Thanos Won The Time Stone In A Disgusting Way (in Comics)

Audiences remember how Doctor Strange gave up the Time Stone to save Iron Man’s life at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Strange’s actions inspired hundreds of fan theories over why he would simply turn over one of the most powerful artifacts in the universe to Thanos, who planned to kill half the world’s population (which ended up including Strange) once he collected all Infinity Stones. As it turned out, Strange’s act was a ploy designed to keep Tony Stark alive so he could defeat Thanos at the end of Avengers: Endgame.

However, this scenario did not play out the same way in all universes. In the original comic book version, Thanos Quest, for instance, Thanos employed other methods to secure the Infinity Stones (called the “Soul Gems” or “Infinity Gems” in the storyline). Many of his acts utilized more guile than brute force, yet resulted in some truly horrific scenes.

Such a scene occurred when Thanos turned his attention to the Time Stone (or “Time Gem”) at the end of the first issue of Thanos Quest. By this point, Thanos had already acquired the Soul Gem and Power Gem, giving him more power than he ever had before. Rather than use this power in a frontal assault, however, Thanos decided to employ a more subtle approach.

The keeper of the Time Gem in this continuity turned out to be the Gardener, one of the Elders of the Universe. Obsessed with cultivating plants and preserving their beauty, the Gardener used his Time Gem for peaceful purposes, growing a beautiful garden that even Thanos could appreciate and admire. Thanos was so moved by the Gardener’s creation that he offered to spare both the Gardener’s life and his garden if he would just give the Time Gem to him. When the Gardener refused, however, Thanos reluctantly resolved to take it by force.

Their “battle,” however, seemed to occur remarkably peacefully as the two men just sat on a bench facing each other. As Thanos regarded his opponent, vines began growing all around him, strangling him and grappling his limbs. Thanks to the Power Gem, however, Thanos was too strong for this attack and simply ripped his bonds to shreds. Up to this point, the perspective of the comic had focused entirely on Thanos’ struggle and did not reveal how the Gardener was faring. As Thanos approached the Elder, however, it became apparent that something was horribly wrong. As the Gardener had used his control over plants to restrain Thanos, Thanos had employed his Power Gem on the Gardener’s own Time Gem – supercharging it so branches and vines literally sprouted out of the Gardener’s body, killing him.

Thanos then revealed the true nature of the Time Gem – using it subconsciously, the Gardener had accelerated the growth of his plants and then frozen them at the peak of their beauty, creating a lush and verdant world. Once Thanos snatched the Time Gem from the Gardener’s corpse, however, the garden collapsed, unable to sustain itself without the power of its master’s gem. Expressing genuine regret for his actions, Thanos nevertheless emphasized that he had given the Gardener to just surrender his Time Gem, and continued on with his hunt for the other Infinity Gems.

Less thrilling than the epic battle between Thanos, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and Iron Man, Thanos’ original battle was nonetheless far creepier by showing two seemingly peaceful men engaged in a life or death struggle. Perhaps the Gardener should have used the Time Gem to look ahead into the future to see if he could avoid his grim fate… then again, who could anticipate Thanos?

About The Author

Michael Jung
(700 Articles Published)

Michael Jung is a mild-mannered freelance writer-for-hire, actor, and professional storyteller with a keen interest in pop culture, education, nonprofit organizations, and unusual side hustles. His work has been featured in Screen Rant, ASU Now, Sell Books Fast, Study.com, and Free Arts among others. A graduate of Arizona State University with a PhD in 20^th Century American Literature, Michael has written novels, short stories, stage plays, screenplays, and how-to manuals.

Michael’s background in storytelling draws him to find the most fascinating aspects of any topic and transform them into a narrative that informs and entertains the reader. Thanks to a life spent immersed in comic books and movies, Michael is always ready to infuse his articles with offbeat bits of trivia for an extra layer of fun. In his spare time, you can find him entertaining kids as Spider-Man or Darth Vader at birthday parties or scaring the heck out of them at haunted houses.

Visit Michael Jung’s website for information on how to hire him, follow him on Twitter Michael50834213, or contact him directly: michael(at)michaeljungwriter(dot)com.

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