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Jim Starlin and Alan Davis’ epic Thanos trilogy comes to an end this week with The Infinity Ending. This is the third hardcover to be released featuring a full chapter of Thanos’ journey from supervillain to becoming a god of everything. In this latest chapter, there is time travel, multiple versions of Thanos in play, and supervillains aiding in removing Thanos from his place of ultimate power. It’s a story about what happens when a villain like Thanos gets what he wants and how a few heroes could ever stop him.
So what’s it about?
The official summary reads:
All hail Thanos, lord of all – including himself! In the far future, Thanos is the most powerful being in reality. But it’s not enough to rule his own time. The truly Mad Titan intends to command all of time and space – including his own past self! Now, Thanos’ brother Eros, his old ally Adam Warlock and a teleporting troll named Pip must find a way to free Thanos’ consciousness from his own future. But the journey will take them – and Thanos – far beyond the limits of anything they believed they could endure. Don’t miss Jim Starlin’s final chapter in the Thanos saga!
Why does this matter?
Jim Starlin is the creator of Thanos and it’s nice to see him finish off the character how he sees fit. Every creator should be given the opportunity to tell their final story for a character and based on what happens in this hardcover Starlin goes all out with the cosmic journey undertaken here.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
That skull work is scary.
Credit: Marvel Comics
This book opens with Thanos absorbing both the Living Tribunal and Above-All-Others, two gods that make up all time and space. Thanos is essentially everywhere all at once, but he’s still new to having ultimate power. This leaves Adam Warlock, Pip (a teleporting troll), and Thanos’ brother Eros the only thing standing in his way from destroying all existence. After the first chunk of the story expertly reveals what it’s like for Thanos to be everything and everywhere, the task of stopping him gets underway — which serves as a nice journey that jumps through time and space quite well.
Much of the narrative is focused on Eros and Pip teleporting through time and space with only the notion that Thanos can’t see them keeping them from being destroyed forever. This plot plays around with the idea that Eros could shift Thanos’ evil mind to a place of good by telling him he is loved throughout his lifetime. At the same time Adam Warlock wakes up Kang and hopes to use his time travel abilities to turn the tables on Thanos. As the story unfolds both plots weave in with Thanos enjoying his new skills while also avoiding his wrath. It all wraps up well with a clever twist, and it’s nice to see Starlin use Thanos in defeating him. It’s a statement of sorts as Thanos is so powerful and so great only he could stop himself.
Starlin writes some beautifully written cosmic speak from Thanos that reads almost like poetry. It’s a bit abstract, and it helps convey his ultimate power. Speaking of conveying ultimate power Alan Davis does an impeccable job with the art. Thanos’ new form is well rendered like a face in a cloud of dust when he first gains ultimate power. I love Eros’ look which is stable, strong, and when necessary a bit scary (he is a villain after all). Color artist Jim Campbell makes the cosmic galaxies and planets come alive too.
These gods seem pretty chill before their inevitable death.
Credit: Marvel Comics
It can’t be perfect, can it?
Eros and Pip’s little time-hopping adventure ends up being somewhat pointless. If you love these characters, you’ll dig it, but at a certain point, you realize it was all sort of adventuring filler to give them something to do. The ultimate defeat of Thanos didn’t require all that is shown here to take place.
Is it good?
I enjoyed this finale as it takes the space opera of the Marvel Cosmic universe and puts a finishing flourish to it all. There’s a poetic nature to Thanos’ final story that ends well for all involved and like any great story promises far more stories to come.
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