Infinity Gauntlet

INFINITY GAUNTLET
This profile is intended to cover the events associated with the Infinity Gauntlet mini-series and its crossovers, not all appearances of the Infinity Gems and/or Gauntlet.

Instigator: Thanos

Purpose: Earning the love of the cosmic entity Death, initially be exterminating half of the universe's population.

Allies: Terraxia
formerly Death (for giving Thanos the quest), Mephisto (only so he could gain the gems for himself)

Opposition: Captain America/Steve Rogers, Champion (Tryco Slatterus), Cloak (Tyrone Johnson), Collector (Taneleer Tivan), Cyclops (Scott Summers), Death, Dr. Victor von Doom, Dr. Stephen Strange, Drax the Destroyer, Firelord, Gardener (Ord Zyonz), Epoch, Eros of Titan (aka Starfox), Eternity, Galactus (Galan), Grandmaster, Hulk (Bruce Banner), In-Betweener, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Kronos, Lord Chaos, Master Order, Mephisto, Mistress Love, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Nebula (Thanos' alleged granddaughter), Nova (Richard Rider), One Above All (Celestial), Quasar (Wendell Vaughn), Runner, Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), She-Hulk/Jen Walters, Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd), Sire Hate, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Stranger, Thor/Eric Masterson, Vision/"Victor Shade," Adam Warlock, Wolverine (Logan/James Howlett), Ziran

Location: Primarily based out of Thanos' shrine to Death

First Appearance: Infinity Gauntlet#1 (July, 1991)

History:

(Silver Surfer III#34 / Silver Surfer III#35 (fb) - BTS) - Apparently still frustrated with her treatment at the hands of the In-Betweener and seeking to correct the perceived imbalance of more life existing in the universe than had ever died (or at least that statistic was quoted in relation to Earth), Death resurrected Thanos and tasked him to exterminate half of all living beings in the universe. When the Silver Surfer was identified as potentially being able to thwart Thanos' plot, Thanos confronted him.

(Silver Surfer III#35) - Seeking to intimidate and confuse the Silver Surfer, Thanos duped him into spreading terrestrial germs to the Salaria, wiping out half of that planet's primitive population.
In response to Thanos' resurrection, Kronos resurrected Drax, though Drax was brain damaged from his death at Moondragon's hands.

(Silver Surfer III#38 (fb) - BTS / Thanos Quest#1 (fb) - BTS) - Gazing into the Infinity Well, Thanos conceived of assembling the Infinity Gems (then known primarily as "Soul Gems") to gain vast power to accomplish Death's task without having to be her or anyone's lackey.

(Silver Surfer III#38) - After setting Nebula on fire for claiming to be his granddaughter, Thanos took over her crew and reclaimed the Sanctuary III ship. He then remade Nebula's former first mate, Geatar, into a duplicate of his own form, then led the Silver Surfer to the planet Pyraxlon and manipulated him into killing Geatar. As expected, the Surfer believed Geatar to have been Thanos, giving the real Thanos time to pursue his goals without the Surfer's interference.

(Silver Surfer III#40-43 - BTS) - Traveling to Dynamo City to hear the apparent last will and testament of Thanos, the Silver Surfer was trapped their by its energy draining equipment until eventually escaping.

(Thanos Quest#1) - Without revealing the true power he sought, Thanos gained Death's permission to gather the Infinity Gems.
    Traveling to the Nexus of Realities that was the shared realm of Lord Chaos and Master Order, Thanos feigned proposing an alliance with the In-Betweener and helped him escape the prison Order and Chaos had forged for him. When the In-Betweener attempted to destroy Thanos instead, he found his powers ineffectual in the realm of shared dichotomies, and Thanos struck him down, took the Soul Gem, and then alerted Order and Chaos to the In-Betweener's escape before departing.
    Next confronting the Champion (Tryco Slatterus) on the planet Tamarata, Thanos challenged the Champion to battle and then goaded him into unwittingly unleashing sufficient power to destroy the planet, from which Thanos teleported away. With the Champion unaware he could use the Power Gem to fly, Thanos duped him into giving up the Power Gem in exchange for transport to the nearest planet.
    Thanos then transported himself to the Gardener (Ord Zyonz)'s garden where, after the Gardener refused to surrender his Infinity Gem, Thanos used the Power Gem to increase the Gardener's Time Gem beyond his control, causing the Gardener's body to be overrun with plant growth; Thanos then claimed the Time Gem.

(Thanos Quest#2) - Traveling to one of the Collector (Taneleer Tivan)'s museum's, Thanos arranged a potential trade for the Collector's Infinity Gem; the Collector had no idea of the Reality Gem's power.
    Thanos confronted the Runner, who shattered his power chair before stopping to gloat, allowing Thanos to age him into infirmity via the Time Gem and then claim the Space Gem from him. Thanos then turned the Runner into an infant and traded him to the Collector for the Reality Gem. Upon Thanos' departure, Thanos' power over the Runner faded, causing him to age to adulthood, and he assaulted the Collector for attempting to collect him.
    Finally, Thanos met with the Grandmaster and agreed to his contest, pitting his five gathered Infinity Gems against the Grandmaster's one, the Mind Gem (though the Grandmaster also knew not its true power). The Grandmaster attempted to cheat Thanos, but Thanos had sent a robot duplicate in his place, and he turned the tables on the Grandmaster, incapacitated him, and claimed the Mind Gem, as well.
    Thanos then appeared before Death, announcing himself her equal, but Death still refused to speak directly to Thanos, instead having her agent Ratter tell Thanos that he was now Death's superior and she wasn't worthy of speaking to him. Enraged, Thanos exploded Ratter before departing. Wishing Death's love and not her subservience, Thanos chose not to force her to speak to him. Returning to the Infinity Well, Thanos was frustrated at having achieved ultimate power but still finding it to be a hollow victory.

