Soon after the loss of the reality gem, Thanos seemed to revert back to his conquering ways. The true resons for this seeming step backward would not be revealed for quite some time.

Later on, Spider Man and and the Silver Surfer would become pawns in the schemes of the Mad Thinker. However, the Thinker was himself a pawn of the artificial intelligence known as Quasimodo, whom the Thinker had himself created years before. Quasimodo manipulated into attacking and distracting the Silver Surfer, until Quasimodo's androids could incapacitate him. Spider Man, feeling guilty for the Surfer's predicament lept into the transporter beam Quasimodo was using to retrieve the Surfer. The pair found themselves upon a huge starship, a craft that turned out to be the Sanctuary II...Thanos' former mothership. The whole scheme turned out to be a plot on the part of Quasimodo who desired vengeance on the Surfer for a defeat that occurred while the Surfer was still exiled to Earth. After his artificial conciousness had been ejected from his body, a body which the Surfer had created for him, his mind drifted through the cosmos until happening along the mighty starship. Quasimodo eventually circumnavigated the ship's computerized defenses and gained control of its systems. From there he hatched his plans of revenge. Along with Spider Man, the Surfer resisted Quasimodo's attacks, but eventually the Android intelligence gained the upper hand. It was precicely at that moment, in which Quasimodo was prepared to eliminate the Surfer's conciousness and supplant it with his own, that Thanos appeared and promptly ejected Quasimodo's mind from the ship. That done, Thanos annouced that since he had saved both of their lives, the pair of heroes were in his debt. As they left he went on to advise them to remember that, and that he always collected what he was owed.

Later still, Thanos would discover the existance of an ancient object containing vast power, contained within a comet. Thanos would contact a woman known as the White Raven, and comission her to collect it for him. However, Galactus too had discovered the comet, and dispatched his former herald the Silver Surfer to secure it for him for safekeeping. The Surfer joyrned tere as White Raven also pursued the corse of the mysterious comet, and the pair came into conflict. However, as the pair would discover, the power was contained for a reason. An ancient race had discovered a powerful elder demon and managed to contain it. They then siphoned off the Demon's power in order to perfect their civilization. However, the race had long since passed on, save for a keeper, whos only companion was a robotic duplicate. The White Raven foolishly fired upon the Keeper, causing the crystal containing the power source to fall to the floor and shatter. This, angered the Surfer, and also freed the elder Demon. The Surfer attacked the vengeful beast, but his vast power was as nothing compared to the Demon's might. The Surfer, instead turned and saved White Raven, and fled from the immediate vicinity. Then, Norrin told the White Raven to flee, vowing to hold of the demon as long as he was able to. The Raven dubbed him insane, and promptly left the Surfer to do battle with the Demon. The Surfer fought the demon valliantly, however the beast gained the upper hand and prepared to eliminate his foe. Before the enraged creature could destroy the Surfer, White Raven appeared and shockingly fought off the demon with her starship. Then, she plunged free of her vessel which hurtled into the beast's chest, and the ensuing chain reaction caused the Demon to be consumed by his own power. The Surfer took up his benefactor and warped away from the area as the Demon exploded. The Surfer asked White Raven to explain her selfless actions, and she responded by saying that she owed him her life, and could not allow such nobility to perish. The Surfer allowed her to leave unmolested and he brought the news of the Demon's demise to Galactus who was displeased with the failure of the Surfer to bring him the power source, but nonetheless accepted the outcome. White Raven also brought news of her failure to Thanos, who was also less than pleased that his goals had again eluded his grasp. However, as always, Thanos would subdue his dissapointment and begin his next gambit.

Thanos would next turn up in during a series of events which crossed the boundaries of 2 Universes. First off the Silver Surfer would find himself combating an unfamiliar villain known as the Cyborg, who had apparently recently caused an entire planet to rip itself asunder. Simletaneously, a heroic dezien of the aforementioned second Universe known as Green Lantern would find himself up against Terrax. As the Surfer battled his mysterious foe, he would find that he originated from another Universe, and would find unexpected help from that selfsame cosmos in the form of a being called Parallax.

