The Surfer, The Titan, and the Dethroned

 

Following the introduction of Champion in the 1982 Marvel Two-In-One Annual, a story that saw him pitting his might against not only the Thing but also a grouping of Marvel's strongest characters, we catch up with the fierce competitor nearly five years later as he travels once more to Earth, having conspired with the Elders of the Universe in (to put it mildly) an ambitious plan to destroy Galactus. Yet for what purpose would he return to our planet? Having already whetted his appetite to compete against Earth's most powerful individuals, what could interest him on a world that Galactus has seemingly abandoned for good?

For the answer, we would have to turn our attention to the Antarctic continent in mid-1987, where the Silver Surfer is having an impromptu encounter with the Fantastic Four--a meeting which would lead to the Surfer finally achieving his freedom from being imprisoned on our world by his former master. Unfortunately, it's the Surfer himself who is being targeted by the Elders--and one Elder in particular, who all but announces his intentions upon landfall.

As we can see, Tryco Slatterus's arrogance as an Elder is intact, treating the Surfer with the same disdain as he would any other figure he would engage in battle with. Yet soon enough he learns what manner of foe he's challenged, at which point he becomes swept up in his fervor to triumph; but the Elders, including Champion, are known to the Surfer, and he responds accordingly.

Witnessing Champion's first loss is rather gratifying for we Earthlings, and particularly for the Thing. Yet Slatterus puts the best face on it he can, remaining in full Elder mode and only providing the Surfer with information he as the victor in their contest is entitled to know.

(A nice touch by artist Marshall Rogers with the breath condensation emitted by the FF members. We can only assume that, until now, they had the Fantasti-Car's rollover windshields in operation, rather than fly what is essentially a convertible through such a frigid climate.)

Inadvertently, of course, Slatterus' refusal to elaborate on just how the Surfer could escape Earth has been the catalyst for the Surfer and the FF putting their heads together to finally succeed in attaining the sky-rider's freedom. (You'll find bits and pieces of the Elders' plans for Galactus in the PPC, but do yourself a favor and read writer Steve Englehart's complete arc to see how it all plays out.)

Three years later in 1990, Champion makes another unfortunate choice in sparring partners--Thanos of Titan, who at this point in time has begun his search for the Infinity Gems (which were still referred to as the "Soul Gems")--one of which, the Power Gem, Champion now wears on his forehead yet remaining ignorant of its capability and only subconsciously drawing upon its energy. As a fighter, Champion has found the ideal world to provide sufficient challenge for his ability as a fighter in perpetuity--and when Thanos issues a suitably blatant challenge of his own as bait to draw his attention, a war such as this world has never seen (or, as we'll learn, shall ever see again) explodes onto an already war-torn planet.

Take A Seat

 

As I was compiling subject matter for this post, the first thing that came to mind was this guy:

Who looks like he's traveling through space seated on some kind of contraption--at least that's what I'd assumed, having never read the story. Except that this character, Orion, isn't seated on anything, but simply hunched over, gripping what he calls his "power rods." Yet there is a seated character among those Orion mingles with in New Genesis--Metron, who appears to be persona non grata among the others and flits about time-space in his "Mobius Chair" advancing his own agenda.

And thus, the New Gods have unknowingly summoned us to hear another

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Marvel Trivia Question

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What Marvel characters look to chairs for their status, and/or their power?

(Or, in Ben Grimm's case, their life??)

...Only A God May Prevail!

 

It takes roughly nine years since they were incarcerated following a battle with Iron Man and Daredevil, but we now come full circle with the alien duo known as the Blood Brothers--introduced in 1973 as enforcers of Thanos when the Titan first appeared on Earth and established a base for himself in the Arizona desert, and having subsequently battled Iron Man when the Avenger fought beside Drax the Destroyer as well as the Thing. Yet it was during their clash with Iron Man and DD that we learned the secret of the Blood Brothers' overwhelming strength, a benefit of battling as a team in close proximity to one another. Consequently, they were imprisoned in separate facilities in order to keep their might in check.

