The most important thing to take away from this issue is that it begins NOW, meaning that Thanos is alive and free in the Marvel Universe right now. Thanos has come back from the Cancerverse where he had previously been trapped, though he was supposedly still being held.
We don’t really get to explore much of his being on the loose now as he makes a brief trip to visit a grave before the true point of the story begins – a flashback of Thanos growing up. Yes it’s time to sit back and watch Thanos’s origin story.
While long time readers of the Marvel Universe (or anyone who reads Wiki) can know a lot about his origin pretty quickly. Curiosity over Thanos was especially sparked after he was introduced at the end of The Avengers film so they had to bring him back into the spotlight and in a big way. Of course introducing new readers to the concept of Thanos who might not know his history with Death or The Infinity Gauntlet might need a bit of a crash course.
Before I go into the plot and what I felt about it, I’m going to make a quick comment on the art; Simone Bianchi was born to draw Thanos inspired themes. I really felt that the character portrays were all spot on and I can’t wait to see Simone draw more of Thanos in the future.
At any rate, we start the comic off and it takes a few interesting turns. My memory tells me that he had spent the majority of his youth only being friends with his brother, Eros, who does not make an appearance in this book. In fact the other children actually try to be friends with him and that’s where the problem started.
He goes exploring in caves that were off limits with some of these friends and they all end up being killed by some of the creatures that live within them.
Let me quickly explain something here which is the downside of this issue. Up until he finds these friends he’s very clearly a loner, an introvert and has very low self esteem. Think Anakin Skywalker in the recent Star Wars 1-3 before he turns into Vader.
That being said, the trappings of The Mad Titan are set in this issue. The lizards that killed his friends? At the issue’s end he takes care of them in a very special way, up close and personal. I honestly hope that they delve into this right off the bat in the next issue and don’t draw out another full issue before he starts to become the Thanos we know.
The one bright and shining point is that all of his actions seem to be egged on by a young girl that is constantly popping up at his side. I couldn’t tell if this is supposed to be one of the young Titans or perhaps an avatar of Death who is trying to influence young Thanos towards being The Mad Titan that he is destined to become.
It didn’t feel quite like a light bulb moment but it felt like a step in the right direction. I just hope it keeps taking steps and starts to run because if the next issue stumbles I’m going to be extremely disappointed.
Thanos has been hands down my favorite villain in the Marvel Universe. The first issue of the new telling of his origin has rung hallow in my ears and I’m hoping it’s something that can successfully be built on.
I’m a bit perplexed on what to give this. While I felt the issue had a few strong points at the end and was beautiful to read I’m not sold on the young version of Thanos. Yes everyone is young once and they don’t always show their nature at a young age, but I felt that the initial introduction was a bit of a clash from the Titan we all know is to come.
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Simone Bianchi