However, the Surfer was unsure of whom to believe, and stopped their battle, inadvertently giving the Cyborg a chance to escape. In the time that followed, Parallax told the Surfer about his past as the heroic Green Lantern, and of the tradgedy that turned him away from that noble calling. The Surfer, also, would share with his newfound ally, the tale of his past as the hearald of Galactus. In the meantime, Kyle Rainer, aka Green Lantern battled Terrax in the other reality, and found himself aided by Thanos. As it would eventually turn out, Thanos had sent Terrax ahead of him into the other Universe in order to wreak some havoc and attract the attention of Green Lantern. Thanos then stepped in and quickly painted himself the hero by subduing Terrax, and quite effectively convinced the inexperienced new Green Lantern of his noble intentions. Thanos would go on to claim that all realities were threatened by Hal Jordan, aka Parallax, and that he needed the fledgling Green Lantern's help to stop Jordan. Knowing that Parallax could become a threat, Green Lantern agreed, just as the Surfer would also agree to help Hal Jordan reach his own goals. The Surfer went on to add his own power cosmic to Hal Jordan's own formidable energies. Hal immediately restored the planet that the Cyborg had destroyed to its former condition, and then he and the Surfer departed back to Jordan's universe.

Thanos guided Green Lantern to his platform, a huge satellite orbiting the remains of the planet once called Oa, home of the Guardians of the Universe...the group that had started the Green Lantern Corps. Now all that remained was a huge hole in the fabric of reality. Thanos had constructed his platform there in order to draw upon the almost limitless ambient energies that remained in the area around the reality-breach. Thanos guided Green Lantern to a chair in which he would place his ring, while Thanos would go to sit in a similar device. Then, the Titan activated the platform, drawing on the energies of Oa, and using Kyle's ring to synthesize them. THis action alerted both Parallax and the Surfer, who went off in persuit of the culprit. After the procedure had ended, Kyle asked Thanos how what they had just done would be used to stop Parallax, and then Thanos revealed his true ambitions. With the energy Thanos had just aquired, he planned to wreak cosmic destruction so vast, that nothing would remain save for the realm of Death. That done, he could circumnavigate her decree, and take his place at her side. Before Thanos could kill the now enlightened Kyle Rainer, The Silver Surfer and Parallax arrived upon the scene. Thanos' goals of ultimate destruction were at odds with Parallax's own goals of creation...and the two beings, now Gods, began to clash. The Surfer took on the confused Green Lantern, but eventually discovered that the were botch cut from the same heroic cloth, and the real danger lay in the form of Jordan and Thanos. Then, at the Surfer's suggestion Kyle managed to use his ring as a siphon, and he then drained off the energies that boh Thanos and Parallax had aquired. Unable to synthesize the vast power, Kyle projected the mighty energies into the Surfer, who swelled to enourmous size. However, the Surfer's own ability to metabolize energies eventually won out, and the vast power was eventually subdued. That done, the rift that was Oa begin to close, drawing Thanos within to his own reality, and driving Parallax deeper into the existing one. The Surfer departed through the closing rift, leaving Green Lantern to wonder if he would ever meet his ally again. He would find out very soon indeed.

Perhaps due to the strain placed on the boundaries between the two universes by Thanos' last gambit, events in the two realities began to cross over between them. People began to randomly, and without warning, cross over from one reality to the other. These potententially disaterous cosmic fluctuations alerted the Living Tribunal, and a cosmic guardian from the other universe known as the Spectre. As all these evens came to a head, a young man named Axel Asher would find that he was more than merely human. In fact, he held the key to the salvation of both universes in his unsuspecting hands. Axel happened upon what appeared to be an old vagrant in an alley who seemed to be attempting to hold together a glowing carboard appliance box. However, as it turn out, this is merely how his mind interprited events beyond his usual sphere of comprehention. As it would soon turn out, the old vagrant was actually a watchman of reality, and the box represented a cast-off shard of reality itself...the very crux point of the multiverse. As heroes and villains in unfamiliar environs battled one another, Thanos would find himself confronted by a being from the other reality that could well be his counterpart. In the heart of his sanctum he was confronted by a being known as Darkseid the destroyer. This being went on to challenge Thanos to a duel to the death. As Thanos and Darkseid battled, events across the pair of universes would come to echo this titanic struggle. The Vagrant in the alley failed to hold the box together, and Alex was filled with knowledge of his true destiny as the Access...a gateway between the multiverses, and the new guardian of the universal balance. He and all of creation would also learn of the existance of two brothers...beings _beyond_ gods. Countless billions of years before, the pair had come into a conflict so vast, it destroyed the pre-existing universe and created a new one. The forces unleashed seperated the brothers...and their shattered conciousnesses gave birth to a multiverse. Over the eons they finally regained their sentience, but without any knowledge of one another. Now, after recent cosmos-shaking events...the brothers had once again become aware of one another, and were prepared to renew their timeless conflict. However, they have decided to pit chapions from their respective realities against one another. The victor of each contest merely had to restrain or immobilize his opponent to win. The looser would cease to exist, as would their respective portion of the multiverse. Any resistance could doom the multiverse, so the battles had to be fought. In these cosmic struggles, the champions would find themselves against unfamiliar foes and would-be allies.

