Anyone who followed the crossover event of ‘Infinity’ knows that Thanos is currently sitting frozen in time in a prison created by his Inhuman son. We know it is only a matter of time before he gets out and this gives us a small prelude of things to come as it takes a look back at a few of the greater stories that he has been involved in from his quest for the Cosmic Cube to when he becoming a God from wielding the now defunct Infinity Gauntlet.

Honestly, I think if anything this could be a teaser to get fans of the villain excited for the upcoming ‘Thanos Infinity Revelation’ graphic novel that is soon to be released. That’s okay though! We have Jim Starlin writing and Ron Lim using his perfect style for galactic Marvel. Those two alone are worth a read. The fact that this wasn’t just a recap but a partial new story and lead in to the future of Thanos? Even better!

Apparently after Thanos was first bested from having the Cosmic Cube, he didn’t remember exactly what happened after. It looks as if when he held the infinity gems he had sent out aspects of himself to review how he might gain more power and what happened during various encounters in the past. What we see in this annual is his avatar investigating what happened to himself which turns into a great interaction between the two. Young Thanos attempts to take The Infinity Gauntlet away from his older counterpart, though is easily turned aside as the Avatar has more experience and he isn’t truly there nor is the Gauntlet.

Still we find out that an encounter with Mephisto occurred as well as a glimpse to an endpoint in time where Thanos stands victorious over a horde of heroes and villains just in time to witness the end of the time stream. What happens there? The Avatar of Thanos as well as Adam Warlock are not allowed to watch as Eternity banishes them from witnessing it.

There is a lot of glossed over recap here that will either be clear if you know the history of the character or spend a ton of time on Wikipedia. It works because while you are glossing through it all, either knowing it or with a confused look on your face, it still gives you the essence of Thanos, The Mad Titan.

So while it was an interesting take on the past of Thanos with a brief glimpse of his future, this wasn’t truly a full new story with how Thanos is today. This is more of how Thanos was when he was younger and a splinter of his conscious from when he had his only true grasp of real power. We did get a nice little tease of the future but if you were looking for a brand new Thanos story you’ll have to wait for the graphic novel to be released. I know I am. While a fun read this is really a book that is probably for Thanos fans and not much past that.

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THANOS ANNUAL #1
Writer: Jim Starlin
Artist: Ron Lim