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Cover: Jim Starlin & Frank Giacoia

Captain Marvel #26

Name: Captain Marvel #26
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

May 1973 · Marvel · 0.20 USD; 0.20 CAD

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“Betrayal!”

★ 1st appearance — Death

About this Issue

Captain Marvel #26 is the pivotal second appearance of Thanos and the very first time he appeared on a Marvel comic book cover, establishing him visually as the series' central threat just issues after his debut in Iron Man #55. More significantly, it marks the debut of the cosmic entity Death alongside Thanos — the obsessive relationship between the two would drive his villainy for decades, from the original Thanos War through The Infinity Gauntlet and beyond. The issue also marks the point at which Jim Starlin formally assumed plotting duties on the title, signaling the full creative handover that transformed a struggling bimonthly book into one of the Bronze Age's defining cosmic sagas. Together, these firsts make it one of the most consequential single issues of the 'First Thanos War' story arc spanning Captain Marvel #25–33.

writer, artist, colorist Jim Starlin · writer Mike Friedrich · inker Dave Cockrum · letterer John Costanza · cover Jim Starlin, Frank Giacoia

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $40

CGC 9.8 · 31 in census $1,912

CGC 9.6 · 94 in census $657

CGC 9.4 · 107 in census $218*

CGC 9.2 · 96 in census $218

CGC 9.0 · 106 in census $146

CGC 8.5 · 94 in census $130

Show all 19 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 67 in census $119

CGC 7.5 · 61 in census $119

CGC 7.0 · 48 in census $84

CGC 6.5 · 34 in census $78

CGC 6.0 · 16 in census $78

CGC 5.5 · 15 in census $78

CGC 5.0 · 14 in census $56

CGC 4.5 · 7 in census $52*

CGC 4.0 · 5 in census $50*

CGC 3.5 · 7 in census $41*

CGC 3.0 · 2 in census $36*

CGC 2.5 none in existence

CGC 2.0 · 1 in census $24*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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CGC 9.6 ▾ $550–$591 3 listings

CGC 9.6 $550 CGC 9.6 $575 CGC 9.6 $590.75

CGC 9.4 ▾ $380–$500 4 listings

CGC 9.4 $379.99 CGC 9.4 $399.99 CGC 9.4 $415 CGC 9.4 $499.99

CGC 9.2 $205 1 listing

CGC 8.5 ▾ $150–$170 2 listings

CGC 8.5 $150 CGC 8.5 $169.99

CGC 8 $115 1 listing

CGC ▾ $88–$1,000 2 listings

CGC $88 CGC · Signed $999.99

CBCS 9.2 $150 1 listing

Raw — NM ▾ $3.75–$141 5 listings

NM $3.75 NM $3.99 NM $6 NM $120.1 NM $140.97

Raw — VF+ $119 1 listing

Raw — VF ▾ $50–$70 2 listings

VF $50 VF $70

Raw — FN ▾ $49.99–$180 3 listings

FN $49.99 FN $74.95 FN $180

Raw — FINE $66.49 1 listing

Raw — VG+ ▾ $19.93–$43.89 2 listings

VG+ $19.93 VG+ $43.89

Raw — VG ▾ $29.99–$56 2 listings

VG $29.99 VG $56

Raw — PR $4 1 listing

Raw / ungraded ▾ $2.99–$439 24 listings

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History

Jim Starlin had debuted on the Captain Marvel title one issue earlier (#25) as penciller, but with #26 he stepped up as plotter, collaborating with scripter Mike Friedrich — a division of labor the two had already used on Iron Man #55, where Thanos and Drax the Destroyer first appeared. Editor Roy Thomas oversaw the issue at a time when the Captain Marvel series was widely seen as on the verge of cancellation; Starlin's injection of large-scale cosmic mythology, modeled in part on Jack Kirby's New Gods, gave the faltering title a dramatically elevated sense of purpose and scale. Starlin later described conceiving Thanos during college psychology classes, drawing on Freud's concept of Thanatos, and he seized the Captain Marvel assignment as his chance to build out that character's full mythology.

Trivia · 8 facts

Second overall appearance of Thanos (created by Jim Starlin and Mike Friedrich), following his debut in Iron Man #55 (February 1973).
First time Thanos appeared on the cover of a Marvel comic book, penciled by Jim Starlin and inked by Frank Giacoia.
First appearance of the cosmic entity Death (Mistress Death) in the Marvel Universe, created by Jim Starlin and Mike Friedrich; she appears as a hooded, shadowed figure visible only to Thanos, who refers to her as his 'only comrade.'
Issue title is 'Betrayal!' — plot by Jim Starlin, script by Mike Friedrich, pencils by Jim Starlin, inks by Dave Cockrum, letters by John Costanza, edited by Roy Thomas.
This issue marks Starlin's first turn as plotter on the Captain Marvel series, beginning the nine-issue 'Thanos War' arc (Captain Marvel #25–33) in earnest.
The story features the Super-Skrull and the Kree villain the Controller as Thanos's agents, and includes a mistaken-identity brawl between Captain Marvel and the Thing (Ben Grimm of the Fantastic Four).
A letters column in this issue includes a letter from future comics writer and film producer Michael Uslan.
The issue has been reprinted in: The Life of Captain Marvel #1–2 (Marvel, 1985); Captain Marvel by Jim Starlin: The Complete Collection (Marvel, 2016); The Thanos Wars: Infinity Origin Omnibus (Marvel, 2019); and Captain Mar-Vell Omnibus Vol. 1 (Marvel, 2022).