The contest began as the Mighty Thor battled and defeated Captain Marvel (Not to be confused with either Captain Marvel of the Marvel Universe.). The sea-king known as Aquaman would battle and defeat his counterpart Namor, the Sub-Mariner. The egotistical Quickilver found himself far outclassed by the other Universe's top speedster, the Flash. Jubilee, the youngest of the X-Men found herself enfatuated with her opponent, the teenage detective known as Robin, and the pair reluctantly battled, with Robin coming out the victor. Former allies Green Lantern and the Silver Surfer would find themselves pitted against one another by the brother's decree. And in the battle that followed, the remorseful Surfer would emerge as the winner. The anti-heroes known as Catwoman and Electra would struggle...and the ninja-trained Electra would easily gain her victory. The vicious mutant Wolverine triumphed over all the odds to defeat the crazed, equally vicious, and far more powerful bezerker called Lobo. The Amazonian princess Wonder Woman would find herself matched against Storm, and would also find herself possessing the hammer of Thor, which bestowed upon her the power of the Thunder God. However, the noble amazon could not bring herself to fight her foe with so much extra might, and foreswore Thor's power to fight Storm as herself. Her decision would prove her undoing, and she fell defeated at the power of the mistress of the elements. The other universe would suffer another defeat as the adolescent Superboy found himself the victim of the cunning and agility of Spider-Man. Two of their respective realities most powerful champions would battle in the form of the gamma-spawned Hulk, and the Krypton-Born Superman. The two mighty heroes would battle mightily, but Superman's vast array of powers proved too much for the Hulk. And in the final battle, the most human of the champions would struggle. The heroic Captain America, the pinnacle of Human physical perfection would take on the vigilante detective called the Batman, who had honed his body and mind to its very limits in his quest to avenge his parents' deaths and become the bane of all criminals. Almost equally matched in every respect, the battle raged on for hours, until it finally turned the way of the Batman when the sewers in which they were fighting were suddenly flushed out, allowing Batman to immobilize Captain America with a blow from his batarang. As the pair climbed out of the sewers and into the rainy night, they found Alex...now the Access. Alex managed to hide shards of their respective Universes inside Batman and Cap, just as the brothers found the contest settled and the seperate Universes merged into an amalgamated whole.

This result also combined individuals in both realities into wholly different entities. This combined Thanos with his counterpart into a being called Thanoseid *. However, the amalgam universe would be short-lived...and the union would be found to be the result of a last-ditch effort of the Living Tribunal and the Spectre to save the cosmos. When Access regained his senses, he retrieved the disparate shards from the merged Super-Soldier and Dark-Claw...restoring the universes to their seperate state. Now the heroic champions who were previously forced to battle found themselves as allies against new threats. Thanos found himself on Earth, and came into conflict with Lobo. The pair battled, threatening to destroy the surrounding city. Thanos, eager to find Darkseid, finally brushed Lobo aside. Soon Darkseid arrived and before the pair could grapple, they found themselves opposed by some of both universes most powerful heroic beings. Soon, the Living Tribunal journeyed to the Nexus of the Multiverse in an attept to convince the brothers to reconcile, and instead found the pair battling...a conflict which had already begun to tear reality asunder. As the brothers battled, the skies of Earth became filled with blood...blood which rained down upon the surface of the planet. This sight moved Thanos enough to state that it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. As the skies hemmoraged the lifeblood of the cosmos, Access transported Batman and Captain America to the nexus of the multiverse. Batman and Captain America valiantly attempted to speak to the brothers, but were regarded as little more than noisy dust-motes. The Brothers clashed again, ripping the pair of noble beings asunder...a move which allowed the brothers to see into the souls of the dying men. The nobility and sacrifice they saw in these two unique men so moved them, that the fueding cosmic brothers ceased their battle, clasped hands and admitted in unison that his counterpart had done well. The brothers then parted...and reality was restored, returning all involved to their proper place in the multiverse. For Alex Asher, however, his was the power of the Access...and his journey had only just begun.