Fortunately, the Blood Brothers are still in custody when the Avengers learn that the Army Corps of Engineers have unearthed that secret Arizona base and practically pounced on its cache of advanced equipment--news which alarms the Avengers and prompts the Vision to take measures to safeguard that equipment from tampering.

Colonel Farnam's assurances aside, we wouldn't be here unless writer Roger Stern and artists Bob Hall and Joe Sinnott didn't have something planned that would justify the Avengers' presence beyond that of a simple matter of precaution--a fact that the issue's cover would appear to bear out!

For the Avengers as well as the base's army contingent, this issue would present a deadly footnote to the saga of the Blood Brothers, who continue to serve the will of Thanos even after their master's demise.

The Deadly Hunger of... The Blood Brothers!

 

Two Hulk-sized, super-strong alien bruisers whose name is partially derived from the fact that they feast on blood--wouldn't you have liked to have been a fly on the wall when Jim Starlin pieced together that character concept, which saw print in 1973 in the form of the Blood Brothers, enforcers of the will of Thanos during the time the villain held Drax the Destroyer prisoner in his base located in the Arizona desert. It was Drax who would reach out to Iron Man and provide him with knowledge of the rise of Thanos of Titan--as well as a hurried warning about the Blood Brothers, who were sent to retrieve the golden Avenger when Drax's telepathic contact had been detected, and return with him to Thanos's base. As we'll see, despite his confidence, Iron Man's resistance to the unexpected might of the Blood Brothers comes to naught (which is putting it mildly)--but at his destination, he successfully breaks away in order to conduct his search for Drax.

It's at the point when Iron Man attempts to free Drax that we're present for Starlin's introduction of... well, let's just say a character whose name came to be known in years to come by thousands of readers and moviegoers alike and who helped to make Marvel Studios and the folks at Disney a lot of money. Kudos to you, Mr. Starlin.

The Final Fate of Counter-Earth!

 

If you were a reader of Bronze Age comics, then you've probably run across a few stories featuring the doomed world of Counter-Earth--a duplicate of our own Earth which was positioned in orbit on the far side of the sun, created with the best of intentions by the High Evolutionary in order to be home to a race of humanity which had none of the violent tendencies of those populating our own world (which is where I suppose the "counter" in its name comes from). Introduced in the origin story of the character who came to be known as (Adam) Warlock, we watched in shock and sadness as one of the Evolutionary's earlier creations, the vengeful Man-Beast, took advantage of the Evolutionary's lapse into a deep sleep after his labors to board the scientist's moonship and unravel his work by introducing the savage traits of our own species to those on the Evolutionary's new world--a world that the Man-Beast now declared "beyond redemption."

With the Evolutionary poised to destroy his work in order to erase the tragedy of a second Earth now a violent mirror of the first, Warlock, a witness to the travesty, offered to do what he could to fight the Man-Beast's influence on this world and prove to the Evolutionary that this race was deserving of life. The bargain was accepted, and Warlock succeeded in at least bringing an end to the Man-Beast. (Or so he believed at the time.)

In the interim, we were treated to several stories in other titles that involved the humans of Counter-Earth--the Hulk having the occasion to encounter that Earth's Bruce Banner, and, later, being helpless to save Warlock from falling into the hands of the Man-Beast and being put to death (or so it seemed). Counter-Earth also found itself vulnerable to a certain world-ravager whom the High Evolutionary met in defiance:

Over the years, we've seen other instances of Counter-Earths take their place in comics lore. If I remember correctly (I wasn't exactly enamored with stories having to do with Onslaught), the "pocket dimension" created by Franklin Richards to shunt those heroes who sacrificed their lives meeting the attack of Onslaught housed a planet that was given the name "Counter-Earth," a world eventually brought into our universe and renamed "Planet Doom" (after the good Doctor) and later visited by the Thunderbolts. In addition, the Evolutionary took another crack at creating another Counter-Earth--this one inhabited by his New Men (though they'd find the Evolutionary less of a benefactor), while at one time even attempting to merge his creation with our own Earth.

