Many consider Thanos, the Mad Titan, to be the big bad of the Marvel Universe. Even ignoring his genre-altering role as the main villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thanos has sat at the center of numerous iconic stories. From Infinity Gauntlet to Annihilation, Thanos-centric storylines always hit hard, as there’s nothing quite like watching the Mad Titan’s ruthless pursuit of his goals. Thanos has had a massive, important impact on the superhero genre both in the comics and on the silver screen, and today is the day to celebrate him, because this Halloween marks 53 years since his original debut.
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Every character has to start somewhere. For Thanos, that origin point traces all the way back to October 31, 1972, with the release of Iron Man (1968) #55. While everyone knows Thanos as one of the greatest villains in Marvel, he was never intended to be. In fact, his first appearance could have easily been his last, had he not proven extremely popular. Thanos’s first story is still a great read today, so to celebrate 53 years of the Mad Titan, let’s take a look at it and see how much he’s changed.
The Mad Conqueror of Titan
The issue started with a cold open of Drax the Destroyer, who also debuted this issue, screaming to warn Iron Man about the Blood Brothers, Thanos’s twin enforcers. Unfortunately, the two behemoths got the better of the armored Avenger, and he was dragged to Thanos’s desert base on Earth. On the way, Drax mentally recounted his history to Iron Man. He narrated that Thanos originated from one of Saturn’s moons, Titan, as the son of its leader, Mentor. Thanos attempted a coup, creating weapons to take his father’s position, but was stopped and exiled for the crime of creating weapons on the peaceful planet.
Naturally, Thanos returned with a vengeance. He assembled an army of the worst savages and brigands in the universe and returned to conquer Titan. In a desperate plea to save his home, Mentor beseeched the disembodied, cosmic Eternal named Kronos to stop Thanos. Kronos created Drax with the sole purpose of ending Thanos’s reign of terror, and the Destroyer happily charged at his mortal enemy. Their battle literally ripped the world they stood on apart in its intensity. Unfortunately, Drax was beaten and captured, leading us to the present.
Iron Man tried to mount a prison break, only to be stopped by Thanos himself, who promised to conquer both Earth and Titan. Thanks to the timely assistance of Mentor, Iron Man and Drax managed to break free and defeat the Blood Brothers. Thanos reappeared and threatened to destroy his base and everyone along with it, but the two heroes took him down, only to reveal that the Thanos they beat was a booby-trapped robot. They escaped the ensuing explosion and parted ways as friends, Drax promising to find the real Thanos and stop him once and for all.
A Monster From the Very Beginning
Quite frankly, you can read this comic alongside any modern Thanos story and find the characterization to be shockingly similar. Usually, characters with such a long history spend the first while establishing themselves and trying out different things before finding their footing, but Thanos knew who he was from the jump. He was a merciless conqueror hellbent on ruling everything, and was not shy about using a mix of overwhelming force and trickery to do it. He was cold, calculating, and acted like he deserved to be worshiped, all of which are traits that have stuck with the Mad Titan all these decades later.
Of course, he would have to go on to develop his obsession with Death and the various cosmic weapons of Marvel later. He actually wouldn’t have to wait long at all for the latter, as Thanos’s first theft of the Cosmic Cube would come in his very next appearance in Captain Marvel (1968) #25, which was released just two months later. Thanos stormed onto the scene with a very defined personality and charisma, which is a massive part of why he was so popular. He knew who he was and exactly what he wanted, and he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
Thanos is one of Marvel’s greatest and most important villains, and from the very beginning, he was a threat that demanded attention. The Mad Titan was destined to be a star, and given where he came from, maybe his clash with Iron Man in the MCU was destiny, too.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