( * It must be noted that the events of the "Green Lantern/Silver Surfer" crossover, as well as "DC vs Marvel" are regarded as having occured out of regular 616 (mainline Marvel) continuity. I will eventually record the details of Thanoseid in an upcoming section dealing with alternate reality versions of the Titan.)

Thanos' next gambit would find him making the discovery of a bizzare pocket-dimension, bursting with unknown energies. Thanos either entered the dimension, or was pulled into it, and became trapped. Not only that, but he became seperated from his source of cosmic energy, which weakened him in the process. However, Thanos found he could still make mental contact with normal reality. He promptly gathered his mental resources and contacted what would later appear to be a genetically engineered creature called consumtion...who operated as Thanos' herald. This being went on to contact an Earthman called Parnival Plunder, brother of Kevin Plunder (Better known as the heroic Ka-Zar. Lord of the Savage Land.), and gave the earthman the opportunity to serve his master. Plunder, as evil and remorseless a man as had ever walked chose to accept, thinking he would come to inherit a lifeless, sterile Earth as his reward. After Plunder accepted, Consumtion went on to rip open his torso, creating a gateway into the pocket-dimension in which Thanos was trapped, and also killing himself in the process. Plunder went on to construct an facade around the gateway to make access easier, and secretive. Plunder went on to enter and contact Thanos himself, who informed Plunder that he had been chosen for his utter ruthlessness, and for the fact that he wished his plans to remain clandestine and Plunder was no one of his known minions. Plunder, eager to rule a lifeless, sanitary Earth eagerly agreed to become Thanos' willing servant.

However, Ka-Zar himself would become involved when Parnival made a botched attempt to have his brother Kevin's son kidnapped. Ka-Zar then traveled to New York in order to confront his brother. Thus, Ka-Zar became embroiled in Thanos plot himself. However, with Ka-Zar and his wife Shanna in Manhattan, a portion of Parnivan's plot became easier. Without Ka-Zar to protect the Savage Land, Parnival's men were free to excavate the Terraforming device that kept the Savage Land temperate and ancient from the Antarctic soil. Plunder went on to inform Thanos of its aquisition, an commented that Thanos could not leave the pocket dimension until he had grown stronger. Plunder's men them promptly cloaked, and airlifted the machine into Central Park, where they began its power-up procedure. Meanwhile Ka-Zar investigated the purpose of a portion of a medallion that he possessed, a portion that had been given to him long ago by his now-dead father. Half of it he possessed, the other half was in Parnival's hands. Ka-Zar theorized that whatever his brother was up to, the medallion was the key to the recent events(considering that in their confrontation, Parnival brought it up.), and went to Parnival's tower once more to wring the truth from him. During the altercation, Parnival gave up his half of the Medallion, which Shanna then assembled. Parnival then promptly activated the Terraformer, a move which caused all of Manhattan to be rapidly coated in thick, tropical vegetation, and also shunted prehistoric animals into the city as well.

Ka-Zar and Shanna fled Parnival's tower, and fought their way through the chaos to Central Park. There they found a recess in the Terraformer's surface that matched the medallion, and they inserted it into the panel. This revealed an interdimensional passage that led through the laberinthene interior of the terraformer to its heart. Ka-Zar then left Shanna and his Sabertooth Zabu to investigate the terraformer, while he went to confront his brother (yet again.) in order to find out how to shut the machine down. As this occurred, Plunder met whith Thanos who was nearly strong enough to depart. Suddenly, Ka-Zar entered the Tower and demanded to know how to shut the Terraformer down, and also demanded to know who was behind Parnival's plot. Parnival promptly revealed that Thanos was his benafactor, an annoncement which shocked and appalled Kevin. Meanwhile, Shanna and Zabu journeyed through the maze, and surprisingly happened upon Thanos. Thanos questioned the means by which she arrived, and as she confessed that she had journeyed through the terraformer itself, Thanos gleefully declared that he had made the connection between his plight and the Terraformer. The dimension that Thanos was ensnared in was in fact the source of the Terraformer's power, a fact which thrilled Thanos since he had been absorbing energy from the dimension itself, and was now filled with it. Back in our reality Ka-Zar realized that time was of the essence, with Shanna heading toward what might be her death, and the Savage Land now at the mercy of the Antarctic polar climate he had to hurry and try to thwart Thanos' plans. He convinced Parnival to open the gateway to the pocket dimension, and was shocked to find the now-gigantic Thanos grasping Shanna in his fist. Ka-Zar launched himself at the enourmous Titan, and the sheer audacity of his attack cause Thanos to release Shanna. The treacherous Parnival, however, smashed the gateway before Ka-Zar and Shanna could escape. But Parnival found himself at the recieveing end of Thanos' irritation, and found himself in Thanos' fist before the gateway could fully close.

