Avatars of Life & Death

Prologue

Fall of the Mad Titan

I was so close.

So very close to my ultimate triumph.

Victory was within my grasp.

Nothing could stop me.

The Universe would fall.

And I would reign supreme above all.

But in a twist of fate, a tragic irony, perhaps even in some form of poetic justice, or whatever one shall describe such an outcome of this event...

I lost it all.

The power I would wield to destroy...

The power I would wield to rule the Universe itself...

Gone.

I could not escape.

My teleporter and other tech had been damaged or utterly destroyed during the battle.

However, despite losing the power to easily conquer the Universe, I chose to fight on against these heroes.

I was more than a match for the combined might of most of these heroes.

Only two of these heroes were capable of fighting and matching my own power.

The Hulk.

Physically and quite possibly the strongest creature in the Universe, possessing limitless gamma-energy based power comparable to that of the Power Gem.

One whom I sought to avoid direct conflict with for many years.

Thor.

God of Thunder.

Wielding the powerful mystical hammer Mjolnir and the formidable might of a god.

I was more than capable of matching either one of these formidable brutes.

But together, even their might, along with the aid of their allies, was too much for me to overcome.

The blows of these two could shatter mountains, devastate small planets.

Still, I valiantly fought on against the imposing forces that were against me.

I managed to nearly best Thor when I seperated the two heroes, only to be attacked by an enraged Hulk.

Rarely have I ever felt such force.

I could only think of a few beings who've ever struck me with as much force as the Hulk.

Thor quickly rejoined the conflict, smashing his mystical weapon against my form just as soon as the Hulk landed a brutal blow of his own.

I fought on, but it was then I knew...

I could not win this battle.

Then, after what seemed like hours, I finally fell in defeat.

I began to rise to my feet in order to fight on.

I may not be capable of winning the conflict, but I would sooner die on my feet than surrender to these heroes.

Before I could engage my enemies, they struck me down with the very weapon I intended to use to conquer the Universe.

It was over in an instant.

The smallest fraction of the supreme power was all that was needed to defeat me.

I collapsed, the last image my eyes beholding was that of the heroes who stood triumphant over my defeated form before darkness finally consumed me.

I had lost the conflict.

I was beaten.

I failed to destroy the heroes.

I failed to conquer the Universe.

And worst of all, I've failed my beloved Mistress.

Death.

I remained unconscious for days, recouperating from my lengthy battle.

When I awoke, I found myself chained to a small platform.

And before me, their presence beyond anything that most immortals could even begin to comprehend, was the Cosmic Hierarchy.

These five cosmic forces, these five infinitely powerful entities, these five cosmic siblings maintain the balance of life and death, tranquility and entropy throughout the entire Universe.

Eternity.

The embodiment of everything that exists in the Universe.

Infinity.

The embodiment of all space within the Universe.

Mistress Death.

The embodiment of the end of all life that exists.

Oblivion.

The embodiment of nothingness, of the chaos and darkness that preceeded everything, of non-existence itself.

Galactus, Devourer of Worlds.

Oldest of the Cosmic Abstracts, older than the Universe itself, whose role is to maintain balance amongst his siblings and the Universe itself.

There was reason why they've gathered.

The day of judgement was upon me.

I am Thanos.

Son of A'Lars and Sui-San.

I am the Mad Titan.

The Avatar of Death.

And on this day, my fate would be decided.

Author's Notes

Thanos is my favorite villain. Perhaps, it is because maybe the label of villain isn't the best way to describe him, for he is a vastly complex character. He's very powerful, vastly intelligent, very cunning, ambitious and often sadistic... yet, he's shown to surprise me and countless other readers time and time again. True, he has often been the villain that threatens the Universe and everything that exists, but at times he's been shown to be a sort of anti-hero.

He's definitely one of the major Marvel characters that I've been dying to write for the longest time. Then, it occurred to me... I've never written anything major involving the Mad Titan! That's when I decided it was time for Thanos to get his time (and give my favorite Marvel hero, The Hulk, a bit of a break for the time being) in the spotlight.

But what angle, what approach, what storyline could I use that hasn't been done regarding the Mad Titan? Finally, the answer came to me as I was watching the season finale of "The Legend of Korra" and re-reading "The Infinity Gauntlet". A brilliant idea formed in my mind, an idea of a story in the same vein as Greg Pak's "Planet Hulk" and Keith Giffen's "Thanos: Samaritan".

What if Thanos came to Korra's world? I know what you're thinking. Thanos is way too powerful for Korra to handle, Thanos would kill her, etc. But... what if Thanos was stripped of most of his incredible power? What if he was no longer the Avatar of Death?

Have I caught any of your interest yet?

Will the Mad Titan finally be at peace on this strange, new world?

Or will he set out for conquest once again?

All these questions and more will be answered... along with the origin of the Mad Titan himself!