After 51 years, Thanos gives up his love for death and literally becomes a god

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Thanos Annual No. 1 – The Infinity Watch!ThanosThe love and obsession with death was his driving motivation for most of his Marvel Comics career. The Mad Titan experienced the Thanos Quest to get the Infinity Stones to court Death, and one of the first things he did with the Infinity Gauntlet was murder half the universe as a “gift” for his true love. Yet, despite spending so much time trying to win Death’s heart, Thanos eventually gave up his love to become a literal god – the God of Death.

In Thanos Yearbook #1 – The Infinity Watch by Derek Landy and Salvador Larroca, Thanos is once again on a quest to obtain all of the Infinity Stones, only this time he’s off to a much better start than in the original Thanos quest. In a previous storyline, Thanos trapped Lady Death in a new Infinity Stone that Thanos himself created: the Death Stone. And now Thanos plans to use the Death Stone to obtain the rest – though it quickly becomes apparent that his goals aren’t quite what they seem.

The Infinity Stones have physically bonded with their wearers, granting cosmic power to the seemingly normal human members of the new Infinity Watch. Thanos gathers three of them – Time, Reality, and Space – in an attempt to rip the Stones from their bodies and wear them himself. At least, that’s what he seems to do, but once he’s in their presence, it’s revealed that Thanos didn’t want the Stones themselves. Thanos wanted to learn how the Stones bond with their hosts in order to do the same with the Death Stone, which would make him the new God of Death.

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Thanos’ obsession with Infinity Stones merges in new ways with his love of death

This storyline isn’t the first time Thanos has been shown to be obsessed with both Death and the Infinity Stones, although these two passions are portrayed in a unique way. Thanos isn’t after the Infinity Stones to bend them to his will, but to learn from them in order to bond with the Death Stone.

Thanos’ new obsession with death is not rooted in romantic love, but in the pursuit of divine power, as he wishes to become the very thing he once tried to woo. This is what makes Thanos’ chapter in the ongoing Infinity Watch story so interesting, as it brilliantly draws on elements from his past to tell an entirely new story. The Mad Titan’s obsessions remain the same, but his goals are entirely different.

Thanos’ latest quest for power reaffirms his humiliating legacy

Even after Thanos kidnaps members of the Infinity Watch and even manages to rip a stone from one of their bodies to see exactly how they bond with their host, he still loses. Not only is Thanos defeated by the Infinity Watch, he also loses the Death Stone when it flies away from him to find a host worthy of it – meaning Thanos will never become the God of Death. This is just the latest of Thanos’ many failures, which only reinforces his humiliating legacy: Thanos is Marvel Comics’ biggest loser, as proven time and time again with each new story.

Thanos was denied his chance at godhood as he no longer has possession of the Death Stone or any of the other Infinity Stones. However, even though he failed (which again is pretty much par for the course for Thanos at this point), the change fans see in him seems to be permanent, as after 51 years Thanos gives up his love of death to literally become a god.

Thanos Yearbook No. 1 – The Infinity Watch from Marvel Comics is now available.