One of Thanos‘ most memorable moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe is being repurposed in a new way for Marvel Comics. The previous issue of Thor ended with Thanos succeeding in his ambitious search for the new Death Stone… at least partially. When he used time travel to reach Thor’s grandfather, Bor, expecting to find the Stone, Thanos instead found a baby, much to his confusion. However, readers know that the process meant to create the new Death Stone resulted in the child’s arrival, even if they don’t yet know why.
This brings things to Thor #34 by Torunn Grønbekk, Juan Gedeon, and Sergio Dávila. As seen in this special preview, Thanos concludes that a life must be sacrificed in order to retrieve the Death Stone, seeing the child’s arrival as a test. Unfazed by the stakes of his mission, he raises a knife above the child’s head without hesitation as someone calls out his name off-panel. Enjoy the preview below, including cover art from Nic Klein, Mateus Manhanini and Javier Garron.
Thanos Is Trying to Earn Another Infinity Stone by Killing
Anyone who has seen Avengers: Infinity War will recall that in order to retrieve the Soul Stone, Thanos sacrificed the life of his own adopted child, Gamora. This was part of a cosmic process by which the wielder of the Soul Stone had to sacrifice something they truly loved. Thanos killed Gamora regretfully, showing he would truly do anything to accomplish his goals, no matter how much it hurt him personally. Here, however, the idea of sacrificing a child isn’t a dark challenge to Thanos, but his first assumption, and something he’s more than happy to do.
This Time, Thanos Isn’t Inevitable
While the MCU is not canon to the events of Marvel’s main Earth-616 universe, the comics often call back to movie events, and even criticize them. Indeed, in this case, Thanos being willing to kill a child to obtain an Infinity Stone seems to suggest his bloodthirsty, one-track mind, rather than his resolve. In the comics, Thanos is obsessed with death, craving it for himself and all of existence. It makes sense that confronted with a new life, his first instinct would be to take it. Thankfully, the issue will see Doctor Doom and Thor arrive to challenge him, potentially saving this baby, who fans are speculating is the infant Hela, who has been a living Infinity Stone all along.
Currently, Hela is being used as part of Doctor Doom’s latest grab for power, making this a complex power struggle involving many of Marvel’s most powerful beings. With time travel, ancient magic, and a new Infinity Stone in the mix, anything could happen, which makes Thanos’ hasty decision all the more questionable. Hopefully, Thor can not just stop Doom and Thanos, but also save this mysterious baby, finding a more compassionate solution than Thanos‘ short-sighted plan to butcher a being of potentially immeasurable power.
Thor #34 is available from Marvel Comics May 24.
