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Thanos Destroyed Himself Only To Become Stronger

Infinity War is one of the most interesting stories in Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The only difference is that the Infinity War movie is not in line with the comic story. You see, the events of Infinity War were inspired by a comic called Infinity Gauntlet which started off with Thanos already having assembled the six stones in the Infinity Gauntlet and using them to wipe half the population of the universe just to impress death. This meant that the following stories had to resolve and reverse this conflict. This was done by introducing Adam Warlock. But the Infinity War event in the comics was much more interesting especially because it saw how Thanos destroyed himself to regain his power.

Let me explain. At the end of 1991’s Inifnity Gauntlet storyline, Adam Warlock stole the gauntlet back from Thanos and restored the universe to its original form. Then came Warlock and The Infinity Watch which was a comic series about Adam Warlock. In the first comic of this series, Warlock was summoned by The Lvining Tribunal who took away the Infinity Gauntlet and forced Adam to disburse the stones between six individuals who would come to be known as The Infinity Watch. Interestingly, Pip the Troll was one of these people.  But then came the Infinity War event. Trouble began when an evil future version of Adam Warlock showed up in the Marvel comic verse. This character called himself Magus.

 

Thanos Destroyed Himself

Magus wanted to assemble the Infinity Gauntlet once again. He wanted to use the Gauntlet’s power to shape reality and the universe in his own image. He even succeeded in this endeavor for quite some time. But what we really want to discuss is the impact of his shenanigans on The Mad Titan who had recently been defeated by Warlock. You see, The Mad Titan had lost his edge after Infinity Gauntlet. So the creator of the character, Jim Starlin had planned something interesting for the audience. Issue #10 of Warlock and the Infinity Watch saw Thanos fighting a clone of himself.

 

This clone was created by Magus by using the Infinity Gauntlet. The fight between the clone and The Mad Titan was supposed to be endless. It was supposed to be Thanos’ punishment for pride. But their clash shook the heavens and scared lesser beings. The two titans clashed with full power and pummeled each other like there was no tomorrow. Neither allowed the other to get the upper hand. Not until Magus declared that whoever wins would be allowed to join him in the chamber within. Magus’ comment meant that he was betraying the clone he had created.

 

So the two Titans stopped for a brief moment to discuss an alliance. But this is Thanos we are talking about, they were back to pounding each other in no time. At this point, Thanos decided he had had enough. So The Mad Titan beat his clone to the ground with punch after unrelenting punch. He knocked the clone unconscious and transformed him into a butterfly. Then he ate the butterfly and absorbed the clone’s power. This was called “Astral Suicide”. By doing this Thanos returned back to full power.

 

The Consequences

Only Thanos is crazy enough to eat himself to return back to full power. Some might see him as a Darkseid rip-off, but the villain is very complex and often stands on his own. Especially when we read Thanos in a story by Jim Starlin, who was also the original creator of the character. In this comic by Jim Starlin, we get a glimpse at the deranged sense of focus that Thanos has. He is not a brute, he is a calculating and ruthless tyrant. His unstoppable nature can be summed up in his battle with the clone.

 

In the end, Thanos destroyed himself (or his clone) to become even more powerful than he was. He made sure to convert a predicament into an opportunity and came out on top by the end of it. This shows the unrelenting nature of The Mad Titan in a way that no one could have expected before. Let us know what you think about this down in the comments and keep watching this space for everything Marvel, DC, and Hollywood. Excelsior!!!

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