Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Thanos Annual #1 – The Infinity Watch! Thanos’ love of and obsession with Death has been his driving motivation for the majority of his Marvel Comics career. The Mad Titan underwent the Thanos Quest to retrieve the Infinity Stones in an attempt to court Death, and one of the first things he did with the Infinity Gauntlet was murder half the universe as a ‘gift’ to his true love. However, despite spending so much time trying to win Death’s heart, Thanos has finally abandoned his love to become a literal god – the God of Death.
In Thanos Annual #1 – The Infinity Watch by Derek Landy and Salvador Larroca, Thanos is once again on a quest to obtain all the Infinity Stones, only this time, he’s off to a much better start than when he embarked on the original Thanos Quest. In a previous storyline, Thanos trapped Lady Death in a new Infinity Stone Thanos himself created: the Death Stone. And now, Thanos plans to use the Death Stone to obtain the rest – though it’s quickly revealed that his goals aren’t exactly as they seem.
The Infinity Stones have physically bonded with their wielders, imbuing the seemingly normal human members of the new Infinity Watch with cosmic power. Thanos gathers three of them – Time, Reality, and Space – in an attempt to rip the Stones from their bodies and wield them himself. At least, that’s what it seems like he’s doing, but once he’s in their presence, it’s revealed that Thanos didn’t want the Stones themselves. Thanos wanted to learn how the Stones bonded with their hosts in order to do the same with the Death Stone, which would make him the new God of Death.
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Thanos’ Obsession with Infinity Stones Merges with His Love of Death in a New Way
This storyline is far from the first time Thanos has been shown obsessing over both Death and the Infinity Stones, though it presents these two infatuations uniquely. Thanos is after the Infinity Stones not to bend them to his will, but to learn from them in order to connect with the Death Stone.
Thanos’ new obsession with Death isn’t based in romantic love, but in the pursuit of god-tier power, as he wants to become the very thing he once tried to court. That’s what makes Thanos’ chapter in the ongoing Infinity Watch story so interesting, as it brilliantly takes elements from his past to tell an all-new story. The Mad Titan’s obsessions remain the same, but his goals are completely different.
Thanos’ Latest Pursuit of Power Reaffirms His Humiliating Legacy
Even after Thanos abducts members of the Infinity Watch, and even succeeds in ripping a Stone from one of their bodies to see exactly how they bond with their host, he still loses. Thanos doesn’t just get defeated by the Infinity Watch, he also loses the Death Stone, as it flies away from him to find a host worthy of it – meaning Thanos will never become the God of Death. This is just the latest of Thanos’ many failures, which only reaffirms his humiliating legacy: Thanos is Marvel Comics’ biggest loser, as proven time and again with every passing story.
Thanos was denied his chance at godhood, as he’s no longer in possession of the Death Stone, or any of the other Infinity Stones, for that matter. However, even though he failed (which, again, is pretty much a given for Thanos at this point), the change fans are seeing in him seems permanent, as after 51 years, Thanos abandons his love of Death in his pursuit of becoming a literal god.
Thanos Annual #1 – The Infinity Watch by Marvel Comics is available now.
