Thanos attempt to take the power as his own. He returns to his farm and contemplates. He believes he is now able to handle the godly power he once could not, but does it truly want it anymore?
Infinity Crusade
Thanos was once again on the side of good when the Magus good counterpart the Goddess threatened the universe. He was sought out by Adam Warlock this time, and Adam had a plan that put much trust in Thanos, who is revealed to be the final member of the Infinity Watch in possession of the Reality Gem. For information, they make a deal with Mephisto for important information regarding the Cosmic Cubes, and agree to give him just one of the cubes after the Goddess' defeat. Warlock entrusts Thanos with the Soul Gem so Warlock may travel back to the Soul World and speak with the Magus.
Meanwhile, Thanos enlists the help of the Silver Surfer and after that, the remaining heroes of Earth. He creates a distraction with the Surfer and brings out one of his older weapons created for the destruction of the universe that he calls the Dreadnaught 666. He hopes his plans to stop the Goddess succeed and gets all the pieces into place. But he remains unsure of who the victors will be.
He fires the Dreadnaught into the planet and manages to reach the Goddess, coccooned in her Cosmic Egg. With the Soul Gem and the help of Professor X he attempts to penetrate her defenses. He fails and she completes her goal, destroying the entire universe. But this was merely an illusion created by Adam Warlock. He reveals that the Cosmic Egg is not omnipotent and he, Thanos and Professor X attack the Goddess on the spiritual plane. Adam Warlock infuses himself with the Cosmic Egg and makes her vulnerable. Thanos traps her inside of the Soul Gem.
After her defeat, Thanos makes the molecular structure of the egg break down, destroying itself and the planet. He gives Mephisto his cosmic cube, but it does not have any power. He tells Mephisto that he should have specified a powered cube and that even devils should beware bargains with Thanos of Titan.
Later Events
Thanos also becomes involved in the " Blood and Thunder" crossover wherein he proves that even a crazed Thor with the Power Gem is something he can handle. He squares off one-on-one against Odin himself, and, while he takes a mighty beating, Odin never quite manages to put him down for the count.In a 3-issue arc in ' Secret Defenders' Thanos enlists a group of super villains ( Rhino, Titanium Man, Nitro, Geatar) to steal the Oracle of Ancient Kowledge, a storehouse of vast information.
Over the next few years, Thanos is involved in multiple lesser power grasps. He begins to seek challenges worthy of his effort, only to find hollow victories. He manages to break the defenses of the Oracle of Ancient Knowledge and learns of Tyrant and his recent return. Intrigued by this opponent, he seeks more knowledge so he may face him. He first seeks out Terrax for information and is able to form a partnership with him. This begins the Cosmic Powers event.
Together they kidnap Ganymede, for she has vast information on Tyrant, being one of his oldest foes. When she learns of Thanos' plan to destroy Tyrant she agrees to help. They arrive at Tyrant's Fortress and engage with Morg, who is controlled by Tyrant. After his defeat, Thanos slips away for his true goal and leaved the others to face Tyrant alone.
Thanos returns with Tyrant's containment device which he uses to store energies, in this case Morg's Power Cosmic. He battles with Tyrant one on one and proves that even someone at Galactus' level is not above the power of Thanos. After battling and being able to exchange blows with someone as powerful as Tyrant, Thanos is now satisfied that he has withstood such a battle and escapes with his prize, claiming himself the victor.
Some time later, after Thanos has resumed a phase of non-interference and soul searching, some experiments gone wrong from his past return in the storyline 'The Infinity Abyss'. In this story, Thanos clones who are each spliced with DNA / misc traits from entities such as Dr. Strange, Iron Man and even Galactus seek to destroy the galaxy. Thanos enlists the aide of Warlock and other heroes in defeating his clones and saving the galaxy. Confronted with the obvious disastrous nature of having spliced his genes with Galactus', Thanos responds, with a smile, that the opportunity was too intriguing to resist.
Epiphany and Redemption
After some soul searching, Thanos realizes he has been a pawn of circumstance. Admitting that he had no reason to be so monstrous, he tried his hand at using his powers for good. While he was able to save all life itself from an entity known as The Hunger, he stopped those attempts at well.
After this, he would journey out as a pilgrim to the Kyln / Crunch, the mysterious and ancient prison colony at the far edge of the universe that would later factor into Annihilation. Here Thanos would encounter Skreet and take her on as his companion, and he would go on to battle the imprisoned Beyonder, and to find and brainwash Galactus' first herald, The Fallen One, into doing his bidding.
Annihilation
Annihilus, ruler of the Negative Zone, has gathered his forces and has invaded the Positive Zone. His army have proven to be unstoppable, and resistance has been squelched at every turn. Terrifyingly and inexplicably, Thanos has offered his services to Annihilus to be one of his Generals. Thanos assisted Annihilus by helping to organize the capture of Galactus. With Galactus and the Silver Surfer in stasis, Thanos was able to develop technology to use Galactus to harvest cosmic energy to be stored and inevitably turning Galactus into a living weapon capable of destroying entire planets.
