An iconic Marvel Comics villain returns this December as Thanos, the Mad Titan himself, will arrive to bedevil Marvel's hopeful next breakout stars in The Eternals #2.
Most fans will need little introduction to Thanos – he was a central character in the first decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, culminating in his leading appearances in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, in which he doggedly pursued the Infinity Stones to put an end to half the life in the entire universe.
But Thanos's comic book stories go well beyond his quest for the Infinity Stones – in fact, like the mysterious, ancient heroes the Eternals, Thanos is actually an Eternal himself in comic books. Or, more accurately, a Deviant born of Eternal parents – Deviants being the opposite, parallel beings who developed alongside Eternals, and who are the villains of Marvel's upcoming Eternals film.
Unlike Earth's Eternals – Ikaris, Makkari, Gilgamesh, Thea, and the others – Thanos is from Saturn's moon, Titan, one of several other worlds seeded with both Eternals and Deviants by the enigmatic, all-powerful Celestials in their endless experiments with evolutionary life.
"The Mad Titan has returned. In the aftermath of an Eternal's death, Ikaris goes up against Thanos in the heart of a city twisted by time," reads Marvel's official description of Eternals #2. "This epic battle will be explored in Eternals #2 and will reveal the monumental role Thanos will play in this bold new vision of Jack Kirby's classic Marvel creation."
Thanos was killed by his own older self a few years ago – he was last seen during Donny Cates's Guardians of the Galaxy run, in which his spirit possessed the body of his brother Starfox – so his upcoming appearance in Eternals #2 will mark his flesh-and-blood return.
Look for more information in Marvel's full December comic book solicitations later this month on Newsarama.
Is Thanos Marvel’s best cosmic villain of all time. You’d think so, right?
