Sunday, September 15, 2013

Thanos Rising #4 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

It’s been clear throughout this series that Thanos’ “admirer” was Death, though Aaron wisely held off confirming that fact until now.  In so doing, it allowed us to think that Thanos might not be insane, to see Death through his eyes, as a woman whose favor he’s trying to court.  When the boom is lowered in this issue, with Death revealed, it helps you understand the tragedy of Thanos’ insanity.  After all, your average man wouldn’t kill entire planets just to curry the favor of one woman, no matter how much he loved her.  But, somehow, Aaron did a great job of actually making Thanos’ quest feel sane, if evil.  He really thought that he was simply trying to win the affectionate of a woman that he loved, as if slaughtering his former lovers and offspring was the same as going to buy her favorite ice-cream during a fierce rain-storm.  Now, we realize that Thanos was never sane, that he always had this capacity for murder, seen by his mother and encouraged by Death.  The fact that he thought he was sane makes him a sympathetic character, but Aaron makes clear, now that he knows where he stands, all semblance of that troubled boy is gone.  Long live Thanos.

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