Moondragon (who was captured by Thanos) revealed to Thanos that Annihilus planned to use the Galactus weapon to destroy all life in both the positive and negative zones (and Annihilus' true feelings about Thanos), he decided to show Annihilus who he was dealing with by setting Galactus and his herald free (and quickly teleporting away as to avoid the wrath of Galactus). Thanos then revealed to Moondragon that his only reason for joining Annihilus' cause was to see how it would tip the scales, and that he had no real interest in Annihilus' goals. Thanos also revealed that he had built in a fail-safe configured to his own power level so that he and only he could rescue Galactus and the Surfer from their stasis. Before he was able to finish keying in the release sequence, he was killed by Drax the Destroyer with his heart being ripped out from behind. To this Thanos appeared to have more curiosity or annoyance for than fear or anger, and with his dying breath saw Death in the ship with him. Thanos appeared with Death in space to witness the final battle and death of Annihilus.
Powers
Being an Eternal, Thanos has superhuman strength, endurance, reflexes and agility. He is nearly invulnerable, able to endure extreme heat, cold, electricity, radiation and toxins. Due to his genetic heritage, Thanos is immune to aging and disease. His birth is estimated to the 19th century. He also inherited the ability to synthesize cosmic energy within his own body and use it for various purposes. Thanos could survive indefinitely without food or water even before Death "cursed" him with immortality. His mind is invulnerable to most forms of psychic attacks. When Moondragon attacked him, he won as his mind was stronger. He can project a psionic blast. His eyes and hands can also emit blasts of plasma and cosmic energy.
Thanos amplified his own abilities during his early life, prior to his published appearances. His physical strength and stamina are considered superior to those of other Eternals. He was even able to simultaneously engage both Thor and the Thing in hand-in-hand combat and held his own. Pointing to Thanos being able to lift at least 100 tons. Through meditation and certain mystical techniques, Thanos augmented his power in still other ways, enabling him to tap, transform, and direct vast quantities of cosmic energy for destructive force. He was able to compete with Silver Surfer, the most powerful herald of Galactus. He did not even flinch when the Silver Surfer blasted him at full-strength and survived Odin's attacks.
Death resurrected Thanos and increased all of his abilities, giving him superior resilience and energy manipulating abilities than even Elders of the Universe. He is currently one of the most powerful beings in all the universe. Only Galactus, the Stranger, the Celestials, and the Watchers are known to equal or exceed his cosmic energy manipulative abilities.
Thanos was born with superhuman intelligence and has spent much of his life acquiring knowledge. While in the service of death he spent a great deal of time gazing into the Infinity Well and learning "secrets" of the galaxy. Aside from the Watchers, he is, perhaps, the most knowledgeable being in the known universe.
Also, Thanos trained Gamora to become one of the universe's most feared assassin. His technology allows him to erect force fields which Galactus had to exert effort to break through and time-travel.
Characteristics
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 985 lbs.
Hair: None
Skin: Grey-purple
Strength: The exact extent of Thanos strength is unknown.
Alternate Versions
Earth X
In the Earth X universe he was dead and in love with Death just as he was in the main universe. He wanted nothing to do with helping the people in the Realm of the Dead realize they were actually dead. He was at Death's side all the way. When the revelation that Death was nothing Thanos took the Ultimate Nullifier that Marvel gave him and used it on Death killing her.Ultimate
In the Ultimate universe Thanos convinces Mr. Fantastic to create the Cosmic Cube.Marvel Zombies
In the Earth-2149 universe, Thanos is one of the super beings that becomes infected by the virus. He succumbs to the need for food after he is bitten by one of the cosmic zombies, who were on a quest to search for food. As they search for food, they meet Thanos the Mad Titan and attempt to eat him. Thanos, with his divine power, tries to defend himself. But because of the cosmic power that the zombies and gained, they were successful in biting him and not consuming him. Thanos then joins the zombies on their quest for food and aids the zombies. However, as they feast on newly acquired food, he has a dispute with the cosmic zombie Hulk for food, and they fight each other. Due to Hulk's immense strength, durability, and Power Cosmic, Thanos is easily defeated by Hulk and killed in the process.Heart of the Infinite (Marvel Universe: The End)
When Thanos learns of an immensely powerful artifact called the Heart of the Universe (or Heart of the Infinite). He immediately sets off to find the object. This powerful device was able to bestow powers surpassing the Living Tribunal. Thanos discovers that the device is on board Akhenaten's ship and attempts to take it from him. Akhenaten uses his cosmic powers and easily defeats all of the gods. Thanos and a group of superhumans successfully earned the Cosmic Order's trust and gave them access to the device's energies. Thanos eventually steals the device and uses it to conquer the entire universe and tried to earn Death's heart. The cosmic gods eventually battled Thanos but were easily defeated because of the device's power. Thanos soon discovers that the universe was about to die and that there was nothing he could do about it. Adam Warlock appears and tells Thanos the only way to stop the universe from dying is to sacrifice Thanos's own life. Thanos accepts his sacrifice and prevented the universe from dying.Note that it is unclear how, if in any way, this story fits into canon continuity.
Other Media
Thanos appeared in the Hasbro strategy game Heroscape in the special Marvel edition.
Thanos was also the main villain in the Super Nintendo game Marvel Super Heroes in War of the Gems (1996).
Thanos was also a selectable character in Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000). It became available on home consoles as well for Playstation 2, Xbox and Sega Dreamcast. This game is scheduled to be released in the Summer of 2009 for Playstation 3 and Xbox Live.
| Super Name: | Thanos |
| Real Name: | Thanos |
| Aliases: |
The Mad Titan Thanos of Titan Mr. T Thanny |
| Publisher: | Marvel Publishing |
| Gender: | Male |
| Character Type: | God/Eternal |
| 1st Appearance: | Iron Man #55 |
| Appears in: | 284 issues |
| Birthday: | |
| Died: |
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