But as for the first world to be known as Counter-Earth--well, we did, regrettably, use the word "doomed" in its introduction, to be sure.

Which dooms us to explore yet another

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Marvel Trivia Question

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What was the fate of the original Counter-Earth?

God vs. Titan!

When last we left the mighty (and unfortunately insane) Thor, he had finally been subdued after having undertaken a violent and seemingly inexplicable rampage through the stars--all part of the 1993-94 "Blood and Thunder" crossover event that would end up involving Warlock, the Infinity Watch, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, and Thanos of Titan. (To say nothing of the Super Skrull, Ares, Pluto, and Beta Ray Bill--as well as crossing paths with another crossover event, The Infinity Crusade.) By the time of his capture, Thor has managed to acquire for himself from Drax the Destroyer the "power" Infinity Gem, which, added to his own considerable might, makes the Thunder God one of the most extreme threats ever to face the universe should he ever break free of the containment field which Thanos had managed to encase him in.

What has only recently come to light is that Thor's rage doesn't stem from the Asgardian "warrior madness" which he'd experienced in the past, but is instead rooted in the instances when his father Odin has in one way or another manipulated his spirit, whether it was by forcing him to coexist with a mortal form or by use of disciplinary measures, all of which have led to an imbalance in his soul. A further complication of this saga is that the Lady Sif, who remains unaware of this, continues to believe that Thor once again suffers from warrior madness, and has attempted to keep that news from Odin for fear that Thor will be exiled from Asgard. But her house of cards in that respect begins to crumble with the recent arrival of Thanos and his party on the rainbow bridge, as they seek an audience with Odin in the hope that he can cure his son.

Though Thanos has all but ensured that their reception will be anything but a cordial one.

The Devourer... The Titan... The End!

Not long after he gained his freedom from his imprisonment on Earth, the Silver Surfer found himself in conflict with the Elders of the Universe, who were planning to not only destroy Galactus but all reality, as well. But the Elders' scheme ended in shambles, with three of their number (the Astronomer, the Trader, and the Possessor) being hurled into a black hole, while the others...

The others faced one heck of a reckoning.

Yet Galactus didn't have as long as he thought to adapt to the essence of the Elders he'd consumed (the Grandmaster, the Runner, Champion, the Gardener, and the Collector), who had later re-formed and began attacking him from within, debilitating him with convulsions. Meanwhile, having escaped from the realm of Chaos and Order (which, to the three Elders' astonishment, was an unexpected "drop-off point" they'd arrived at after being drawn into the black hole), the Silver Surfer has come to the aid of two of the Fantastic Four against none other than the In-Betweener, who has used the power of the Soul Gem to escape his masters and their realm via the black hole, where he prepares to honor his bargain with the three who were secretly his allies.

And so the group departs for our universe, leaving the Surfer and the FF trapped in the black hole. As for Galactus, sooner or later he would have had to face the In-Betweener, to whom Galactus is "the middle force between the extremes of his realm, as I was the middle force in mine! And even had I not promised [the Elders] his death, there can be but one of us here." But even with Galactus virtually helpless in the throes of the remaining Elders' attack, can destroying him be so easy for the In-Betweener?

To rid the universe of Galactus, then, the In-Betweener decides to hurl him into the black hole--a course of action the three Elders strongly object to, since their fellow Elders remain trapped within Galactus. But as they move to attack, the In-Betweener summons Death itself to claim them, after which he hurls Galactus' ship and all aboard into the black hole--which, as we've already seen happen, ends up in the realm of Chaos and Order, which the FF and the Surfer have returned to.

Got all that so far? Believe me, it's not easy condensing one of Steve Englehart's convoluted plots!

Back in our universe, what the In-Betweener doesn't yet realize is that the Surfer has informed Chaos and Order of how their rebellious creation has now escaped them and what he's been up to; needless to say, they're not happy with the In-Betweener. And so they act to save Galactus by drawing the other Elders out of his form--and once free of his, er, indigestion, Galactus becomes obsessed with a single goal:

I would have thought flattening the Elders like pancakes would have been first on his hit list, but what do I know?