(Silver Surfer III#44) - As the Surfer, Drax, and Eternals of Titan discovered Thanos' deception in the corpse of Geatar, Thanos decided to end the Surfer and Drax's potential threats, while taking his time to enjoy the eventual termination of Eros and Mentor. Thanos thus used a trans-dimensional conduit to pull Drax and the Surfer to him and briefly demonstrated his near-infinite power to them before trapping their spirits within Soul World, the realm within Soul Gem. Mephisto, meanwhile, plotted to obtain the Infinity Gems for himself.

(Silver Surfer III#45) - Returning to Sanctuary III, Thanos was pleased to see that his agent Captain Styx had assembled a massive armada of malcontents, pirates, mercenaries, nihilists, psychotics, and religious zealots; he bequeathed a massive bounty to his followers to keep them happy while they awaited his orders. While there, he detected that Bos'n Mantrax had been trying to help Nebula recuperate from her injuries. Intrigued by Nebula's walking the fine line between life and death, Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to preserve her in this precarious state of constant agony. He then obliterated Mantrax, appreciating such loyalty only if it is to him. Mephisto then confronted Thanos, revealing his alleged origins as connected with the Infinity Gems' progenitor and asking to be Thanos' neophyte due to his admiration of his power. Mephisto sought to prove his worth by discussing new uses of the Infinity Gauntlet, such as touching the minds/souls of every being in existence. Thanos appeared to do so, and while he was thus occupied, Mephisto attempted to claim the Infinity Gauntlet, but Thanos, apparently aware of his ruse, nearly slew Mephisto instead. Nevertheless, Thanos agreed that Mephisto was both amusing and no threat to him, and so he decided to keep Mephisto as his lackey. Mephisto considered that Thanos' continuing to house his limitless power within a finite body would prove his undoing.

(Silver Surfer III#46-47) - Within Soul World, the Silver Surfer and Drax allied with Adam Warlock, Gamora, Pip, and others, informing them of Thanos' threat. Having become in tune with all of Soul World, Warlock restored Drax and the Surfer's souls to the mortal plane. Realizing that Thanos might turn his attentions towards Soul World, Warlock considered how to deal with Thanos. Mephisto warned the Surfer and Drax of Thanos current plots, of which Thanos was aware. He made plans to send agents to deal with the Surfer.

(Silver Surfer III#48) - Having learned that his soul had been manipulated, the Surfer sent Drax to Titan while he confronted Galactus and convinced him to remove his previous manipulations. Shortly thereafter, Thanos confronted Galactus, warning him not to interfere with his plans and demonstrating his powers by causing to vanish the planet upon which Galactus was preparing to feed. On Soul World, Warlock announced his plans to join the struggle to stop Thanos.

(Silver Surfer III#49) - Traveling to an unidentified planet, Thanos mutated one of its primitive residents into monstrous form, which he sent to attack the Surfer. It virtually overpowered the Surfer before Thanos' removed its power. The Surfer departed almost instantly thereafter, racing towards Earth to warn its heroes of Thanos' threat, and Thanos crushed the helpless creature beneath his foot. Thanos subsequently instilled a portion of his essence into his petrified remains within the bowels of Titan.

(Silver Surfer III#50) - Thanos' reanimated petrified corpse assaulted the Surfer , forcing him to relive the circumstances of his father's suicide before allowing him to destroy his stone form. The Surfer then traveled to Earth, crashing exhaustedly through Dr. Strange's sanctum.

(Cloak and Dagger III#19) - Thanos summoned Mephisto to witness as he carved his likeness into the face of a planet. Mephisto offered Thanos the life energies of Cloak (Tyrone Johnson), Dagger (Tandy Bown), and Spider-Man (Peter Parker), but Thanos was not interested.

(Silver Surfer III#51) - Galactus sent Nova (Frankie Raye) to locate worlds for him to feed upon so that he might increase his strength for the coming conflict with Thanos.

(Spider-Man#17) - Spider-Man seemingly met death at the hands of an exploding Freon container while saving an unidentified woman from same. Spider-Man's spirit entered the realm of Death, where he encountered both Death and Thanos. Upon learning the woman's daughter, Angelina, had seemingly perished as well, Spider-Man fought against Thanos in an effort to make him bring the girl back. So impressed with Spider-Man's efforts to save Angelina, Death convinced Thanos to restore both Angelina and Spider-Man.

