Infinity Gauntlet Has Become a Marvel Legend Because It Does These 5 Things Better Than Other Event Books

Infinity Gauntlet was become one of the most beloved Marvel stories of all time. The six-issue series from Jim Starlin, George Perez, and Ron Lim told the story of the return of Thanos of Titan – dead since the early ’80s – with the greatest power in the universe: the combined Infinity Gems as the Infinity Gauntlet. The series dropped in the summer of 1991 and became a huge hit, leading to a trilogy of Infinity events, all while revitalizing cosmic Marvel by reintroducing some of the coolest characters of the ’70s. It was the gold standard of Marvel events, a title it has kept over the last 35 years.

The book was so beloved that Marvel Studios used it as the blueprint for the first three Phases of the MCU, introducing it to a whole new fandom. There are a lot of excellent event comics out there, but few of them can match the grandeur of Infinity Gauntlet. It’s an example of a near-perfect comic event, doing things flawlessly that other events miss. Every Marvel events tries to be Infinity Gauntlet and they all fail, all because the legendary story does these five things better than the rest.

5) The Ending Is Completely Unpredictable

Marvel has given readers some awesome endings, but few of them are as good as the ending to Infinity Gauntlet. When we pick up a comic, we usually know that the heroes are going to win; the fun is the twists and turns getting there. When readers picked up Infinity Gauntlet #1, they probably figured that Thanos would be defeated at the end, the Gauntlet taken from him. They almost certainly didn’t guess that Nebula was going to steal the Gauntlet from him, forcing him to team with survivors of his rampage to defeat her, faking his death and retiring to a farm.

The Nebula twist in issue #5 was perfect, leading to an ending that showed us who Thanos was underneath it all. We knew someone was going to win, but readers got a huge surprise at the end. Events often end exactly how you figure they will, but you can feel creators try to match this awesome conclusion. They’ve never been able to match the sheer surprise of this one, though.

4) Spectacle of the Highest Order

Spectacle is an important part of every event comic. These books are the big crossovers, bringing together the greatest heroes and villains, so they need to impress. Events have often been the home to amazing spectacles, but Infinity Gauntlet set the standard for Marvel’s events. The book is split in two – the first three issues set up the threat and the last three see the heroes take action. Over the course of the first half, George Perez put forth his considerable powers, creating horrifying disasters tearing the Earth apart, all while Thanos pontificates on his massive space castle (which resembles the Anti-Monitor’s castle in DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, drawn by Perez).

The last three issues are the fights, with the fifth one pitting Thanos against the cosmic beings. I was an eleven-year old reading that issue for the first time, watching Thanos battle the cosmic beings and it. Was. Insnae. I don’t think there’s been a Marvel battle that has ever matched this one. Spectacle is a massive part of Infinity Gauntlet and it does it better than anyone. The book sets up huge stakes and constantly pays them off, upping the ante every chance it can.

3) Brings Back Numerous Characters and Makes Them Work

Infinity Gauntlet showed us the best of Marvel, as the heroes we knew and loved fought the greatest threat they had ever encountered. The book was written by Jim Starlin, the man who made cosmic Marvel into one of the best parts of the ’70s for Marvel fans. His return to the House of Ideas saw him bring back the characters he had perfected back then – Thanos, Adam Warlock, Gamora, and Pip the Troll. In 1991, all four of these characters had been dead for years; most young fans picking up Infinity Gauntlet had no idea who any of them were, yet they all became a big deal after the book ended.

Returns like this were different back in the day; you didn’t have a wiki, you just had the books you read. It was very hard to find older comics to read back then unless you bought them; there were few Marvel trades and no Marvel Unlimited. Bringing back characters that the majority of your audience doesn’t know can be dangerous, but Starlin knocked it out of the park. He was able to make his exposition feel natural and he showed off why all of them were awesome characters. A lot of books can’t succeed doing this in the modern day, so Infinity Gauntlet bringing back four characters and making them popular again 35 years ago is a huge achievement.

2) The Best Fights in Comics

Back in 1991, I bought my comics from the newsstand, so that often meant picking up a book with a cool cover that I hadn’t read before. My first issue of Infinity Gauntlet was issue #4, the issue where Perez and Ron Lim show us what a battle between a god and the heroes of the Earth would look like. It’s an amazing battle, each hero jumping into the fray and violently leaving it and this mortal coil at the hands of the Mad Titan. The next issue saw Thanos battle Marvel’s cosmic beings and the final issue was the big fight against Nebula. My mind was blown by these three books. This was what comic action should be, I thought, something I still believe to this day.

We’ve gotten some great fights from Marvel events, but none of them can match the three issues of mayhem we got from the end of Infinity Gauntlet. It showed Thanos at his most deadly, making him the most feared villain of an entire generation of Marvel readers. Seriously, go and look up the battles in the last three issues. They’re insanely imaginative and brutal, fights that you’ll never forget.

1) Fleshes Out Its Villain and Makes Readers Understand Him

Thanos is considered Marvel’s greatest villain by many and Infinity Gauntlet is a big reason why. 1991 was a massive year for Marvel, with the publisher selling more books than ever before. A whole new generation of readers bought this event book and were introduced to the Mad Titan. Starlin loves his creation and he used Infinity Gauntlet as a way of reintroducing the villain to the Marvel Universe. He dug deep into the villain, showing everything he was, including those things that he didn’t want anyone to see.

Infinity Gauntlet #5 has what I’ve always considered the greatest Thanos scene ever. Adam Warlock and Surfer saved him after Nebula got the Gauntlet, with Adam telling the Mad Titan that he was destined to lose because he beats himself. He doesn’t believe that he’s worthy of victory, so he always sabotages himself. This little scene says it all about the villain. The book ends with him having learned something about himself and the universe, changing him in the years to come. Events often try to flesh out their villains, but none of them have ever reached the level of Infinity Gauntlet. This is basically a redemption of Thanos miniseries, you just have to get through some of his greatest atrocities to get there.

What’s your favorite part of Infinity Gauntlet? What do you think it did better than anything else? Sound off in the comments below.

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