A Life For A Life!

Yikes! What would make Captain Marvel and the rampaging Thing come to blows??

We apparently have no further to look than the two figures in shadow, above; but technically, we have to point the finger to Skragg and the Super-Skrull--two of the Skrull race who follow the orders of the mad Thanos, who needs crucial information from Mar-vell in order to obtain the Cosmic Cube. It's Skragg's belief that if the Kree Captain can be tricked into slaying the Thing, he'll come to realize he's murdered an innocent--which will push him towards insanity and thus make him more susceptible to providing the information Thanos needs.

Now that we've heard from the brains of the outfit, it's time for the brawn--i.e., the Super-Skrull--to lure the Thing into a trap which Mar-vell and his human host, Rick Jones, have also been manipulated into investigating. And having had dealings before with the Super-Skrull along with the rest of the Fantastic Four, it's almost a given that the Thing won't be obliged to ignore even so obvious a lure as that which the Super-Skrull dangles before him.

But as the Thing arrives at the building where the Skrulls will spring their trap, there is another component to Skragg's plan that will complete his preparations for Mar-vell, who, as Rick, has already entered the premises. And as the Thing boldly makes his own entrance, Phase 2 of this plan is quickly utilized.

Still unaware that the Super-Skrull isn't acting alone, the Thing continues to search the building; but he has been spotted by one who has already had first-hand exposure to Skragg's attempts at deception and who suspects that he's being targeted again with the same tactics. And following Rick having made the deductions, it's Captain Marvel who attacks the Thing on sight.

Not On Our Watch

Recently we were witness to a hearing requested by the entity known as Eternity and officiated by the Living Tribunal, to assess the fitness of Adam Warlock to retain possession of the all-powerful Infinity gauntlet--a distinctive glove embedded with gems which give their bearer mastery over the mind, space, reality, time, power, and the soul. With the help of his allies, Warlock prevailed over the villain who wore the gauntlet, Thanos of Titan, and subsequently took possession of it for himself, declaring that he would use its power wisely. Warlock considered the proceedings little more than effrontery, but nevertheless felt compelled to see the hearing through to its end. Unfortunately, Eternity's profile on Warlock was damaging enough to cause the Tribunal to rule against him; and since resistance on his part would likely lay waste to all of reality (which seems ridiculous, since one of the gems gives Warlock control over reality--but what do I know), Warlock agreed to relinquish five of the gems and distribute them to five individuals who would serve as their guardians.

The outcome of the hearing was the best that Eternity could hope for, under the circumstances--though since Eternity's case against Warlock was based on his mental instability, one could admittedly question the wisdom of allowing Warlock to choose the gems' custodians. But the compromise is struck, and Warlock departs to see to his task.

Yet Warlock's eventual choices as to which individuals will each receive one of the Infinity gems are questionable, to say the least--a collection of misfits that might have us wondering if Eternity's concerns about Warlock's stability shouldn't have been taken more seriously.

Omnipotent Chip Off The Old Block

On the heels of the PPC's look at The Infinity Gauntlet, where first a coalition of super-beings of Earth fell to the power of Thanos, followed by his defeat of some of the mightiest entities of the cosmos, it appeared that Thanos considered himself triumphant, having bested no less than the being known as Eternity and adopting that status for himself.

The physical and now vacant form of Thanos that remains seated on the shrine to Death that served as his floating base in the void is flanked by those who have watched his literal ascendance to power: Eros, his brother, rendered mute; Terraxia, totally devoted to Thanos, created from thin air by the power of the gauntlet in response to Death spurning him; and Nebula, his supposed granddaughter, made to serve as another tribute to Death--transformed from a healthy, vigorous woman to a walking corpse, nearly mindless and in constant agony. "Triumphant" is admittedly an assessment that's hard to argue for Thanos at this point.

But if that's so, then how do we explain the series' climactic sixth and final cover?

