Captain Marvel (1968 series) #33

This story happens alongside and after AVENGERS (1963) #125.

This issue begins with a recap of Thanos' history so far, culminating in him using the Cosmic Cube to turn into a god in #31. But at then end of last issue Rick Jones taunted Thanos into retaking a physical form in order to salve his ego by defeating Captain Marvel in man-to-man combat.

Now Rick swaps bodies with Mar-Vell in the Negative Zone, and the fight is on. But even with the enhanced senses and reflexes given him by Eon in #29, CM is no match for Thanos' god-like powers.

After beating our hero unconscious Thanos looks outside to see the evidence of an ongoing space-battle, including a spaceship crashing into New York as seen in Av#125. In that issue the Avengers went to face Thanos' spacefleet. The master-villain now muses that he despatched the fleet just to lure the Avengers off-Earth. He doesn't really care who wins because the Cube has given him the power to conquer the universe.

Thanos leaves, and CM awakes to be confronted by the holographic form of the Titanian computer ISAAC. ISAAC indicates the drained Cube where Rick Jones dropped it. He suggests that Mar-Vell should use his new cosmic awareness.

We now see the final scene of Av#125. The victorious Avengers (Black Panther, Captain America, Iron Man, Mantis, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman, Thor and Vision) have returned to Avengers Mansion in their quinjet, watched by a hidden Thanos. But while they were away Thanos shifted the Earth a second ahead in time. So the team are now out-of-phase with the rest of the planet.

Another interlude on Titan shows us Mentor and Moondragon freeing the surviving (17 out of 114) Titanians.

Back on Earth Captain Marvel gets a visit from a ghostly Mantis. She has figured out what Thanos did and used her perfect control of mind and body to attune herself to Mar-Vell's cosmic awareness. CM now knows he's on his own.

But not quite! A mere time-shift can't keep Drax the Destroyer from his appointed target! As he attacks Thanos' still-corporeal form, CM spots the conflict and joins in. But the villain switches back to his insubstantial god-form, but still firing physical eye-blasts. And then he launches a skyscraper at them.

Mar-Vell realises that Thanos could destroy them in an eye-blink if he wanted. He must be playing with them to feed his ego. Leaving Drax to keep him amused, CM flies back to ISAAC, Mantis and the Cube.

They have all reached the conclusion that Thanos the god should need worshippers to feed his power. But he has none except possibly his mysterious companion (who still hasn't been named as Death). So they reason that his power must still be coming from the Cosmic Cube. And discarding it in #31 was a way of hiding that fact.

They're proved right, as angry Thanos attacks them. Captain Marvel drops the Cube. Thanos twists reality to stop him regaining it, but cosmic awareness leads CM through the maze. The mad god rapidly ages him, but the dying hero destroys the Cube with a karate chop. And Thanos dwindles to non-existence.

Then we see the face of Thanos' hooded paramour turn into a laughing skull, with a screaming Thanos in her eye-socket. And in the text that follows it is said that Thanos worshipped Death, so not even Death could worship him.

Reality returns to normal and the Avengers, Drax and Mar-Vell meet. But Drax now has no purpose in life, because he was created to hunt Thanos.