Let’s take a look at Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet

So Guardians of the Galaxy came out.

And with that the third of the Infinity Stones is revealed thus allowing us to get closer and closer to phase three of Marvel’s film line-up leading to what must inevitably be the final battle with Thanos, the mad Titan, as the universe fights to stop his mad bid to win the affection of Death.

And for a lot of you nearly every word of that didn’t make a DAMN lick of sense.

So, I think it’s time we all had a nice sit down and get an explanation. Not only about Thanos the mad Titan but the Infinity Gauntlet also.

Now for the hardcore comic fans who’ve read the entire saga of this in comic including the preceding and ensuing tie in stores I’m going to leave a lot out. Mostly Adam Warlock.

But, in all fairness, you guys probably know more about this then I do and really, do we want to rob people of reading this stuff themselves?

So first and foremost let’s deal with the big bad himself THANOS!

Thanos was created in 1973 by noted comic writer and artist Jim Starlin. Starlin conceived conceptually of a powerful galactic titan with an unparalleled intelligence. During subsequent edits bits of the famed DC villain Darksied were incorporated into Thanos’s physical design to give him the image of a more visually intimidating villain.

He first appeared in Iron Man #55 in 1973 and was one of the first major forays for Marvel to flesh out their larger galactic universe. Along with guys like Galactus, of course. It’s actually kind of appropriate how his first appearance was in Iron Man and that was the character that launched the film storyline that’s leading to Thanos becoming a major villain.

So who is Thanos? Why is Thanos?

Thanos hails from Saturn’s moon Titan. On Titan there is a race of beings known as the Eternals who have evolved considerably to have amazing powers and incredibly advanced technology and intelligence. They had also become a race of pacifists. Unfortunately Thanos was born with a rare genetic disorder that made him… well a megalomaniac. Thanos became a powerful warlord with ambition and intelligence to match his prodigious strength. In fighting his enemies he would often use their strength against them that includes tricking them into blowing up the planets they were fighting on.

I mean that. That’s happened like twice.

Over time Thanos grew to respect the one great equalizer that makes all living things slaves of time: Death. He realized it was the one force in the universe to which he was as much a slave as the lowliest insect or parasite.

And… he fell in love with Death. Conveniently Death, rather than being an abstract concept, has a physical form in the Marvel Universe and is one of several cosmic entities there. Even more conveniently enough, Death is a lady.

So that worked out for him.

Thanos set out to impress Death with several acts of mass murder including assembling an army and nuking his own homeworld. None of this actually worked mind you. Death revealed that she never cared for Thanos and thought his attempts to court her were just funny as hell. She viewed him as an entertaining distraction and nothing more.

Thus Thanos got another idea into his head. He decided to become Death’s equal to impress her.

Thanos started stealing and absorbing all sorts of cosmic artefacts to reach higher and higher strata of power. Unlike other Marvel villains I could name *coughdrdoomcough* he’d actually succeeded and grew in strength over time, even if he was eventually defeated. And killed. Yeah he died. It didn’t stick. Eventually he was made Death’s servant and charged to murder one half of the whole universe for her to even the balance between life and death. A task that was practically impossible if you think about it. Thanos, despite loving Death, did not wish to live as her slave nor the slave of anyone. Still seeking to become her equal he searched for a means to do so.

Then, one day, Thanos was looking into literal freaking infinity and learned an ancient, powerful secret.

Which brings us to the Infinity Gauntlet.

In the Marvel universe there are six stones known (at the time) as Soul Gems. These really only carry the physical form of stones as, unlike so many other powerful cosmic macguffins in the Marvel Universe (of which there are many), the stones are the very aspects of the universe itself consolidated into a single physical unit. As such, to wield one is to wield a very aspect of the cosmos. There are six in total.

To wield even one properly requires not only great willpower but also incredible intelligence as well. You see in the comics they are often mistaken for simple magical items that make you really fast or strong or somesuch. For eons no one realized how far these gems could go in the right hands.

Until Thanos.

Thanos figured out that those who wielded the stones didn’t know what they actually were and set about collecting them. What followed was a brilliantly calculated series of manipulations and battles where Thanos retrieved all six stones which he renamed the Infinity Gems.

