Thanos Levels a Major US City in His Return to the Marvel Universe (Exclusive)

ComicBook.com has the exclusive preview of Marvel’s new Thanos solo series.

November 2, 2023, 3:45pm

A preview of Marvel’s new Thanos solo series features the Mad Titan ripping a city right out of its resting place. Thanos loomed large over the Marvel Cinematic Universe during the Infinity Saga, victorious in his collection of the Infinity Stones in Avengers: Infinity War, and being taken down by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Endgame. Thanos has been off the board and presumed dead in the comics after a run-in with the Guardians of the Galaxy, but he’s back scarier than ever. The city of Fresno, CA finds out firsthand the level of destruction Thanos can inflict.

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ComicBook.com has the exclusive preview of Thanos #1 by Christopher Cantwell, Luca Pizzari, Ruth Redmond, and VC’s Cory Petit. It shows Thanos orbiting Earth in a massive spacecraft that has the power to put Fresno in an energy bubble and lift it out of the ground, pulling it to the ship via a tracker beam. There’s nothing but chaos on the streets of Fresno, with drivers falling to their deaths as the roads are ripped apart beneath them. Our narrator is a citizen who has passed out in the vitamin aisle of a convenience store, who ponders the meaning of dying alone. Of course, Death is something Thanos has been obsessed with in the past, though he’s since moved on to other vices.

Marvel launches new Thanos series

Chris Cantwell will write the new Marvel Comics miniseries starring Thanos, having previously written Iron Man and another major Marvel villain series, Doctor Doom. Lucas Pizzari, who worked on the recent X-Men: Before the Fall — Heralds of Apocalypse #1 one-shot, will draw all four issues of the series. Per Marvel’s synopsis for the Thanos series, “The saga will follow Thanos as he rockets to Earth from the darkest depths of the cosmos to undertake his most ambitious conquest yet. The only ones that can quell his passionate fury is a new Illuminati. Mr. Fantastic, Doctor Strange, and Iron Man have reunited to guide the superhuman world from the shadows and joining this new incarnation are Emma Frost and Blue Marvel. This cabal composed of Marvel’s greatest minds have wasted no time in sharing a secret that will shatter the heavens and provoke Thanos’ deadly wrath like never before! THANOS VS. THE ILLUMINATI! The Mad Titan descends upon Earth to retrieve something he has lost. And the Illuminati must band together to stop him, because they’re the ones who hid it from him!”

“I’ve had the honor and joy of writing some of Marvel’s greatest villains, so you can imagine how excited I am to not only tackle the Mad Titan himself, but pit him against some of the most powerful brains and fists out there—this latest lineup of the Illuminati,” Christopher Cantwell said when Thanos was announced. “But I think folks will find the backdrop of this story quite unexpected, mischievously funny, and heartbreakingly human, for what has drawn Thanos back screaming into the universe is a singular pain and desire for connection that he believes only one essence in existence (and non-existence) can give him… while this being is in turn grappling with some deeper questions about what they are, and what they want to be. Plus, Thanos hot-wires a pickup truck.”

“I could tell right from reading the first panel description that this book was gonna be something else,” Pizzari shared. “I never even met Chris before and yet it’s like he wrote this book reading my mind; there are a lot of characters I’ve always wanted to try my hand on. Thanos himself is, of course, unbelievably fun to draw, I’m constantly telling myself to make him bigger and bigger!”

The exclusive preview of Thanos #1 is below. The issue goes on sale Wednesday, November 8th.