Filled with power, Thanos reached out with his mind to touch the entire galaxy with his newfound might. The primeval terraforming vegatation began to swarm over Titan, the Kree Homeworld, the planets of the Shi'Ar empire, and even the blue area of the moon. Thanos then further displayed his power, opening a portal to various locales. Ka-Zar quickly managed to grab the medallion, which Thanos had taken to wearing as a totem, and took of through the jungles with Thanos in hot pursuit. Shanna then used the opportunity to flee back through the Terraformer's maze. Upon her exit, she found the area around the device swarming with SHIELD agents, who began to airlift the machine back to the Antarctic, with Shanna to accompany them. Meanwhile, Thanos continued his pursuit of Kevin throughout rapidly shifting areas of the cosmos, and all the while Parnival rode alon on Thanos' shoulder, cheering him on. Thanos finally grew tired of this cheerleading, and left Parnival on an unknown world, swallowed by the relentless vegetation. Despite Kevin's best efforts to save his misguided sibling, he found himself unable to pull Parnival free, and soon Thanos was upon him. Thanos grasped him tightly, and stated that he was in full control, despite the fact that he could sense the terraformer being moved. Kevin managed to find the strength to free himself, and fled through the terraformer maze with Thanos again on his heels. Kevin planned to emerge from the terraformer, hoping that the fall coupled with the antarctic cold would kill Thanos (yeah right!), but realized that he would likely perish as well. However, upon leaving he found they had already arrived, and his gambit had failed.

Despite his his anguish, Ka-Zar arose to find his son, along with Shanna and Zabu. The SHIELD force quickly engaged Thanos, but the Titan merely choked off their efforts with the terraforming energy. His resolve renewed upon seeing his son, Ka-Zar managed to goad Thanos into a chase up a volcanic slope, hoping to trick the Titan into the lava. Ka-Zar had also noticed that Thanos was shrinking, which meant he was loosing the terraforming energies. Kevin's attempt to trick Thanos ghad failed however, and the Titan was upon him in a moment. However, Thanos' strength had depleted to a vast degree, and he had not yet gained full strength from his cosmic energy source either, and Kevin managed to knock Thanos into the magma. Ka-Zar then ran back to the SHIELD position, and told the force to destroy the terraformer. Thanos, his clothing burned away by the lava but otherwise unharmed followed him back. There, Ka-Zar told Thanos of what the titan had not yet noticed, that he was now estranged from the source of the terraforming power, and was now weakened. He then went on to tell the Titan that the medallion represented the only map through the terraformer, and then that said, Ka-Zar promptly shattered the medallion. Thanos, enraged, struck Kevin down and plunged into the terraformer. He raced desperately towards the source of the power, as the SHIELD force fired upon the device, obliterating it. Ka-Zar opened his eyes expecting to see trhe cold polar ice surrounding him, but found instead the Savage-Land restored in full, save for a crater where the terraformer once lay. Ka-Zar, shocked went to his wife and found her eyes reflecting back unearthly energies. Shanna, had been right next to the Terraformer when it exploded, and instead of being incinerated, she absorbed its power. Now Shanna the She-Devil, wife of Ka-Zar, was now the mother of all the Savage Land.

