THE THANOS IMPERATIVE
By now, you’ve watched Avengers: Endgame, the concluding chapter to the “Infinity Saga” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s the epic story told over twenty-two movies that center around the powerful Infinity Stones which are being sought after by the primary antagonist: Thanos. In this final movie we see Thanos’ final demise ,so it seems, at the hand of Tony Stark otherwise known as Iron Man who wields the stones for a brief yet universe-altering moment. This story in a different form was told in comics under the title The Infinity Gauntlet.
In that medium, villains, nor heroes for that matter, stay dead for any extended amount of time. This includes Thanos himself. There is another story that is lesser known yet comparable in regards to it’s monumental catastrophe where once again the primary focus is Thanos The Mad Titan. This story is called The Thanos Imperative.
A fissure in time and space dubbed The Fault has created a doorway to another realm that is filled with darker versions of our universe including of many of its heroes. That place is one where death doesn’t exist and it is overflowing with evil. The leader of these monstrous incarnations is Captain Marvel, the original and now deceased hero. He is searching for the Thanos the “Avatar of Death,” convinced that if he destroys him then he can conquer all. If that happens, the most vile and monstrous creatures imaginable will spill into the universe with no way to stop them. This means the combined might of the galactic heroes must fight the forces of the “Cancer-verse” while keeping Thanos safe from them.
This is one of my favorite Galactic stories after Annihilation. I think that is due to the writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning. It was their take on Guardians of the Galaxy comic series that was the source material for the 2014 movie. Now, I won’t spoil the ending, but it was definitely a heartbreaking bunch of pages; bittersweet may describe it well.
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