(Infinity Gauntlet#1) - As Mephisto fawned over him, Thanos prepared to claim his place in the pantheon of cosmic gods. However, when he sought out Death, she continued to spurn him, as he had hidden his motives of attaining ultimate power, and he was now her superior. To prove his love, he formed an immense shrine to her. When Death still spurned him, Thanos summoned forth Nebula, held in a state between life and death; Thanos informed Death this was his greatest creation, a living tribute to the blasphemy of life and the glorious promise of death. When Death remained unimpressed, Mephisto reminded Thanos he had not fulfilled his promise to Death, and so he eliminated half of the universe's population, sending those beings to the realms of Death; Thanos specifically ensured Mentor (A'Lars) would be amongst those eliminated.
    Meanwhile, crashing through Dr. Stephen Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, the Silver Surfer informed him of Thanos' threat.
    Adam Warlock transferred the souls of himself, Gamora, and Pip the Troll out of the Soul World and into the bodies of the recently deceased Jake Miller, Ralph Bunker, and Bambi Long, slowly transforming them to mimic their original forms. Warlock formed a cocoon to complete his transformation.
    Throughout the universe, people were stunned by the sudden disappearances of half of the population.
    Blaming the Kree for the disappearances, Empress S'Byll prepared the Skrull Empire for war.

(Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#31) - Overwhelmed by the death of half the universe, the Silver Surfer retreated into himself and refused to act further until Strange showed him a glimpse of Reality-91731, in which Norrin Radd had refused to become Galactus' herald; as a result, Zenn-La, Earth, and many more sentient worlds had been destroyed.

(Incredible Hulk II#383) - Rick Jones & Wong were amongst those who disappeared.

(Quasar#26) - Discovering his old enemy Eon's recent death, Thanos crashed Eon's funeral, insulting Eon, creating from Eon's corpse four Quantum Banders -- duplicates of previous Protectors of the Universe, "Marvel Boy," Ree, Stygian Starbender, and Trantra -- to get rid of Quasar (Wendell Vaughn), who had futilely assaulted him.
Upon his departure, Thanos turned Eon's body inside out, causing the stuff of Eon's body to come pouring out of every portal Eon had ever made, including the one in Quasar's office in Four Freedom's Plaza.

(Sleepwalker#6) - Rick Sheridan was amongst the people rendered into oblivion, but the Sleepwalker, who accessed Earth via Sheridan's subconscious, maintained his presence on Earth.

(Sleepwalker#7 (fb), 7) - Due to Sleepwalker's inhuman appearance, many people blamed him for the disappearances and other catastrophes striking Earth.

(Sleepwalker#7) - Sleepwalker assisted other heroes, including Darkhawk (Chris Powell), Deathlok (Michael Collins), Kismet, Moon Knight, and Earth-712's "Ex-Squadron Supreme" (Dr. Spectrum/Joe Ledger, Hyperion) in trying to protect Manhattan from being overrun by Eon's corpse.

(Quasar#27) - Quasar overloaded the Ree, Stygian Starbender, and Trantra duplicates with Quantum energy, causing them to explode, then banished the Marvel Boy duplicate to the Eonverse.

(Quasar#27 - BTS) - Quasar helped shut down all of the 17 portals through which Eon's body had poured, then helped gather and cremate the remains to prevent putrefaction.

(Infinity Gauntlet#2) - Thanos summoned Eros/Starfox to his shrine to Death as his prisoner, removing his mouth when Eros tried to manipulate him with his emotion-manipulating powers. He then proceeded to begin torturing Eros and Nebula.

(Silver Surfer III#52) - Drax was suspicious of the mass disappearances that followed Firelord's arrival on Titan, and a fight between the two broke out until Drax calmed down after unwittingly threatening the life of the young Eternal Tycho.

(Infinity Gauntlet#2) - While humanity dealt with the losses and the resultant problems (like planes crashing when pilots and co-pilots both vanished).
    Adam Warlock contacted Epoch, informing him of Thanos' threat, causing Epoch to dispatch Quasar to arrange an astral rendezvous. Warlock subsequently forced an astral plane communication with Dr. Strange, convincing him to seek to persuade Earth's heroes to rally behind him (Warlock) to stop Thanos.
    Blaming the Skrulls for the disappearances, the Kree Empire prepared for war against the Skrulls.
    Captain America and the Avengers kept a tally of disappeared super heroes, arranging with SHIELD to be the communications center for any superhumans wishing to help. Among the list of missing heroes was: Archangel, Beast (Hank McCoy), Black Cat (Felicia Hardy), Black Panther (T'Challa), Box (Madison Jeffries), Dagger (Tandy Bowen), Daredevil (Matt Murdock), Diamond Lil, Firestar, Guardian (Heather Hudson), Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Hercules (Alcaeus/Heracles), Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Iceman (Bobby Drake), Invisible Woman (Sue Richards), Makkari, Marvel Boy (Vance Astrovik), Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards), Night Thrasher (Dwayne Taylor), Northstar, Power Man (Luke Cage), Puck (Eugene Judd), Quicksilver, Sasquatch (Walter Langkowski), Sersi, Shaman (Michael Twoyoungmen), Thing (Ben Grimm), USAgent, Vindicator (James Hudson), Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Windshear.
    Seeking both to protect humanity, as well as to seize the opportunity to expand his scientific knowledge and personal power, Dr. Doom traveled to Strange's sanctum. Warlock, having emerged from his cocoon, soon arrived as well.
    Odin summoned a number of godheads -- Itzamna, Manitou, Nuada, Osiris, Svarog, Tezcatlipoca, Zeus -- to Asgard, planning to unite against Thanos.
    When Death remained unamused, unimpressed, and distant, Thanos raged, unleashing a wave of power that spread across the cosmos. The wave shattered a planet Galactus intended to consume, leading Galactus to prepare an alliance of cosmic beings against Thanos.
    Earth was devastated by the wave, which caused massive earthquakes, tidal waves, and other natural disasters. The entire west coast of the USA broke off and sank beneath the ocean.
    Asgard was cut off from Earth's dimension, trapping the godheads there.
    Dr. Strange, via a hastily prepared spell, protected those within his sanctum.

(Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#32) - As Strange and his allies recovered from the earthquake, Strange thought to go check to see if Clea had been one of the ones who vanished, but Warlock advised him to stay close so as not to miss the narrow window they would have against Thanos. Rintrah went to search for Clea, but ran afoul of Silver Dagger, and Strange was forced to travel to Central Park to confront Dagger. Finding Clea to have been spared, Strange returned to his sanctum after Dagger's defeat.

(Infinity Gauntlet#3) - Continuing to torture Eros and Nebula, Thanos remained frustrated at what could win Mistress Death's heart. As he sensed the forces gathering against him, Thanos created Terraxia to be his ideal woman, trying and failing to make Death jealous. As a result, Thanos prepared to drowned his sorrows in cosmic warfare.
SHIELD scientist Professor Harding discovered that Earth had been knocked out of orbit by the energy wave, and that it was moving progressively farther from the sun.
Adam Warlock guided Dr. Strange to transport themselves, Dr. Doom, the Silver Surfer and Pip the Troll to Avengers Headquarters, where they joined the gathered heroes in preparing a force against Thanos.

(Infinity Gauntlet#3/Silver Surfer III#52) - With Captain America (Steve Rogers), Thor (Eric Masterson), and She-Hulk (Jen Walters), and the Vision ("Victor Shade"), already present, Dr. Strange summoned Iron Man (Tony Stark), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Wolverine (Logan/James Howlett), Drax, Firelord, Nova (Richard Rider), Namor the Sub-Mariner, Cloak (Tyrone Johnson), Cyclops (Scott Summers), Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), and the Hulk (Bruce Banner).

(Infinity Gauntlet#3/Incredible Hulk II#383) - The Hulk was pulled away from a battle with the Abomination. He initially refused to help, but agreed after a potential rejoining of the Avengers was discussed.

(Silver Surfer III#53) - With the remaining half of the Kree Empire suffering under Clumsy Foulup's inept rule and crushing tax burden, a group of Kree, led by Ael-Dan and Dar-Benn, arranged the assassination of Foulup by the Silver Surfer (secretly a construct under their control). After Ael-Dann and Dar-Benn destroyed the Surfer construct, they took over control of the Kree Empire.

(Silver Surfer III#54) - The Surfer took a break from the others, seeking distraction, and found the Rhino (Alexei Sytsevich) freeing zoo animals. Believing everyone was going to die, Rhino wanted the animals to live their last moments in freedom, and he also hoped they might terrify the rest of society. The Surfer overpowered the Rhino, promised Thanos would be defeated, and convinced him to help recage the animals (after a freed tiger was killed by a policeman). The Surfer returned to find the newly arrived Hulk telling him Warlock was ready to take the fight to Thanos (see comments).

(Infinity Gauntlet#3) - Adam Warlock and the Surfer departed to attend a meeting with the cosmic forces, including Eternity, Epoch (and his agent Quasar/Wendell Vaughn), Uatu the Watcher, Kronos, Lord Chaos & Master Order, the Living Tribunal, the Stranger, Mistress Love, Sire Hate, Galactus, and two Celestials, the One Above All and Ziran. Eternity petitioned the Living Tribunal to intervene against Thanos' efforts to throw the universe into unnatural entropy, but the Tribunal refused, concluding that Thanos' efforts to replace Eternity simply represented natural selection. After Uatu maintained his vow of non-interference, but Adam Warlock convinced the others (including the initially resistant Galactus) to follow his lead against Thanos, and to hold off in battling him until after his initial force of heroes had taken their shot.
Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), Moon Knight (Marc Spector) and others struggled to save victims of the disasters raging across the city.
As Dr. Strange prepared a transportation spell as well as another for everyone to survive in space for the next hour, Adam Warlock and the Silver Surfer traveled to a location a little over a light year from Thanos' base, and Warlock revealed that the entire group of heroes had no hope against Thanos and were merely a diversionary tactic. Seconds later, the heroes arrived at Thanos' base.

(Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#33) - Thanos prepared to freeze all of the arriving heroes in time, but -- sensing Dr. Strange's distant involvement (protecting the warriors) and realizing Strange might be able to reverse this effect -- he first sent a temporal maelstrom to eliminate Strange. Dr. Strange was pulled back in time, and his lover, Clea, joined him in hopes of aiding him, and her powers augmenting his enabled him to latch on to a magical talisman in a passing era. They arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, circa 47 BC, drawn their by the Scroll of the Vishanti in the Library of Alexander. After a battle with Zota of Pegamum, they used the Scroll to return to their own time, aided by Dr. Anthony Ludgate Druid. Dr. Strange then resumed his mystical assistance of the warriors.

