Synopsis
In Infinity Gauntlet #5 Nebula took the Gauntlet and its 6 Infinity Gems away from Thanos. Adam Warlock and Silver Surfer retreated to Dr Strange's Greenwich Village house. Thanos survived and Strange portalled him from space to the Sanctum Sanctorum as an ally against the new common enemy. But Surfer wasn't happy to ally with the villain.
This issue is a very much expanded version of part of the succeeding 2 pages of IG#5.
As SS and Thanos trade blows DrS summons 5 heroes (mostly) he'd rescued in his #34-35 and stashed away for later use. They are Dr Doom, Drax The Destroyer, Firelord, Hulk and Thor (Eric Masterson) and they drag the 2 combatants apart. But they continue to taunt each other and both break free. So Strange has to force them apart with magic.
He tries to persuade them to put aside their differences for the sake of the universe. But Norrin Radd protests that they can't trust the Titan, and Thanos is (or pretends to be) offended. Victor von Doom suggests a duel to settle the matter. Surely the Sorcerer Supreme can devise 1 that won't allow them to kill each other. Stephen Strange's eyes fall upon his array of Arthurian texts which give him an idea.
He proposes to send them to a realm where their powers will be different. They will fight until 1 is incapacitated or surrenders. Their bodies will remain here in mystic shackles. Strangely even Thanos agrees to this. Their spirits leave this plane ...
.... and find themselves dressed in knightly armour with horses for them to ride. Surfer discovers that his Power Cosmic blasts don't work, and Thanos is similarly limited. Norrin in white armour (and a white horse) draws a glowing sword. Black-armoured Thanos bestrides his black charger and attacks with an equally-glowing lance. Surfer dodges and leaps on *his* horse (and now he too has a lance). They charge towards each other and SS is unhorsed.
The Mad Titan threatens him with his lance but Surfer uses it to pull the villain from *his* horse. Now they continue the battle on foot, Surfer's sword now vs a glowing axe. SS again comes off worst. (Dr Strange is monitoring the situation but tells Thor that he needs the outcome to be more decisive if the squabbling is to end.)
Norrin has a 2nd wind and his sword cleaves Thanos' shield. He says the villain will soon regret he was ever born. But the Titan says he always *does* regret it. Surfer swears revenge for the mental and physical tortures Thanos has put him through (in so many of the recent Silver Surfer issues) and hacks at his foe. (Now DrS is worried for Thanos' safety and and tries to bring the pair back, but Surfer resists.)
SS is poised for a killing blow and Thanos pleads for death to release him from the pains of existence and send him back into the arms of his love Death. (Stephen Strange senses Norrin Radd hesitating.) But then Thanos (cunningly?) overplays his hand and says that with him gone Nebula will be unstoppable and she will surely feed many souls to Death. So of course Surfer won't allow that to happen and backs down.
But he now foolishly expects Thanos to admit defeat and surrender. That of course is not in the Titan's nature, so he makes a sneak attack with a (glowing) dagger and pins the hero down. He offers Surfer the choice of death or surrender. And Norrin yields.
Strange brings them back to their bodies and they both confirm that Thanos was the victor. Drax and Firelord don't understand how he lost. Surfer says he came to his senses and delayed his retribution against the villain until after Nebula is defeated.
As usual lately the issue concludes with an unconnected last page. The being who crashlanded in the Blue Area Of The Moon in last issue's last page is surveying images of diverse alien beings and saying that they are (or someone else is) still missing and still deadly.