Synopsis
Thanos created a 7th Infinity Stone (by imprisoning Death in it in his recent mini-series). In this year's Thanos Annual he lost control of the Death Stone as he sought to unite it with the 6 original Stones. In various other Annuals we've followed the fortunes of the 6 Stone Bearers and also Phil Coulson who's been resurrected to house the Death Stone. In the Spider-Boy Annual the 6 finally all got together, with Coulson and Nick Fury Jr. hot on their trail.
But Thanos prepares to make his own move. He knows that only he can control all the Stones without them destroying the universe. And he must do it before they all combine.
In the Death Stone Saga backup tale in the SpB Annual Overtime, bearer of the Time Stone, nipped back in time from the middle of this issue to warn Coulson & Fury about the upcoming battle with the Mad Titan. Fury has alerted the Avengers to what's going on and now Captain Marvel and Thor are flying separately towards the Coney Island beach where the Bearers have met. The rest of the team are trapped in their Impossible City base behind a mysterious force field. When the 2 duos meet overlooking the meeting of Bearers, Carol Danvers is glad to see Phil alive. He says he's going to hang back because the Stones increase each others power when they're near each other and he doesn't want his Death Stone adding to the mix. CapM suggests Fury stay with him while she and the Thunder God handle things.
In the previous Annuals Overtime had teamed up with Quantum (Space Stone) and Star (Reality Stone) while Colleen Wing (Mind Stone) had met Apex (Power Stone) and Multitude (Soul Stone). Star can't accept that the other 3 don't realise that they are the weaker trio. Colleen tries diplomacy but Ripley Ryan thinks she's angling to be leader, when obviously the Reality Stone makes *her* the most powerful. She should be in charge and she asks for a democratic show of hands. Her 2 companions side with her and she makes sand rise up next to the others in the form of giant arms and hands. She declares she's got big plans for them and she's not going to be held back by 1 person with morals. Overtime (Hector Bautista) protest that *he* has morals and Star threatens to turn him into a goat.
At this point Thor and CM drop in. The Asgardian greets the Stone Bearers saying they come in peace and Apex (Prince Otherone) says "Hi" back (they met in the Immortal Thor Annual). Carol and Colleen shake hands. Colleen declines to explain how she got the Mind Stone because it would take too long (see the Hulk Annual for details). Carol suggests the Bearers split up because the increased power due to proximity will make them 'volatile'. Ripley interprets this as the Avengers wanting to take away their power. And she creates giant stone hands to grab Thor and squish Marvel. Multitude (the robot Wade) objects to fighting the Avengers because they're not villains. Hector too suggests they pause and think. But Ripley is more concerned that she can't think of anything better to make than hands.
The 2 heroes break free of the hands. But Apex accuses Thor of wanting to take his strength which is the only thing he has left (after destroying his own planet) and sends him flying with an uppercut. CM also punches Star but Quantum opens portals which put sections of Carol's body in 3 different places, and he warns her what would happen if he closed the portals. Star urges him to do it. Meanwhile Coulson has floated down from the vantage point he shared with Fury but claims not to have willed it.
Multitude is holding his head and complaining that a very powerful 1 of the souls inside him is trying to break free. Overtime offers to stop time to allow him to regain control. But it's too late and an orange construct of Thanos materialises and smashes aside OT and Wing. Star retaliates with a giant stone foot this time. Otherone apologises to Thor but tells him that he can no more give up his destiny than the Thunderer could give up his hammer Mole-Stirrer. Carol's been angling the parts of her body while Space-Gem Quantum has waxed lyrical about how he can feel the whole universe. She's got into position to zap him, and then escapes his trap. Tony Stark reports that he still hasn't figured out how to get through the force field as she bops Apex. Star is ranting that she can change the world to make it better (if that's what she wants). Colleen has her 'lightsabre' at her throat, still saying they have to discuss what's best to do. Ryan replies that they should start acting like the ultimate powers they are. CM thinks it's all going to pot but Thor opines that things are about to turn in their favour, for do not the Avengers always win?!
Then the real Thanos shows up and makes short work of his orange facsimile. Overtime attacks him (saying the word "hurt") and gets torn apart by a handblast, and then it's Captain Marvel's turn to be sent flying by a punch. Thanos doesn't have time to get the Time Stone because he then smashes his fists down on Thor's head and tosses him aside. Phil Coulson confronts him, his hands surrounded by a dark force, and threatens to kill him. But the Titan recognises his love Death within the ex-Agent Of SHIELD and starts to exert his mastery over the Death Stone. But then Apex attacks him and buries him in a hole in the ground. Star urges Quantum to teleport their foe into the Sun. Thanos rises and Apex is ready for another shot. But the Titan is more interested in Quantum and his Space Stone (he's got power enough of his own). He fires a blast at Q but Q creates 2 linked portals which send the blast back to the source. Apex leaps to the attack again but Big T punches his own fist through the portals to rip the Stone from Quantum's chest. And he uses that Stone to create his own portals to do the same thing to get A's Power Stone.
Then Colleen Wing stabs him through the brain with her energy katana (which she's had since she got the Mind Stone in the Hulk Annual) - but it doesn't stop him. He comments that the Infinity Stones gathered in close proximity are truly impressive. But the Bearers don't act with common purpose, so they will be even more powerful when 1 person, himself, has them all. And he kills her to take her Stone. Star tries to flee but he gets her Reality Stone as well. Thor returns to the fray but the extra-powerful Titan just blasts him dead! Captain Marvel has made it back but Thanos uses the Reality Stone to remove her superpowers and down her with 1 punch. Then he turns to the robot Multitude and tramples him to bits to get the Soul Stone.
Nick Fury has joined Coulson but Thanos kills *him* casually. Then he again tries to get Death and her Stone to leave Coulson, and Phil tells her to stay with him. Meanwhile the supposedly-dead Overtime appears at dying Carol Danvers' side. She tells him that Coulson is stalling for time, and he should use his time-stopping power to make a plan and execute it. Thanos is trying to remotely rip the Death Stone from Coulson when Overtime confronts him. The Titan comments that he'll kill him as many times as it takes to get the Time Stone. But Hector Bautista freezes time to give himself time to think. And then he knows what to do because he's already done it.
I'll pause here to remind readers that Hector appeared to Coulson and Fury in the Spider-Boy Annual in a different costume. There he told them about the upcoming battle with Thanos and asked Coulson to keep hold of the Death Stone for as long as he could. Then he nicked Phil's burger and returned to now.
So now he appears in the new costume with the burger alongside the existing Overtime. OT2 gives OT1 the burger to eat and comments that the costume change is to avoid confusion (for us readers?). (Throughout the conversation they keep exchanging the burger to eat.) Thanos asks what they're playing at. OT1 says he got here by time-jumping away from when he got killed. But now he's going to go back to die. And this means that OT2 will never exist. The time bubble that Overtime has created around them will collapse. And reality will shatter completely taking Thanos with it. The villain says he'll find a way to win, but OT1 says he doesn't have time to do that. And then he goes back to die saying "This is gonna ...". OT2 tells Thanos he *knows* what to do. The Titan swears revenge but uses the Stones ...
... to restore the Bearers to life with their Stones, and CM, Fury and Thor too. They're all mightily confused. But Overtime (in his new costume) says the universe better behave because the Infinity Watch is watching. Phil Coulson promises Carol and Nick he'll keep an eye on them. They vanish, closely followed by Thanos. Tony Stark reports that he's finally disabled the forcefield. (It was presumably created by Thanos.)