Thanos Reveals The Final Twist In His Love of Death

Warning: spoilers ahead for Eternals #9!

Being one of Marvel Comics’ most notorious bad guys, Thanos’ chief motivation for villainy – his love of Mistress Death – is almost as iconic as he is. Whether the Mad Titan is wiping out half of existence simply to catch Death’s eye, or decimating entire cultures to win her heart, his love for the cosmic entity has inspired him to commit some pretty dark deeds. But Thanos’ recent actions in the pages of Eternals have proved one thing: Death has been keeping him in check.

Thanos has been making some major moves in the pages of Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribić’s Eternals. And now Eternals #9, also featuring art by Guiu Vilanova, proves that the Mad Titan isn’t just a calculating conqueror motivated by love. Although he’s used it time and again to impress his macabre mistress, Thanos’ epic cruelty is simply his nature.

As Thanos lays siege to the Deviant city Lemuria in search of the Eternal Phastos, the Mad Titan’s forces decimate anything and everything in their way. Soon, Thanos takes to the city to find Phastos himself and is directed towards the home of Tolau the Delirious – Thena’s Deviant lover. As Thanos presses Tolau and Thena for information regarding Phastos’ whereabouts, the Deviant makes it clear he’s willing to die, as his death would be preferable to the terrible disease which will soon see him mutate. Though Thanos gets the information he desires, he moves to kill Tolau anyway. But after reasoning to his captive, “Killing you would be a mercy… and I will not suffer the slander that I am merciful,” the Mad Titan stays his hand, leaving Thena and Tolau to their doomed romance.

In the past, Thanos has worked quickly and efficiently to wipe out entire civilizations, but always with the greater goal of earning Death’s love on his mind. But having tired of rejection years ago, Thanos is no longer trying to impress the embodiment of mortality, and is free to be his true self. Sadly, it turns out that Death actually made Thanos kinder. Here, rather than the quick death he would have offered in times past, he chooses to make Thena and her Deviant lover suffer. In this instance, Thanos acts with a genuine malice and malevolence far pettier than the cosmic evil fans normally associate with the Mad Titan.

Thanos’ love for Death drove him to commit a great many atrocities throughout the universe. He loved her so much that he even thanked Drax the Destroyer for killing him – though his time with Death was ultimately short-lived. But fans could never have guessed that this dark love actually made Thanos kinder – the kind of villain who will wipe out half of all life with a snap, rather than calculating his approach to cause maximum suffering.

Thanos is a powerful force for evil within the Marvel Universe, but there’s always been an understanding that he does what he does out of love. Without affection for his beloved Death guiding his actions, the Mad Titan’s cruelty remains unfocused and unchecked. And when Thanos goes unchecked, Marvel Comics’ Eternals have a lot to worry about.

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