Thanos Wins By Donny Cates

by Donny Cates

[Quirky Cat]

It’s hard to believe that I picked up this series because of an author that helped write the annual issue…yet here I am; three volumes later, and very happy that I took the time to read it all.
When I first heard that Thanos was getting his own series, I was interested…but also unsure about how it’d be. Now I’m certain that it was worth the read, and I think I can see how it was helping to set up for Infinity Wars, though that’s pure speculation at this point.
When you see a title like the one for this volume, ‘Thanos Wins’ what can you possibly think but the worst? I imagine some were even tempted to not read this volume, because of the implications alone in this title. I know. I was one of them. If I hadn’t had additional motivations for reading it I probably would have shied away, at least for a time. So as hard as it may be, try to walk into this volume with an open mind, because it wasn’t anything like what I was expecting.



Thanos Vol. 3 is the perfect conclusion to the Thanos run. It tells an intense story of just how far Thanos will go…but it also leaves a question of the permanency of what was done. That’ll make more sense when you read it, I promise. But it does take away any certainty we have, which I suspect will help more the Infinity Wars plot forward.
I wasn’t really sure where else they could go with Thanos’ story, but I’m impressed with what they came out with for this one. It was intense, and yeah, grotesque at times…but it also made a sick sort of sense. I can absolutely see Thanos going as far as he did. Likewise I can see it still not being enough or Lady Death. Frankly, I’ve always thought that Thanos’ belief that she wants him to kill everything is false. If there is no death, then there is no Lady Death? Yes. Therefore she must still want people to live, breed, and most importantly for her, to die. Without the full cycle she can’t really exist. So I think any attempt to gain her affection through that manner will always end in failure. At least, that’s always been my opinion on the matter.
I’ve been seeing a lot of time travel and different versions of characters in the same series, and I’ll admit I’ve been getting a little tired of it. Still, it was fun seeing younger Thanos judge older Thanos. There were lots of other smaller humorous points as well – which is good considering how gory and intense this one can get.
I think it was the ending that sold me. I won’t go into detail about it, because I don’t want to spoil it. But I honestly couldn’t have asked for more out of that one. Not only did it make sense, but it set up for a different Thanos. Or at least, it potentially did. It could also have set up for Thanos as we’ve always expected him to be. They did a good job of not actually setting anything in stone – a difficult task for a story set in the far future.
There’s a single issue at the end of this volume. It’s the annual issue, and a bunch of different writers and artists stepped up to help write it. I had a lot of fun reading it. I also enjoyed trying to guess who assisted with what parts (I know I could have just looked it up beforehand, but it was more fun this way). Not going to lie, this issue was half the reason I read this series. I wasn’t expecting it to be the very last issue in the volume…but having read it I don’t think it would have fit in anywhere else.
I’m almost sad to see Thanos go…but I know he’s going to be playing a role in the Infinity Wars series. He has his own solo tie-in issue, so that’s got to mean something, right? So it’s a good thing I have a better understanding of what’s happening here.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks