Thanos Reclaims His Crown as Marvel’s Ultimate Villain, Killing the 1 Person We Assumed Was Safe

Warning: contains spoilers for Thanos #4!

Thanos has reclaimed his crown as Marvel’s ultimate villain by killing the one character fans assumed was safe. Thanos returns to the Marvel Universe in the pages of a new miniseries, searching for Death’s affections once again. Thanos tracked Death to her hiding place on Earth, but found her a changed entity. Now, in issue four, Thanos does the unthinkable, and positions himself once again as a major Marvel villain.

Thanos #4 is written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Luca Pizzari and German Peralta. Thanos, hurt over Death spurning him, blasts her with energy beams, but she makes quick work of him. Death is now out of control, and the Illuminati are unsuccessful in stopping her. Thanos awakens and imprisons Death in a magical stone, ending her assault. After confronting Death in her new prison, Thanos returns to Earth.

Thanos tells the Illuminati he is going to try and “fix” Death, and if he cannot, he hints that he might kill her.

Thanos Has Returned to Menace the Marvel Universe Once Again

Thanos Spent Too Long on the Sidelines

Thanos’ return was long overdue, and has centered him once again as one of Marvel’s top villains. Thanos inaugurated his return by attacking the city of Fresno, California. Death, his former lover, had been hidden away in a human form in the city by the Illuminati, in exchange for telling them how the world will end. Death’s experiences with humanity have changed her, and Thanos is not happy with his former lover’s new convictions. Thanos feels it his duty to “save” Death and purge her human elements, or else.

Thanos #4 ends on an ominous note: Thanos sits on a throne of rocks, intently eyeing the stone he imprisoned Death in, with a blurb on the next page declaring that the Mad Titan will return in the Summer of 2024. Marvel has remained mum on what is next for Thanos, but he has been at the center of several of the publisher’s biggest events, namely Infinity Gauntlet and its two sequels. Thanos is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe, and he takes its hardest hitters to the wire every time.

What is Next For Thanos in the Marvel Universe?

And What Will Become of Death?

And now the Mad Titan is poised to be at the center of another major event, one that promises to potentially top the Infinity Gauntlet. After Thanos imprisons Death, Mister Fantastic laments that the Illuminati will now never know how the world ends. He goes on to speculate that Thanos may be the cause of “their impending doom,” and the last two pages of the issue leave fans with that impression. Thanos is back as a major Marvel villain, showing that he is playing for keeps by killing Death, the one character everyone assumed was safe.

Thanos #4 is on sale now from Marvel Comics!