(Infinity Gauntlet#4) - As Eros watched helplessly, Thanos froze all attackers in time. Mephisto convinced Thanos that Death might be more impressed if the heroes had a slight chance of victory, and so he cut off sensory input from the Mind, Reality, Soul, Space, and Time Gems, leaving him with limitless power but still unable to predict his enemies' next move. Despite the heroes gaining brief advantages, Thanos progressively dispatched, neutralized, or slew all attackers.

(Infinity Gauntlet#4) - Thanos shrunk the Hulk to inches high.

(Incredible Hulk II#384) - The Hulk was somehow (presumably via Dr. Strange's protective spell) sent back to Earth at about an inch tall. Posing as the Abomination's conscience, he convinced Blonsky to release Nadia Dornova.

(Infinity Gauntlet#4) - Namor and She-Hulk were covered with a swiftly growing fungus-like material. When Thor briefly stunned Thanos with a blow of his hammer, Dr. Doom tried to steal the Gauntlet, but merely prevented Thor from following up, and Thanos blasted Doom away with an energy burst. Wolverine's bones were transformed into spongy rubber.

(Infinity Gauntlet#4 / Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#34 (fb) - BTS) - When Doom attacked anew, Thanos nearly slew him with an energy blast.

(Infinity Gauntlet#4) - The Scarlet Witch was apparently destroyed as Thanos' energies overwhelmed her hex blast.

(Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#34) - Dr. Strange, Dr. Druid, and Clea combined their powers to save the Scarlet Witch from destruction, mystically transporting her out of harms way.

(Infinity Gauntlet#4) - Cyclops was suffocated within a block of force surrounding his head. The Vision's vital thoracic components were torn from his chest. Cloak attempted to contain Thanos within the Darkforce dimension but was torn to shreds as Thanos burst free. Drax and Firelord were cast back into the age of dinosaurs. Terraxia apparently decapitated Iron Man and beat Spider-Man to death with a rock. Thor was turned into glass and then shattered. Nova was converted into colored plastic cubes. Quasar's Quantum Bands were exploded, removing Quasar's hands before Thanos disintegrated the rest of him. Thanos bound Captain America's legs in stone tendrils and then shattered his shield.

(Silver Surfer III#55-56) - While the Surfer awaited Warlock's instruction to strike, he daydreamed/glimpsed Reality-91955, in which Thanos conquered the universe with Infinity Gauntlet, and set up Necronos(es), planets dedicated to providing living beings to exterminate to swell Death's ranks.

(Infinity Gauntlet#4) - As Thanos raised his gauntleted fist high to slay Captain America, Warlock instructed the long-held-in-wait Surfer to rush in and snatch the Infinity Gauntlet from him. At the last second, Thanos apparently sensed the Surfer's approach and pulled his arm out of the way. Realizing the folly of his actions, Thanos restored his connection to the other Infinity Gems and finished off Captain America (while the Surfer sped into the distance).

(Silver Surfer III#57-58) - Thanos struck down the Surfer with an energy blast, casting him into the realm of Virtual Reality, who forced the Surfer to re-examine his past and to look within himself and free himself from the burdens of guilt, denial, and doubt. He returned to his previous location in space, in a much better state of mind (see comments).

(Infinity Gauntlet#4) - With his first effort failed, Warlock gave Eternity the go ahead, and the cosmic forces -- Epoch, Eternity, Galactus, Kronos, Lord Chaos & Master Order, Mistress Love, Sire Hate, the Stranger, and two Celestials, the One Above All and Ziran -- confronted Thanos.

(Infinity Gauntlet#5) - As Eternity's "Cosmic Brigade" confronted Thanos, Adam Warlock instructed Dr. Strange to locate any survivors of the previous battle for later retrieval.

(Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#34 (fb) - BTS) - Dr. Strange, Dr. Druid, and Clea transported the barely living Dr. Doom and the shattered fragments of the crystallized Thor back to Strange's sanctum.

(Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#34) - Dr. Strange, Dr. Druid, and Clea reconstituted the Scarlet Witch in Strange's sanctum. Strange then had Druid and the Scarlet Witch join him in traveling to the Tibetan monastery of the "Monks of Doom." Doom was placed into the mystic fire of the great furnace that had been used to forge his original armor, which eventually revived him, despite efforts of "Shadow Doom" (Doom's apparent "good" side, which opposed Doom's resurrection due to his evil nature.

(Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#35 (fb) - BTS) - Dr. Strange had Clea and the Scarlet Witch seek to restore Thor from the shattered crystal while he briefly traveled with Dr. Druid to an interdimensional realm.

(Incredible Hulk II#384 / Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#35) - Dr. Strange summoned the Hulk to an interdimensional realm, restoring him to his full size and leaving him there until Warlock was ready for him.
Returning to his sanctum, Strange brought Clea, the Scarlet Witch, and the shattered remnants of Thor to the Ginnungagap (the primordial space b/t Muspelheim and Niffleheim, from which Asgard and Ymir was was formed), where mystic spells restored Thor to flesh and blood.
Rintrah and Pip accessed the Orb of Agamotto to travel back to the Jurassic Age to Drax and Firelord. Rintrah was unable to maintain the portal to return them to their native time, but his presence allowed Strange to easily locate then and return them all to the modern era. Dr. Strange left Drax, Firelord, and Thor in a netherworld until they were needed.

