Thanos Once Created a [SPOILER] Stronger Than Galactus

Galactus, devourer of worlds, is one of the most powerful beings in the entire Marvel galaxy. But one time, Thanos created a clone of himself that was nearly twice as strong. The mad Titan/mad scientist created dozens of clones thanks to his obsession with death, and when one that actually contained some of Galactus’ DNA got loose, Thanos had to join forces with Marvel’s heroes. 

The story in question, for the unfamiliar, is Jim Starlin’s Infinity Abyss. The tale begins with Adam Warlock’s difficult recovery from an interstellar signal that’s wreaking havoc with his brain and powers. Eventually Adam joins up with Thanos to investigate the appearance of spatial irregularities all over the galaxy. As the united cosmic characters soon discover, Atlez — one of the essential beings of the universe — is close to death. A new Atlez is ready to take his place, but it requires the powers of Adam Warlock and the Soul Gem for them to make the switch. 

Meanwhile, the Thanos that recruits Pip and Adam Warlock, and eventually Moondragon, isn’t the real Thanos. The truth is soon revealed that this Thanos is actually one of the ‘Thanosi’ — clones of the famous supervillain, and plotting to manipulate Atlez for their own purposes. There’s a band of clones, each with little characteristics of their own. One strong one, named “Warrior”, one in a suit of armor, “Armor”, and on like that. All of them are doing the bidding of one mastermind clone, named Omega – this is our Galactus hybrid. Gamora is first to realize that this Thanos isn’t like the one she grew up with, and she discovers the real Titan, mostly retired, doing science experiments. 

For the purposes of a fun story, the Atlez replacement has taken the earth shape of a little girl, stuck in the middle of these Thanos clones and superheroes, witnessing them as they fight over the existence of reality. Captain Marvel himself confirms that the Thanos/Galactus clone is almost twice as powerful as Galactus alone, and the available cosmic heroes, led by Thanos, have to take down a giant. It takes the nuclear detonation of an entire planet to subdue the clone, but the former Atlez passed, and the new “Atleza” took his place, and reality remained intact.

Building around two protagonists in Adam Warlock and Thanos, this story twists the rules of the traditional superteam dynamic inside out. In the MCU, Thanos was slightly relatable, here, he’s down right tolerable, even leading a team of Avengers to clean up one of his faulty experiments. Classic. The stakes in this story were through the roof – all of reality hung in the balance – but the strong emphasis on Adam Warlock’s inner torture, and Thanos’ redemption, complemented the cosmic antics nicely.