Why i don't like Thanos Rising

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

At the time, reading issue to issue, i was thoroughly disgusted. I agree with everypoint you touched on and felt the same. However, over time, the idea that Death may be a hallucination or is appearing only to Thanos has grown on me. It is an interesting layer that gives reason to the "Mad" nickname.

Death being an hallucitation is a bit problematic considering Thanos is not the only character she interacted with and she was the one Who brought back Thanos to life in Silver Surfer #34.

[DanMad1977]

I was really into Thanos Rising.

Nowadays i think he is overused. Infinity Wars is **** as hell and Thanos will be back in some form in the new GotG series. And there he is in the movies, give it a rest...

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

I was really into Thanos

Nowadays i think he is overused. Infinity Wars is **** as hell and Thanos will be back in some form in the new GotG series. And there he is in the movies, give it a rest...

I was dissapointed in Infinity Wars. At first it seemed that Adam Warlock was going to play a big role but then Duggan barely used him.

[Del torro]

Well, at least we have Infinity Conflict by Starlin.

I also did enjoy Thanos solo series (the Thanos Wins Arc. I only read the Phoenix fight in the previous arc)

[Grapeweasel]

Would you like it in a house?
Would you like it with a mouse?
Would you like it here or there?
Would you like it anywhere?

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

Would you like it in a house?
Would you like it with a mouse?
Would you like it here or there?
Would you like it anywhere?

Not sure if bot or just trolling.

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

And to continue - I think in a way that Thanos as a character has been ill-served by being entirely defined by "The Infinity Gauntlet," and in particular by the bizarre misunderstanding of that story as a sort of blockbuster crossover full of superhero pyrotechnics where the Avengers fight a super-powered baddie and take him down. "Gauntlet" was, in typical Starlin fashion, a wonderfully trippy headpiece filled with psychedelic imagery and bizarre reality-warping dreamscapes - and, also typical of Starlin, it dispenses with its big-name superheroes in an almost hilariously brusque fashion, with the omnipotent Thanos bumping off the laughably ineffectual remains of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in increasingly morbid and creative ways, like when Frank Miller has his version of Batman fighting the other DC heroes. A-list characters like Captain America, Spiderman, Iron Man, and Wolverine (memorably dispatched by having his bones turned to rubber!) are of far less import to the story than the often underrated mystical heroes like Silver Surfer and Doctor Strange (to say nothing of Adam Warlock, who is pretty much the real hero of the story), and the whole thing is really a story about what happens when a epic fantasy villain finally conquers the universe, only to realize that even that will never make him happy.


"Gauntlet" really is the culmination of Starlin's work on Thanos as a character (he really could have left him retired as a farmer on that planet, and if we never saw him again, it would kind of been perfect), but that's just the end or climax of who Thanos is - it's not the entire story. Marvel, by trotting him out, and throwing his character development into the dumpster at the hands of Bendis, Aaron and Hickman by regressing him into a petty space bully in a similar vein to DC's Mongul or Dragonball's Frieza show how little they understand the character, and how little they understand the old stories they have tried to exploit.

[AnimalSquabbles]

Death being an hallucitation is a bit problematic considering Thanos is not the only character she interacted with and she was the one Who brought back Thanos to life in Silver Surfer #34.

It doesnt have to be "either or". She is a real character but maybe Thanos imagines her appearing to him.

[Cville]

I read "Thanos Rising" when I saw this thread pop up a couple days ago. I loved it. Later issues weren't at good, but I still enjoyed it.

[Cville]

Well, at least we have Infinity Conflict by Starlin.

I also did enjoy Thanos solo series (the Thanos Wins Arc. I only read the Phoenix fight in the previous arc)

You missed a good one issue fight between Thanos and the Imperial Guard.

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

You missed a good one issue fight between Thanos and the Imperial Guard.

Keep in mind that the Thanos from the ongoing is a different character from Starlin Thanos.

There are actually three Thanos: The Thanos from Starlin stories, the Thanos from the MCU and the Thuggish Thanos, the Thanos editors and casual fans want, the Thanos that appears in Avengers Assemble, Thanos Rising, Civil War II, Ewing's Ultimates and the Ongoing.

[myownlittleusername]

"Gauntlet" really is the culmination of Starlin's work on Thanos as a character (he really could have left him retired as a farmer on that planet, and if we never saw him again, it would kind of been perfect)

I agree, that would have been a good ending for Thanos. Unfortunately there are no real endings in corporate superhero comics, at least not for valuable characters that will continue to be used.

So not really the fault of the later writers, they were just trying out new stuff to do with Thanos even if they might have missed the mark at times.

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

I agree, that would have been a good ending for Thanos. Unfortunately there are no real endings in corporate superhero comics, at least not for valuable characters that will continue to be used.

So not really the fault of the later writers, they were just trying out new stuff to do with Thanos even if they might have missed the mark at times.

Very much agreed. I tend to see the Infinity Finale OGN as the last time Thanos truly appeared in Marvel comics. By the end of said story, he finally got his wish of being with Mistress Death, although not through any means he could have ever originally imagined. While i know it would never happen, a part of me strongly desired that Marvel stop using Thanos after that. As his character arc, after this incredibly long time, was finally complete.

But nope. He's returned right back into the villain archetype he was originally created from only with more gore and goth tinged artwork. It makes my eyes roll when i read new up and coming writers of Thanos stories looking at Thanos Rising and Darth Vader for inspiration. I honestly think it's because Starlin's Thanos is kind of hard to write for. That's something even Joss Whedon and the Russo Bros. admitted.

Keith Giffen, Ron Marz and Peter David are a step below Starlin, but they are still the only Writers who tried to stay faithful to the Post-Gauntlet characterisation of Thanos and his style of dialogue. Dan Abnett and Lanning were okay at first but then they decided to have Thanos go crazy at the end of Thanos Imperative after being rejected again by Mistress Death.

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

I haven't read it so I can't say if I agree or not.

But I do have issues with the general portrayal Thanos gets nowadays. All the character development he had during the 90s and early 2000s is gone.

He's just a generic and wanton super bad guy now. And the overexposure isn't helping either.

We really need a return of the Thanosi to fix the character inconsistencies of Thanos. Although both Starlin and Al Ewing have implied that Starlin's Thanos and the Thuggish Thanos from ANAD are separate characters.

[TheManInBlack]

Jim Starlin had Mentor tell Silver Surfer about how his wife died. Thanos murdered her as a kid. Read Silver Surfer #37.

This. I had this exact same conversation when Thanos Rising first came out. Starlin specifically stated in SS #37 how Thanos killed his mother when he was young. Here's the panels in question. Why do people keep ignoring this?

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