(Infinity Gauntlet#5) - Nearby solar systems were ravaged by the celestial clash's energies, but Death protected both Eros and Nebula with a force bubble. Warlock and the Surfer fled from an interdimensional distortion cascade, which also allowed extradimensional invaders, such as Annihilus' army from the Negative Zone, to assault Earth, which was already heading into an ice age.
The Celestials hurled entire planets at Thanos, but they were swiftly destroyed; using the distraction, Kronos attempted to bury Thanos in the timestream, but Thanos obliterated Kronos instead. Order and Chaos attempted to dichotomize Thanos, but were annihilated as well. Galactus, the Stranger, and Epoch attacked en force, briefly catching Thanos off balance, but they were swiftly terminated as well. Love and Hate momentarily confused Thanos by manipulating his emotions, until he recognized their involvement and incapacitated them with an energy blast. Mephisto attempted to steal the Infinity Gauntlet, and as Thanos choked him into submission, Death attacked Thanos personally. The apparently re-formed cosmic powers attacked en masse, but Thanos, though emotionally hurt by Death's assaults, rallied his power, entrapped the cosmic beings in an energy field, and restored his shrine. Even when Eternity itself opposed Thanos, but the Infinity Gauntlet enabled Thanos to conquer and usurp Eternity's position as the center of the universe's reality. However, as Thanos abandoned his physical form, he realized his mistake too late, and Nebula claimed the Infinity Gauntlet. Restoring herself to health and Thanos to his physical form, she swiftly banished Thanos and Terraxia to distant space, where Terraxia perished.
Adam Warlock and the Surfer met with Dr. Strange, who was convinced to transport Thanos to Strange's sanctum. Strange then summoned Dr. Doom, Drax, Firelord, the Hulk, and Thor to separate Thanos and the Surfer, convincing everyone they needed Thanos' help to defeat Nebula, who lacked Thanos' experience in handling cosmic forces and senses.

(Silver Surfer III#59) - When the Surfer refused to work with and/or trust Thanos, Thanos took insult to his sense of honor and refused to work with the others. Per advice from Dr. Doom, Strange sent Thanos and the Surfer to a realm where their powers were made less deadly and allowed them to fight it out. The Surfer eventually overpowered Thanos, who begged the Surfer to kill him so he would return to Death. Realizing at last that they needed Thanos to defeat Nebula, the Surfer let him go. Thanos, however, then attacked him from behind and held an energy knife to his head. To preserve his own life and Thanos' (both of which were needed for Warlock's plans), the Surfer yielded. Upon returning to Strange's sanctum, the Surfer admitted defeat.

(Infinity Gauntlet#5) - Via insight gained through the Soul Gem while Thanos held it, Warlock informed Thanos that he repeatedly subconsciously supplied the means to his own defeat because he knew deep in his soul he was not worthy of ultimate power; this convinced Thanos to aid Warlock in his mission.
Dr. Doom, Drax, Firelord, the Hulk, and Thor were first dispatched against Nebula, who simply bound them all in rock. When Dr. Strange, Adam Warlock, Thanos, and the Silver Surfer confronted Nebula, however, she noted only that three additional beings challenged her might.

(Infinity Gauntlet#6) - Undetected by Nebula, Adam Warlock had Dr. Strange cast a spell to protect themselves, Thanos, and the Surfer, and this protected them when Nebula decided to make everything be as it was 24 hours ago, with the exception of her possessing the Infinity Gauntlet; the universe's population was restored, Earth was returned to its orbit, everyone else was sent back to where they had been. Nebula was reverted to her hideously traumatized form momentarily, but she recovered before Thanos could act on this. Warlock then touched the Infinity Gauntlet, causing it to transfer both Warlock and the Surfer into Soul World.

(Incredible Hulk II#385) - Returned to Earth, the Hulk faced Gestalt, who was feeding off the panic and terror. Within seconds of Gestalt's defeat, Earth and its inhabitants were restored to their orbit and existence, respectively.

(Sleepwalker#7) - Rick Sheridan was restored to existence. With memories of recent events affected, the disappearance of the Chain Gang into the mindscape was recorded only as the mysterious disappearance of four prisoners.

(Infinity Gauntlet#6) - Meanwhile, freed from Thanos' prison, the cosmic brigade attacked Nebula en masse, but she eventually overwhelmed and reimprisoned them all.
Using the Surfer as his anchor, he expanded his essence to fill Soul World, the universe of the Soul Gem. From the Soul Gem, he reached out to the other Infinity Gems in the gauntlet, and caused disharmony. Pained by an energy backlash in the Infinity Gauntlet, Nebula dropped it. Thanos, Nebula, and the others (including Drax, Eros, the Hulk, and Thor, summoned by Dr. Strange) scrambled for the Gauntlet, but Adam Warlock restored his spirit to the mortal plane and claimed it instead. Warlock released the cosmic powers, after which Thanos faked his death via a thermonuclear bomb. Warlock sent home everyone but Dr. Strange, the Surfer, and Thor, each of whom had gazed into the depths of his heart. He told them he would use his infinite power wisely and that they had nothing to fear. When they remained skeptical and advanced on him, he sent them back to where they had been, while simultaneously summoning Gamora and Pip to his side. He briefly brought them 60 days into the future an an unnamed planet, where Thanos had come to live a more simple life as a scholar to digest and incorporate the lessons the past had forced on him. Adjusting to virtual omniscience, Warlock sought Thanos' advice, and Thanos told him simply to endure or surrender the power.

(Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#36 (fb) - BTS) - Overwhelmed by virtual omnipotence and omniscience, Warlock toyed with the universe, performing such acts as: retroactively creating the "Great Annihilator," the thing that spews out photons 340 light years from the center of the Milky Way galaxy (which had apparently previously only been a source of x-rays); and seeding fake, gigantic dinosaur bones in Wyoming.

(Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#36) - Tapping into Adam Warlock's now-infinite power, Gamora and Pip traveled to Strange's sanctum and asked his help, as Warlock was going mad with power.

(Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#36 - BTS) - In preparation to confront Warlock, Strange secretly shrunk and hid almost all of his magic items and tomes within his Eye of Agamotto.

(Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#36) - As Warlock prepared to send out emanations that would make everyone in the universe good and noble, Strange attempted to convince him of the importance of free will. Strange's talismans allowed him to counter one assault each from the Mind, Power, Reality, Space, and Time Gems. Strange then accessed the Soul Gem, forcing Warlock to see how he would be removing free will from everyone, and Warlock finally came to his senses and realized he should not impose his will on the universe.
Nonetheless, as Strange returned home, Eternity announced his intent to take Warlock to cosmic trial in an effort to gain possession of the Infinity Gems himself.

(Infinity War#2 (fb)) - Warlock sought to make himself a perfect god, guided by pure logic, clouded neither by good or evil. To this end, Warlock expelled his good and evil aspects from his mind and body. The "good" aspect took the form of the Goddess, while the evil aspect was the reincarnated Magus.

(Warlock and the Infinity Watch#1) - Eternity brought charges against Warlock before the Living Tribunal, insisting Warlock lacked the sanity to hold the gems, that all reality was at risk as long as he had them, and that they should be given over to him (Eternity). The Tribunal agreed that Warlock was not fit to keep the Infinity Gauntlet and that his keeping it would bring the universe to a disastrous end. The Tribunal ruled that Warlock must relinquish the gems, but not that he give them to Eternity. Though tempted to battle the Tribunal, Warlock relented, as the gems had allowed him to foresee that he would do. Warlock departed, intending to keep the Soul Gem but disperse the other five Infinity Gems to worthy guardians.

(Silver Surfer III#64-65) - The reanimated and metamorphosized Reptyl was drawn to Thanos' Shrine to Death, where he encountered the Silver Surfer, who had come there to destroy the last remnant of Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet-related madness. After seemingly slaying Reptyl (who escaped through the shrine's floor), the Surfer obliterated the shrine.

(Marvel 1991 - The Year in Review) - Daryll Smith, an alfalfa farmer from Tupelo, Mississippi reported to the World Weekly Enquirer on the major events of the Infinity Gauntlet, somehow including intimate knowledge of what happened on the Shrine to Death.

Comments: Created by Jim Starlin, George Perez, Josef Rubinstein, and Tom Christopher.

In Silver Surfer III#54, the Surfer left Avengers Headquarters as the Hulk was being summoned there. When he returned, the Hulk told him Warlock was ready to take the battle to Thanos. However, this doesn't work, because between the Hulk (and other heroes) arrival and the confrontation with Thanos, the Surfer and Warlock departed to meet with the cosmic beings. The easiest explanation I see is just that the Hulk was wrong, and he misunderstood Warlock's planned next step.

I've got no explanation for the events of Silver Surfer III#57-58. I don't think Thanos was shown to strike down the Surfer in IG#4, instead just letting him speed off. It's hard to believe Thanos' blast was intended to send him into a journey of introspection and then return him to his previous location. Perhaps Dr. Strange's spell deflected/disrupted Thanos' blast somehow.

I'd think Incredible Hulk II#385 would have to be during Infinity Gauntlet#6...after Nebula reverses everything Thanos did (including causing half the universe to disappear), but before Strange summons the Hulk back to Thanos' shrine to death to prepare for the struggle for the Gauntlet once Warlock made Nebula drop it. I can't see where it would be anywhere else, as it continues directly into everyone being restored to existence...so I guess there was some delay / time warp in that the Hulk returned to Earth like an hour or so before everyone returned, such that Earth was still a chaotic mess, with half the people missing, Earth out of orbit, and everyone going crazy.

The ink on the cover of my copy of Infinity Gauntlet#4 is smeared...I think I spilled something on it and tried to wipe it off nearly 20 years ago. Makes me feel OLD!

The events covered in this profile go on to continue in the Warlock and the Infinity Watch series, with sequels in the Infinity War and Crusade, but those stories go beyond the scope of this Infinity Gauntlet event profile.

