The explosive battle for the fate of Marvel’s cosmic universe lies in distress as the “Cancerverse” and its leader, Lord Mar-Vell, attempt to take over, and the only one that can restore the balance of the two colliding realities is none other than the villainous Mad Titan himself, Thanos.
Building upon a three-year series of cosmic wars, the writing team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning bring to readers a six-issue event that combines the story lines of several cosmic characters into one winner-take-all book aptly titled “The Thanos Imperative.”
Deriving primarily from the pages of “Nova” and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Abnett and Lanning tell their story through the point of view of the characters in these books while including other cosmic character favorites in the fold with them.
The premise of the book centers on a tear in the universe, or fault as it is referred to, that has resulted from the damage left behind from previous galactic wars. Inside the fault, however, lies a sinister universe that has become corrupted with mutated parallel characters due to Mar-Vell’s decision to disrupt the balance of life and death by destroying Death herself.
The Cancerverse’s Mar-Vell is a twisted and powerful version of a long deceased hero known as Captain Mar-Vell, however, in this universe he has successfully cheated death by removing death from all life and in doing so has created a reality where people can’t die.
The only way to rectify this, and to stand any chance of defeating them, is to bring an Avatar of Death to their universe so that the balance can be restored. The problem is that the only one that can do that is the newly-resurrected Thanos, and he is just as likely to join the opposition’s plight as he is to destroy all of them himself.
This series delivers on all fronts from the battling frontlines to inside the hearts of the characters involved.
Another engaging facet is the inclusion of several heavy-hitting characters all formed into one faction fighting side-by-side like the Silver Surfer, Beta Ray Bill, Gladiator, Nova, Quasar and the Guardians and has fans now referring to the team as the “Cosmic Avengers” as a boastful answer to the “Avengers,” another big-name group that gets way too much attention.
But the real treat in this saga is the humanity expressed through the characters like Nova, Peter Quill A.K.A. Star-Lord and Thanos, who is known for being not only viscously destructive, but a clueless and hopeless romantic too.
His love for Death has long been a staple in Thanos’ character and to use him after bringing him back to life by people that he wants nothing more than to destroy, proved to be an odd but engaging read.
The downside is to fully grasp the situation at hand, you would need to read about six issues back through the “Guardians” and “Nova” titles to fully integrate yourself into the story because of its massive cast of characters and their plotlines – a read worth doing though.
The first issue of “The Thanos Imperative” jumps right into the battle as if it were the first episode after a huge season finale cliffhanger on TV, which is too bad because an event title like this should be able to grab readers that don’t know anything about previous storylines in different books.
The other drawback is that it is only a six-issue run and it ended “Nova” and “Guardians” during the run, not opting for any tie-ins. Which I was actually more excited about.
However, I felt the title could have ran eight issues long to draw out the story more because of the lack of tie-ins.
In the end though, the top-notch story did finish with an unexpected, yet welcomed, turn of events that will leave fans wanting more as a twist of fate befalls the main characters.
Additionally, the quality of the cosmic universe’s series is an exciting and entertaining reprise for anyone looking for alternatives to Marvel’s tired flagship titles.