Marvel: The End is a six-issue comic book limited series published in 2003 by Marvel Comics. It was written and penciled by Jim Starlin and inked by Al Milgrom.

Plot summary

The Titan Thanos relates a story to a listener. Thanos discovers the existence of an infinite source of energy, which he calls the Heart of the Universe (also known as the Heart of the Infinite). This cosmic artifact is capable of surpassing other similar artifacts - such as the Infinity Gems and Cosmic Cubes - and the cosmic entities including the Living Tribunal. He discovers that an ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten has the object in his possession, and with it conquers the Earth, slaughtering most of the metahumans in the process. The villain Doctor Doom attempts to kill Akhenaten by traveling back in time and killing him while he was still human, but this is stopped by the all-powerful pharaoh. Akhenaten goes on to kill many of Earth's deities. Thanos gathers the last of the heroes for an assault, during which he is able to absorb and now control the Heart of the Universe. Akhenaten is killed when Thanos prevents him from stopping Doom from killing his past self.

Contact with the Heart of the Universe allows Thanos to learn that due to a fundamental flaw the universe is doomed to end very soon. The entity the Living Tribunal gathers a group of cosmic beings including Eternity, Infinity and Galactus in a bid to take the Heart from Thanos, but he simply absorbs them and the entire universe into himself, thereby eradicating everything in existence except himself. Thanos then finishes his tale and the listener is revealed to be Adam Warlock, who escaped the destruction by being in another universe at the time. Thanos then restores the universe minus the previous fundamental flaw. The last act wipes Thanos himself from existence, a sacrifice known only to Adam Warlock.

Collected editions

The series was collected in trade paperback format as Thanos: The End (ISBN 0785111166).

Notes

References