It seems that Nebula's fortunes have changed.

For Death I Stand!

The Infinity Gauntlet, a six-issue series from mid-1991, was the main event in a crossover of comics titles coordinated to return the evil Thanos of Titan to the land of the living after an absence of over a decade. At first glance, the gauntlet represents another grab at ultimate power by Thanos, who has already failed once in such an attempt and whose follow-up scheme, though less in scope (if you can call committing "stellar genocide" by destroying all the stars in the universe a downgrade), eventually led to his death at the searing hands of Warlock. And by the time this new series reaches its end, it acknowledges and virtually sets in stone the underlying reason for why such power plays fail, in both the past and the future: that Thanos subconsciously supplies the means to his own defeat because he knows that he isn't worthy of such power. While that may be a handy rationale to call on when Thanos's scheme du jour has played itself out and it's time for the hero(es) to triumph, it doesn't really suit this being who has been made to be so ruthless and murderous. One doesn't usually go to such lengths to attain ultimate power, only to toss in the towel after achieving it.

As a result, arguably only two things of significance occur in this series. As far as the primary conflict, Nebula--the granddaughter of Thanos^* who's certainly power-hungry in her own right--turns the tables on Thanos and emerges as the main threat. But in addition, Warlock as well is brought back from the dead (but not quite dead), groomed to make the transition to his own series on the heels of this one, a series based on the Infinity Gems. Dealt in as window dressing are not only a host of Marvel characters gathered to lead the charge against Thanos, but also a number of prominent universal abstract entities and cosmic beings that naturally rate an issue of their own to confront and battle the Titan. Present also is the silent but (appropriately) deadly personification of Death, again a fixture in the motivations of Thanos.

^*Let's not take the time to examine that family tree for now--but we'll take a crack at it one of these days!

It turns out to be Death itself that, strangely enough, is responsible for returning Thanos to life, with the series essentially breaking down thus:

• The Silver Surfer warns Dr. Strange of the return of Thanos, due to Death having done a little arithmetic and determining that a cosmic imbalance exists because a greater ratio of people now alive exists over those who have ever died. Thanos immediately comes to mind for Death as a way to correct the imbalance, given his tendency and proficiency to cause mass destruction and (say it with me) death.
• Death augments Thanos's might and orders him to slaughter half the sentient population of the universe. Thanos agrees to comply, but has no intention of simply being Death's thrall. And so, unknown to Death...
• Thanos learns of the existence of the Infinity Gems and convinces Death that he cannot accomplish his task without them. Seizing them one by one, he attaches them all to a gauntlet, giving him mastery over... well, they're not called "infinity" gems for nothing. Together, they represent overwhelming might for the one who uses them.

• In a conflict with the Surfer and Drax the Destroyer, Thanos uses the soul gem to steal their souls and thus banish them to that gem's "world," where Warlock now resides. Warlock is able to eventually return them to their own reality.
• Mephisto (he does seem to have his hands in everything, doesn't he?) warns the Surfer of Thanos's plans, but also takes a position as Thanos's informal advisor. Meanwhile, the Surfer heads to Earth to alert Dr. Strange to the crisis.
• Thanos, in his acquisition of the gems, finds that he has alienated Death, since the Infinity gauntlet he insisted on creating to harness the gems' might makes him her superior. On the other hand, he's now motivated to carry out the mass deaths tasked to him as a way to win back her favor.
• Warlock and his friends, Gamora and Pip the troll, emerge from the soul world by appropriating and adapting human bodies recently involved in a fatal accident.

Once the ball gets rolling by the call to arms by Warlock and everyone getting briefed on Thanos's plans--and with the first salvo being fired by Thanos that fulfills his pact with Death, eliminating half the galaxy's population--the series reaches the point of presenting two battle-packed issues featuring those who would stop him.  The main event for readers of various Marvel titles, however, is probably the story where the super-powered beings that Warlock has called together arrive at the citadel in space that Thanos has created as a shrine to Death, part of a plan that will most likely see them meet their end.