Thanos, however, had made it back to the pocket dimension. He would not be cut off from this reality for long. The morose, Hulk...anguished over the recent death of his wife Betty, found his travels taking him along the Grand Canyon. There, a disembodied voice guided him to a strange, hidden stone-circle. There, he found the mocking, vast form of Thanos...who was still trapped within his pocket dimension. Thanos had discovered a possible exit along the mystical Ley-Line nexus points. However, at each point a mystic construction prevented his egress back into our reality. Meanwhile, the mysterious young boy Nathan Grey (aka the X-Man.) found himself drawn to Stonehenge, where he saw an vast unearthy figure. Able to hear Thanos' voice and becoming increasingly disturbed by each sentence, the X-Man listened as Thanos offered the Hulk the chance to become Thanos vessel in this reality. Nathan, panicked at the possiblities, lept into the energy field surrounding the dark figure and found himself transported to the Stone Circle in the Grand Canyon. There, he attempted to convice the Hulk to refuse Thanos' offer. The Hulk merely retaliated and managed to repell Nathan. However, Nate surronded himself with powerful, psionic armor and attacked the Hulk before he could make contact with Thanos, driving him far into the Colorado river. There, Nate was shocked to find out that the Hulk was attempting to trick Thanos. But before he could utilize the knowledege, Thanos snatched him up in order to use Nate as the physical vessel instead. The Hulk attempted to counterattack the Titan, and found himself instead nearly incinerated by a torrent of energy from Thanos' fist. The Hulk was down, but not out. He managed to hammer at the ground, causing a mini quake that shattered a rock face damming a portion of the river. The ensuing torrent sent a wall of water crashing down the Canyon; a torrent that shattered the stone circle, freeing Thanos, who now decided to crush Nate instead. However, Nathan quickly and deperately surrounded the Hulk with his psionic armor, giving the gamma-empowered behemoth the extra strength he needed to drive Thanos back towards the weakened energy barrier. As he did this, Nathan restored the cliff face with his telekenesis, and then used his powers to do the same with the stone circle. With one last might blow, the Hulk knocked Thanos back into the circle, and the resulting reaction between his body and the energy barrier tore the dimensional gateway wide open. Thanos vanished back into the pocket dimension, while Nate was transported back to Stonehenge, with a renewed sense of purpose.

Many months later, a troubled Thor returned to Asgard to find portions of the city in ruins, and its defenders...including Balder, Sif, and the Warriors Three...bludgeoned. Thor wonders just whom could have done such a thing when the question is answered as the monsterous Mangog leaps from the shadows and attacks. As Thor and Mangog battle, Odin's aide, Tarakis, leads a hooded figure into Asgard's throne room, where Odin awaits. Rendered vulnerable to suggestion by a potion that had been gradualy given to him by Tarakis, Odin is unable to resist as the hooded figure demands to know the location of the apocalyptic 'Map of the All-Ending". Odin's will is broken, and he hands the map to the hooded figure who turns out to be none other than Thanos.

Already possessing the Chalice of Ruins, Thanos is overjoyed to now have the Map of All-Ending, which well help him find a being known as 'The Designate'. Thanos and Tarakis depart to collect Mangog, who has defeated Thor. However, Thanos, judging Thor to be of no consequence, orders Mangog to cease before he can finish the Thunder-God off. The three leave Asgard, and Odin informs Thor that Mangog was but Thanos' thrall, and that the Titan now possesses the Map of All-Ending. Thor decides that he must end the troubles of his mortal guise, Jake Olsen, once and for all.

As Thor journeys to Earth to end the crisis of his mortal host...Thanos hand his allies journey to the planet Rigel, home of a peace-loving race of thinkers and dreamers. Once there, Thanos teleports Mangog to the surface, and the hulking behemoth proceeds to deal out death and destruction. The peaceful Rigellians were helpless before Mangog's fury, and soon the beast had caused so much chaos, the Rigellians ordered the planet's evacuation. As the population of the planet quickly boarded and lanched massive space-arks, the Rigellian high-commissioner and his staff retreated to a heavily fortified bunker to find Thanos waiting for them. He simply demanded the 'fire-gem', and stated that should they give it to him, Mangog's attack would cease. Knowing that the gem would only be of be of use to find the Designate, the request was refused. Thanos' star-craft immediately let lose a searing radiation burst that rapidly spread across the planet, wiping out most of the remaining population. The Rigellian commissioner can no longer bear to see his world suffer further, and give Thanos the location of the fire-gem. Thanos takes the artifact, and departs. Thor arrives at Rigel far too late to render aid, but the Rigelian Tana Nile tells him the next spot the Map would lead Thanos would be the planet M'Hass to find the illumination stone. Thor departs, and his long-time ally, the Rigellian recorder android, goes with him.

As Thor warps towards M'Hass, Lord Odin consults the Orikal and finds that the future holds only oblivion for them all. Odin, however, refuses to accept defeat, and sends Balder to the home of the Dark Elves to find the loathesome, man-eating Jagrfelm. As Thanos and Mangog reach the sacred illumination stone, Thor arrives and attacks Mangog. So swift is Thor's attack, the he succeeds in temorarily stopping the rampaging beast. Thanos turns and fires a blast of cosmic force at Thor, who absorbs and reflects the attack with Mjolnir, knocking Thanos from the fray. However, Mangog recovers and attacks Thor, nearly killing the Thunder-God. However, Thanos again stops Mangog from finishing the job, and the pair departs with the illumination stone as their prize.