Now, the Marvel cinematic universe has changed a few things with the dealing of Thanos and the Infinity Gems.

First of all, Thanos is still much of a mystery in the scope of the films. The line from the end of Avengers about how fighting Earth is like courting Death isn’t a challenge to Thanos; it’s an opportunity. Hopefully we get the same self-reflective personality that the comics present for rather than a generic oppressive overlord.

Also, there is the infinity gems themselves. While having the same nature as their comic counterparts each of the three stones we’ve seen so far have only displayed a fraction of their real power.

So let’s cover it.

First of all there’s the Tesseract from the Avengers. Originally believed to be the cosmic cube by fans it’s been revealed that this stone is actually the infinity gem of space (in the comics the space gem is purple but let’s not cling too hard to that). Which means anyone who wields it can bend space and time to their whim. In truth Loki could have easily moved the entire Chitari fleet around Earth under his own power if he had an inkling of what the gem was capable of.

Then there’s the Aether from Thor 2: The Dark World which is actually the reality gem (yellow in the comics). The convergence that happened in the film where the realms were crossing is actually, likely, the entire work of that stone in the hands on a user unable to control it. The reality gem can violate the very laws of the universe and make the user’s very wishes true.

The most recent gem to appear was the Power Gem from Guardians of the Galaxy (red in the comics). The power gem allows a user to unleash the unparalleled might of all existence in its truest definition. It, in turn makes other powers and the other stones stronger. Had Ronan realized what he had he could have destroyed the planet Xandar by just making its own volcanic activity stronger. Or one of a hundred other things.

There are three more of these stones in existence. There is the mind gem which allows a person to manipulate any consciousness and all consciousness to their will. The Time gem which allows it’s bearer to manipulate the sequence of events, to move forward and back on any scale and freeze and loop those events as they see fit. Lastly is the soul gem, that which can create, destroy and chance the very core essence of all beings.

And Thanos is the mad sucker who gets all six and mounts them into his own glove.

Thanos who, while smiling, snapped his fingers and half of the life in the universe was snuffed out.

I am not kidding. That really happened.

Thanos who told the entire Marvel universe “Come and get me.” And when they did he killed them all. Repeatedly. Thanos the mad Titan who’s brilliance, force of will and overall might allowed him to not only wield the Infinity Gauntlet but master it in a way that was not to be equalled by anyone else.

You have to understand that Thanos, as an Eternal, even a deviant one, is known for his great intelligence. In later appearances he’s often seen musing over his circumstances as well as his own nature. He’s a villain that’s actually matured over time despite being a sadistic nihilist, often times forced to acknowledge the error in his own thinking.

We don’t yet know how far Marvel intends to take the story of Thanos nor if they intend to resolve it as it was in the comics whenever the Raisin Titan got his hands on the gauntlet (I personally think the way they handled it in The End was brilliant but that’s me).

But… if the Thanos of the films is even the shade of his comic source then the entirety of the Marvel cinematic universe won’t defeat him.

It won’t even be enough to slow him down.

For those of you looking to read up on Thanos you’ll have a bit of a hard time. Thanos’s appearances are scattered among Marvel’s various titles and to try and collect physical copies that chronicle his various appearances is a massive task. Any collection of Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock stories is sure to feature the mad Titan

I personally recommend reading the two issue miniseries Thanos Quest wherein Thanos goes to find and acquire the six Infinity Gems. Of course the six issue Infinity Gauntlet series is a must read for those who want to see how the great war between Thanos and everyone else in Marvel went down. Especially if you want to see it without copyright issues keeping your favourite characters out of the story.  Marvel even has a massive Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus that combines Thanos Quest and Infinity Gauntlet as well as a number of other related comics in one handy hardcover.

At the very least you now have a starting point to understanding one of Marvel’s greatest cosmic villains, a being that has manipulated enemies, allies and circumstances and has survived everything the universe throws at him. Including Death. The mad Titan who’s crossed the line between malevolence and benevolence and has stood as a major player in every major Marvel cosmic war, often being the deciding factor in many of them. The mortal who stood among the  celestial forces of the universe and even when dethroned from godhood remained a constant fear to anyone who dared oppose him.

Thanos, the mad Titan.