If This Planet You Would Save...!

We humans have often been raked over the coals by super-beings who either see little of worth in our species, or have no doubt that we're slowly but surely extinguishing ourselves. Often it's hard to argue with their conclusions; after all, while we're given the impression that we're hearing an objective point of view, it's actually a human who's giving them their words, and that's about as first-hand as you can get when it comes to pointing out our failings and the prospects for our survival. But the notion of someone or something not of our world providing us with a frank assessment of us and where we're likely headed has always been a fascinating one, regardless. And if there is alien life out there capable of interstellar space travel, perhaps the fact that they've chosen to give our world a wide berth after looking us over speaks volumes.

Yet given our focus at the PPC, it might be interesting to dip into the fictional world of comics and get a sampling of how Marvel's other-worldly characters see our prospects for continued survival. Most of these beings don't have our best interests at heart, of course, so their opinions on the subject can be rather pessimistic--yet you may find yourself feeling that the points they make are difficult to refute.

Jeez, Surfer, don't sugar-coat it--tell us how you really feel!

Godhood's End!

Issue by issue, we've been building toward the resolution of the cosmic epic plotted by writer/artist Jim Starlin, where the evil Thanos seizes the power of the Cosmic Cube and uses it to transform himself into no less than a god--while Captain Marvel, himself changed from staunch warrior of the Kree to cosmically-aware protector of the universe, has joined with the survivors of Titan as well as the Avengers in the hopes of somehow defeating this mad worshipper of Death. A goal shared by the crazed Destroyer, who pursues Thanos even though his enemy has ascended to the heavens.

With his transformation to godhood, the threat potential of Thanos is obvious--but Mar-vell and his allies know only part of the story. They know, for instance, that Thanos has decimated Titan and its population in a fit of vengeance, and repopulated the moon with his own army of alien outcasts; they also know that Thanos intends to use that army to conquer the planet Earth, those plans set in motion even as he sought the Cosmic Cube. What they don't know is that Thanos has formed a perverse love for Death, which has taken physical form and joined him at his side--and that he intends the conquered Earth as a token of his affection for his dark, deadly companion. And now, having achieved unlimited power, and with the universe his for the taking (a moot point, since, after all, he now is the universe), there is conceivably no end to the number of lives he can offer to Death.

And yet, interestingly, still this book behaves as if Thanos has antagonists, in the form of Mar-vell and the others--making for a fine story, yes, but not realistically taking into account a foe who has no real need to engage his enemies and can erase his opposition at a stroke. Alert PPC reader david_b observed that Thanos treated his foes as adversaries in order to satisfy his ego, which is a perfectly acceptable explanation for the sake of the story; after all, this issue begins by Thanos insisting on facing Mar-vell fist-to-fist in physical form, and what god would bother with that?

Writer Steve Englehart, who would go on to helm a second arc with Mar-vell after Starlin's imminent departure, takes the scripting reins of this story with this final installment, as Starlin (this time with inker Klaus Janson) brings this story to its conclusion. And once more, Starlin provides a panel-by-panel recap of the events which brought us to this point--a task which, at first glance, seems a huge undertaking in itself:

As we can see, Starlin for the first time provides us with Thanos' background while he was still thriving on Titan with his family (his father, Mentor, and brother, Eros), while Titan was still in its prime. That Thanos was able to keep his growing obsession with weaponry under wraps until adulthood--as well as from Mentor, who's nothing if not a sharp observer--is a slight glitch in Thanos' partial origin here, particularly if he's amassed enough of an arsenal behind the scenes to rain destruction on Titan immediately following his exile. Perhaps it just goes to show that, like Odin with Loki, even a Titan can have a "problem child" for whom nothing can be done.

Finally, to segue us to Mar-vell's impending confrontation with Thanos, Starlin provides this gorgeous abstract panel that brings us to where we are now:

Rick Jones vs. Thanos? Well, Thanos has no interest in beating Rick to a pulp--and we can assume that Rick, though a former partner to Captain America, has no interest in playing hero today. Instead, he knows that responsibility must fall to another.

