Thanos: Death Notes #1

Nov 2022
Torunn Gronbeckk, Andrea Di Vito

Story Name:

Dead by Rumor


Synopsis

Thanos: Death Notes #1 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

Thor, accompanied by the ravens Hugin and Munin, arrives on the dead moon of Titan. Brooding over the vision he had of his death at the hands of Thanos, he has come to Thanos’ homeworld to learn if the titan is really dead. He is met by Death who will not answer whether Thanos is dead or not. Thor and the ravens enter a library which was Thanos’ refuge and they discover a diary, telling of Thanos brooding over the massive collection of data and artifacts assembled by his father. Thor begins searching….

“All That Is”
Writer: Christopher Cantwell. Art: Travel Foreman. Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg. Letters: Travis Lanham.
Synopsis: Tony Stark studies the damaged robot duplicate of Thanos, trying to understand an alien technology too advanced for him. Tony wears the Iron Man armor for protection should anything go wrong. Eventually, he gives up and prepares to melt down the robot—which causes the machine to revive and warn Tony that if he destroys the robot, he and everyone close to him will be tormented for eternity. The robot tells him that Thanos has already conquered the universe and Tony’s world is but a delusion, projecting an image of this reality into Tony’s brain. And it explains that any action against the robot is a rebellion against Thanos’ rule and will have dire consequences. Tony weighs the probabilities and decides not to destroy the robot—but he does dismantle it, concerned that the nightmare will haunt him for the rest of his life….  

“Love and Death and Much In Between”
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Art: Geoff Shaw. Colors: Dean White, Ruth Redmond. Letters: Travis Lanham.
Synopsis: Thanos is restored to life by Lady Death and she needs his service. She takes him to a remote planet where he sees an echo of his one-time love Carella. Lady Death asks him to tell her the story: Thanos was a feared person in Titan’s society, shunned as a deviant; he was loved by a woman named Carella. Her family opposed this relationship so they planted a bomb in his spaceship. But Carella accompanied him on his mission to search for life on other worlds. The bomb detonated and Thanos was severely injured. Out of love, Carella allowed herself to asphyxiate so that her beloved would have enough air to breathe until rescue came. Lady Death then asked him to learn that lesson and, out of love, destroy half the universe so that the other half might live. He agrees and departs but the shade of Carella insists that not what she meant….  

“The Bar at the End of the Line”
Writer: Kyle Starks. Pencils: Ron Lim. Inks: Don Ho. Colors: Israel Silva. Letters: Travis Lanham.
Synopsis: Thanos walks into a bar on a remote world and demands that the bartender tell him where to find his daughter Gamora. The bartender cites the bar’s policy of privacy for its clientele. Then an armada of Docatians arrives, seeking to punish Thanos for wiping out half the universe. Thanos goes out to meet them and then he destroys them all. He returns to the bar and again asks the bartender where he can find Gamora….

“[Conclusion]”
Writer: Torunn Gronbekk. Art: Andrea Di Vito. Colors: David Curiel. Letters: Travis Lanham.
Synopsis: Odin, speaking through the ravens asks Thor what he has found. Thor has discovered that a file on the Black Stone has been removed as well as one for Bor Borison, Odin’s father. Leaving, he asks Death who else was here recently and is told Corvus Glaive. Death invites Thor to stay and keep him company but Thor has a mission….

Story continues in THOR #29.


 

Review / Commentaries


Thanos: Death Notes #1 Review by (December 7, 2022)
Review: The framing story just sets up the Thanos story arc in THOR (2020 series) #29- so the space is filled in with three short stories from Thanos’ career, one menacing, one melancholy and one comedic. Issue is rather diverting but will not likely have any lasting impact as it’s just a tie-in. And likely an unnecessary one. 

Comments: First story: Thanos fell into a black hole in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2019 series) #6. Thor had his vision of his death at the hands of Thanos in THOR (2020 series) #6. Second story: Sequel to IRON MAN #55, first appearance of Thanos. Issue contains a few suggested readings for the story of Thanos.



> Thanos: Death Notes comic book info and issue index

Elektra

Excelsioring your collection:
Marvel Iron Man MARK7 Statue ARTFX 1/6 Statue
Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Andrea Di Vito
Andrea Di Vito
David Curiel
Andrea Sorrentino (Cover Penciler)
Andrea Sorrentino (Cover Inker)
Matthew Wilson (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Travis Lanham.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Iron Man
Iron Man

(Anthony Stark)
Thor
Thor

(Odinson)