As these dark events unfold, the powerful Firelord, former herald of Galactus, detects the impending doom, and journeys to find Thor. He does so as Thor consults with a seer known as the Millennium Monarch to find out the nature of the artifacts Thanos has gained. Meanwhile, Balder the Brave strikes a bargain with the blacksmith Jargfelm to forge for Odin. And, as this transpires, Thanos and Mangog arrive at the world where the Designate dwells. His war machines wreak havok, but the populace knows not who the one called Designate is. Undaunted, Thanos uses the illumination stone to locate the Designate...a woman named Tarene. Soon afterwards, Thor, Firelord, and the Recorder arrive...but far too late, as Thanos has departed, leaving a now-dead world in his wake. Seeing the devastation..Thor vows vengeance upon the Titan and his charges. Firelord uses his cosmic senses to locate the aura of the illumination stone.

As Thanos swears that Tarene shall shed the tears needed to bring about the end, Balder returns to Odin with Jargfelm in tow. In exchange for forging items of Odin's design, Jagrfelm demanded that he be made master of an item hidden within a sack he had brought along. Pressed for time, Odin did so without first investigating the contents. True to his word, Jargfelm began to forge that which Odin requests of him. Havinf finally found a suitable, dead world near the center of the universe, Thanos plans his work with Mangog and Tarakis at his side, and their captive Tarene. But, before they could begin, Thor and Firelord attack. But, before can safely evacuate Tarene, Mangog retaliates and beats Thor into unconciousness. However, Tarene refuses to weep...and Thanos orders Mangog to bludgeon Thor without mercy. As Tarene weeps for her would-be champion, Jagrfelm finishes his handiwork, and Odin imbues the rainment and shielding with the sacred Odin-Force. As Thanos pours Tarene's tears into the Chalice of Ruins, Firelord is summond by Odin, and the former hearald of Galactus warps towards Asgard.

Thanos drinks of the Chalice, and is empowerd with the might needed to rake the cosmos with waves of unending death. However, unbeknownst to his enemies, Thor has marshalled his godly strength and recovers. He attacks Mangog with such ferocity that the nigh-unstoppable being is stunned senseless. Taking advantage of his foes incapacitation, Thor plunges his uru mallet into the gaping maw of Mangog, and fires a bolt of anti-force into the beast's innards, causing the monster to burn from within. With a final mighty blow, Thor hurls Mangog from the cliff-face where he would fall to his seeming doom. As Thor turned to face Thanos, Firelord arrives on Asgard and fetches the creations of Jagrfelm and Odin, and quickly flies away to bring them to the embattled Thor in order to turn the tide of the battle. As Thanos unleashes his might, destroying an inhabited world, Thor attacks, but is quickly imprisoned within a nimbus of cosmic energy. In an attempt to free the Thunder-God, the recorder sacrifices his own robotic life, and fails to free Thor. But, Firelord arrives, dispatches Tarakis, and frees Thor, who quickly dons the belt of power and the other rainment made by Jagrfelm. Now suffused with the Odin-Force, Thor attacks Thanos again, and battles him on more even terms. In the fight, Thor shatters the stone of illumination, thus dispelling Thanos' power over the forces of oblivion, and the depowered Thanos can no longer withstand the assault of the Odin-empowered Thor. As Thanos falls, Tarene weeps again for the lives of all those slain in Thanos' mad scheme. And, as written, she flings her tears upon the fallen Titan. Now unprotected by the illumination stone, Thanos burns as if consumed by hellfire...as was written in prophecy. Thus, Thanos would seemingly be forever vanquised.

But...unknown to Tarene and Thor... Death had long since forgiven Thanos for his transgressions, and had worries of her own. For some time, Thanos had been working under false pretenses, and had no real desire to once more conquer or destroy the cosmos. Instead, Thanos had been building towards something completely different.

Some months before, an enigmatic Death-God who calling himself Walker had sought to court Death herself. She recieved Walker into her realm, and entertained his attentions for a time. Afterwards, he wished to give her a great gift...everything he had. The gift was every single life within his own Galaxy. He annihilated every creature, and absorbed the billions upon billions of souls into himself, intending to give them all to Death.

