Today Is the Day Thanos Becomes The Punisher

Thanos has long been one of the most terrifying villains in all of Marvel Comics. Do you know what could make him even more dangerous? Turning him into The Punisher, of course, and that's exactly what Marvel has done this week.

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for Cosmic Ghost Rider #3! Continue reading at your own risk!

If you've been keeping up with the Cosmic Ghost Rider series from Donny Cates and Dylan Burnett, you've likely seen your fair share of ridiculousness over the last couple of months. If you haven't, here's a brief catch-up:

Cosmic Ghost Rider (formerly known as Punisher Frank Castle) has decided to change the course of history by going back in time and stealing baby Thanos from his crib. If Frank can raise Thanos as his own, and teach him not to be an evil piece of garbage, he might fix many of the problems in the universe. Unfortunately, it's not going too well.

In the third issue of this wacky series, Frank is visited by Cable and a team of futuristic warriors, who attempt to kill him and baby Thanos. Trying to shield the baby from the horrors of war, Frank leaves him with The Watcher (who has seriously had enough of this B.S.) and proceeds to annihilate Cable's entire team. Being the time-traveller that he is, Cable returns with another, more powerful team. Each time Cable brings a new horde of heroes, Cosmic Ghost Rider lays waste to them, preparing for the next wave.

Much to Frank's dismay, baby Thanos has actually been watching all of the horror unfold. When Frank is finally on the verge of defeat, he looks up to see his stolen purple child killing Cable's remaining heroes. After Frank tries to scold his "son" for murdering people, he turns to Cable and prepares to kill him once and for all. Suddenly, a bullet comes out of nowhere and hits Cable directly in the head.

When Frank turns to see who took the shot, he realizes that he hasn't made Thanos a better person. In fact, he may have done something much worse: Made Thanos look up to him.

The final page of the issue features a fully-grown Thanos walking through a portal to greet Frank, with a gun slung over his shoulder. Just like his "adopted" father used to, Thanos is also donning a black t-shirt with the iconic Punisher skull across the chest.

Upon arriving, Thanos says, "Hey, dad. Sorry I'm late." Not only does he see Frank Castle as his father, but the Mad Titan apparently wants to join the family business, and become the new Punisher.

Cosmic Ghost Rider #3, written by Donny Cates and illustrated by Dylan Burnett, is now available online and at your local comic shop.