Shall we?

Soap Among The Stars!

With things heating up in the power play made by Thanos of Titan to not only conquer Earth but also make use of the Cosmic Cube to further his ambitions, you wouldn't expect the Avengers to be sitting on the sidelines. But when all is said and done, they would not be facing Thanos directly (with the exception of Iron Man), as Thanos would take steps to remove them from the playing field altogether. Part of that plan involves a massive invasion fleet Thanos has assembled to attack Earth at the proper moment.

But before that moment arrives, the Avengers have a few items to clear off their plate after their return from Vietnam to investigate the origin of Mantis. One pleasant task involves the return of Captain America, after he'd dealt with a discrediting ad campaign that finally led to foiling a plan by the Secret Empire to take over the U.S. Unfortunately, his reunion with the Avengers would be a brief one, since the resolution of that case would leave him on the verge of abandoning his career as the symbol of his country.

To take Cap's mind off his troubles, Iron Man also gives Cap a recap (get it? "re-Cap," heh heh) of their battle with the Star-Stalker, where Mantis saved the day by deducing the creature's weakness:

In fairness to Cap, he never really had a problem with Mantis, despite Iron Man's recollection; it was only the Swordsman he still suspected of being on the wrong side of the law. (Though Cap probably kept an eye on Mantis out of her association with him.)

It's at that point that Lou-Ann, Rick Jones' girlfriend, arrives at the mansion on the verge of collapse, having escaped from the Controller and warning of Thanos--and the Avengers become swept up in the growing conflict between Thanos and Captain Marvel. Soon enough, Mar-vell, Moondragon, and Iron Man are kidnapped to face Thanos on Titan; but when Thanos uses the Cube to ascend to godhood, the Earth invasion fleet makes its move, and the Avengers must act.

And so the Avengers launch into space as the planet's only line of defense, against incredible odds that must be defeated if Earth is to survive.

Our Enemy: The Universe!

If you missed the last few PPC reviews of Captain Marvel--wow, have you missed a lot! Because not only have we seen the good Captain become involved with the first grab for power by none other than Thanos--not only has Mar-vell cast off his life as a warrior and chosen a new role as a cosmically-aware protector of the universe--but we've also seen the devilish plans of Thanos come to a head, as the mad Titan has used the Cosmic Cube to transform himself into an all-powerful threat to life!

And as if to underscore things "coming to a head"...

We've arrived at the penultimate issue in this Captain Marvel story that's been developing through the efforts of writer/artist Jim Starlin, as Thanos at last gains ultimate power while those who oppose him fight an uphill struggle for their lives. Mar-vell looks ready for action on the issue's cover--but with his foe having achieved what he schemed for, can he hope to turn things around at this point, much less prevail?

A Gathering Of Heroes!

OR: "Titan: 1999"

A few things have happened since Captain Marvel was whisked away to a far-off location by the entity known as Eon and transformed into a cosmically-aware protector better able to challenge the mad Titan, Thanos. First on his list of things to do after being returned to Earth was to rescue Rick Jones' girlfriend, Lou-Ann, from the clutches of the Controller; he then crossed paths with Madame MacEvil Moondragon (known as "Moon Dragon" in these earlier stories) in the pages of Daredevil, allying himself with her before heading in the direction of Avengers Mansion in order to enlist the aid of those heroes in his continuing struggle against Thanos.

Yet, when the two arrive, they find a group of Avengers already dealing with a being who had arrived searching for Mar-vell in order to inform him of dire news regarding the Titan. Though it seems this intruder may have neglected to ring the doorbell:

And so the Avengers assemble--and you and I might as well sit in on Mar-vell's briefing, since it does a fair job of bringing us all up to date on the tale that artist Jim Starlin continues to build into Marvel's earliest epic involving Thanos of Titan.

With the Cosmic Cube in Thanos' possession, he's now able to strike at will, at any moment he chooses. Will these heroes even have time to act in order to save not only Earth, but perhaps the universe?