However, the ever-fickle Mistress Death was repulsed by this callous disregard for life, and turned from Walker in disgust. Walker was shocked, and soon grew morose and angry. As his anger grew, Death sent him away... but the anger continued to build until Walker decided to destroy his would-be lover in a fit of cosmic vengeance.

Thanos became fearful for Death's saftey, and pleaded with her to seclude herself for the sake of the Universe. For should Death actually be destroyed, the balance of the Cosmos would be endangered. Heeding the advice of her ever-faithful follower, Death sought a host, and found one in the form of the recently murdered Marlo Chandler, girlfriend of Rick Jones. Using a device built by the nefarious Leader, Marlo was brought back to life, but Rick was unaware of the truth behind Marlo's resurrection and subsequent coma. In reality, Death had merged with Marlo, and due to the shock, protcted her mind until it could fully recover. When it did so, Death brought Marlo out of the coma, and she went on to marry Rick, all the while unaware that Death itself lived within her.

As Death hid herself within Marlo, Thanos sought the means to dispose of Walker, and it was at this time that the Titan had seemingly reverted to his destructive ways. First, he retrieved the Sanctuary from the sway of Quasimodo. His plot involving Ka-Zar, was designed to see how brave a normal human could be when faced with impossible odds. He feigned defeat there, and some months later recruited Mangog in what seemed to be another gambit to destroy all life. However, in reality, this was yet another test. As he pitted Mangog against the thunder-God Thor, he observed both beings. Mangog especially intrigued him, since the enegmatic being drew its own power from billions of beings in a fashion similar to Walker's. Once again, Thanos feigned defeat and withdrew to formulate a concrete plan.

Months later, matters came to a head when Walker found himself drawn to Marlo Jones. Thanos enlisted the aid of Thor, and engaged Walker in combat. Jones used the Nega-Bands to summon Genis, the son of the original Captain Marvel, with whom he was bonded. The trio managed to repell Walker long enough for Thanos to transport them all to his ship, the Sanctuary. There, Thanos revealed the truth of Marlo's rebirth, and the severity of the threat they all faced. Using the powers of Thor and Captain Marvel, Thanos transported them all to the realm of purging (what many refer to as Purgatory), a realm where the dead work off their Karmic debt. However, Walker tracked them there and attacked, striking Marlo before being repulsed by Thor, Marvel, and Thanos. However, Marlo found herself unharmed by Walker's assault. Realizing even his vast power wasn't enough to destroy Death while in the realm of purging, Walker then attempted to talk her into destroying herself... he tricked Captain Marvel into attacking him, and then caused him to bang the Nega-Bands together, causing Genis to switch places with Rick Jones. Walker then tortured Jones, destroying the earthman's left arm with his staff. Walker goaded Death further, and was soon attacked by a group of Impact Warriors who had been the eartly compainions of Thor. Because they had died of plague instead of perishing in battle, they had not entered Valhalla, and instead dwelled in the realm of purging. Walker, however, repelled them easily, angering Thor, who again attacked Walker alongside Thanos. Walker overcame them, and continued to torture Rick Jones, aging him many years in a heartbeat.

It was then that the true aim of Thanos' plan went into motion. As Thanos well knew, Death was not only a taker of life, but also the assuager of pain...a being who despised suffering. Death, enraged by Walker's cruelty, emerged from Marlo and attacked Walker directly, using her power free the billions of souls Walker had drained. The souls erupted from him violently, promising to cause the former Death-God an eternity of torment. That done, Death seperated itself from Marlo, who instantly collapsed. However, in gratitude, Death restored Marlo's life, and promptly returned to her realm.

In the aftermath, Thanos, who felt obligated to help Jones and Marlo as they had assissted him, went on to try to restore Rick Jones to his proper state. However, the remedy proved elusive due to the fact that Walker had not merely aged Jones. Instead, he had used his power to bend time around him...sending him into his own future while keeping him in the present at the same time.

The resulting temporal flux proved difficult to pierce, and Thanos informed Thor and Marlo that the flux was feeding through the Nega-Bands and affecting Captain Marvel as well, causing a localized Temporal Storm. Both Jones and Marvel would be experiencing future events, and then moving inexorably back towards the present. Eventually, Thanos' diagnosis proved corect... the Temporal Storm erupted, and Thor quickly used his Hammer to drain the temporal energies away. Somewhat impressed, Thanos praised Thor for a job well done, as Rick Jones opened his eyes... still aged and maimed...but alive. In the months since this happened, Rick Jones was restored to full youth and health.