Special Thanks to Nathan Elliot (anotherpeterparker) for providing the scan of Thanos' shrine to Death. as I couldn't fit the 2 page spread on my scanner.

The Marvel Year in Review story was written as an advertisement for the World Weekly Enquirer, and came across as some crazy farmer reporting on UFOs in some exaggerated tabloid magazine. At any rate, how Smith knew details regarding events he was not present for is not revealed.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:

This profile is intended to cover the events associated with the Infinity Gauntlet mini-series and its crossovers, not all appearances of the Infinity Gems and/or Gauntlet.

images: (without ads)
Silver Surfer III#45, pg. 8, panel 1 - Nebula preserved
    #50, pg.4-5 - Thanos' petrified form
Infinity Gauntlet#1-6 covers,
    #1, pg. 21-22 (shrine to Death)
    #3, pg. 32, panel 6 - Terraxia created
    #5, pg. 18, panel 1 (cosmic powers assaulting Thanos en masse)
        pg. 19 (cosmic powers imprisoned)
    #6, last page - Thanos at peace.

Appearances:
Silver Surfer III#34-38 (February-June, 1990) - Jim Starlin (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Thanos Quest#1-2 (1990) - Jim Starlin (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), John Beatty (inker), Renee Witterstaetter (assistant editor), Craig Anderson (editor)
Silver Surfer III#44 (December, 1990) - Jim Starlin (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Silver Surfer III#45-50 (January-June, 1991) - Jim Starlin (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Cloak & Dagger III#18 (June, 1991) - Terry Kavanaugh (writer), David Ross (penciler), Sam DeLaRosa (inker), Danny Fingeroth (editor)
Infinity Gauntlet#1 (July, 1991) - Jim Starlin (writer), George Perez (penciler), Josef Rubinstein with Tom Christopher (inkers), Craig Anderson (editor)
Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#31 (July, 1991) - Roy & Dann Thomas (writers), Tony DeZuniga (artist), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#383 (July, 1991) - Peter David (writer), Dale Keown (penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Silver Surfer III#51 (July, 1991) - Ron Marz (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Infinity Gauntlet#2 (August, 1991) - Jim Starlin (writer), George Perez (penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#32 (August, 1991) - Roy & Dann Thomas (writers), Chris Marrinan (penciler), Mark McKenna (inker), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#384 (August, 1991) - Peter David (writer), Dale Keown (penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Silver Surfer III#52 (early August, 1991) - Ron Marz (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Silver Surfer III#53 (late August, 1991) - Ron Marz (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Infinity Gauntlet#3 (September, 1991) - Jim Starlin (writer), George Perez (penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#33 (September, 1991) - Roy & Dann Thomas (writers), Chris Marrinan (penciler), Mark McKenna & friends (inkers), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#384 (September, 1991) - Peter David (writer), Dale Keown (penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Quasar#26 (September, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Dave Hoover (penciler), Fred Fredericks (inker), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Silver Surfer III#54 (early September, 1991) - Ron Marz (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Silver Surfer III#55 (late September, 1991) - Ron Marz (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Infinity Gauntlet#4 (October, 1991) - Jim Starlin (writer), Ron Lim & George Perez (pencilers), Josef Rubinstein with Bruce N. Solotov (inkers), Craig Anderson (editor)
Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#34 (October, 1991) - Roy & Dann Thomas (writers), Dan Lawlis (penciler), James Sanders III w/ Chris Ivy (inkers), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Quasar#27 (October, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Greg Capullo (penciler), Keith Williams (inker), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Silver Surfer III#56 (early October, 1991) - Ron Marz (writer), Ron Lim & Gavin Curtis (pencilers), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Silver Surfer III#57 (late October, 1991) - Ron Marz (writer), Ron Lim & Gavin Curtis (pencilers), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Infinity Gauntlet#5 (November, 1991) - Jim Starlin (writer), Ron Lim (pencilers), Josef Rubinstein (inkers), Craig Anderson (editor)
Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#35 (November, 1991) - Roy & Dann Thomas (writers), Dan Lawlis (penciler), Sam DeLarosa & Donald Hudson (inkers), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Silver Surfer III#58 (early November, 1991) - Ron Marz (writer), Todd Smith (penciler), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Sleepwalker#6 (November, 1991) - Bob Budiansky (writer), Brett Blevins (artist), Don Daley (editor)
Silver Surfer III#59 (late November, 1991) - Ron Marz (writer), Tom Rainey (penciler), Tom Christopher - with thanks to Mike Witherby - (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Infinity Gauntlet#6 (December, 1991) - Jim Starlin (writer), Ron Lim (pencilers), Josef Rubinstein (inkers), Craig Anderson (editor)
Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme#36 (December, 1991) - Roy & Dann Thomas (writers), Dan Lawlis (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Sleepwalker#7 (December, 1991) - Bob Budiansky (writer), Brett Blevins (penciler), Michael Bair (inker), Don Daley (editor)
Spider-Man#17 (December, 1991) - Ann Nocenti (writer), Rick Leonardi (penciler), Al Williamson (inker), Danny Fingeroth (editor)
Warlock and the Infinity Watch#1 (February, 1992) - Jim Starlin (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Terry Austin (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)

First Posted: 08/10/2010
Last updated: 02/16/2014

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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