Silver Surfer #38
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSilver Surfer #38 closes out the five-part 'Rebirth of Thanos' arc — the direct narrative runway to the Infinity Gauntlet — making it the final piece of the prelude that reintroduced Thanos to the Marvel Universe after a thirteen-year in-continuity absence. The issue's central plot twist, in which Thanos fakes his own death using a surgically altered body double to shed the Silver Surfer as an obstacle, is precisely what clears the road for The Thanos Quest and, ultimately, the Infinity Gauntlet event of 1991. Beyond its plot function, the arc as a whole reframed Thanos's motivation from abstract villainy to a cosmic servant of Death tasked with wiping out half of all living beings — the philosophical engine that would drive Marvel's biggest cosmic storyline of the decade. As the capstone chapter, this issue hands the baton directly to The Thanos Quest #1, cementing the Silver Surfer series as the unlikely but essential seedbed for one of Marvel's most consequential crossover sagas.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Jim Starlin, the writer-artist who created Thanos back in 1973, returned to Marvel's cosmic titles in 1990 and took over the third volume of Silver Surfer beginning with issue #34, partnering with penciler Ron Lim and inker Tom Christopher for what became an acclaimed 18-issue run. The five-issue 'Rebirth of Thanos' arc — of which #38 is the finale — was editorially branded as an 'Infinity Gauntlet Prelude,' signaling from the outset that it was deliberate groundwork for a larger event. Editor Craig Anderson shepherded the issue, with Tom DeFalco serving as Editor-in-Chief. Starlin's return to the character he created gave the arc an authorial coherence that resonated with readers and critics, as he was essentially building a new cosmic mythology on the foundation of his own earlier work.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published June 1990 by Marvel Comics (Vol. 3, #38); written by Jim Starlin, penciled by Ron Lim, inked by Tom Christopher, colored by Tom Vincent, lettered by Ken Bruzenak, edited by Craig Anderson.
- Final chapter (Part 5 of 5) of the 'Rebirth of Thanos' storyline, editorially branded as an Infinity Gauntlet Prelude; story continues directly in The Thanos Quest #1.
- First appearance of Geatar — a Pyraxlon space pirate and loyal second-in-command to Nebula — who is surgically altered by Thanos to impersonate him, allowing Thanos to fake his own death and fool the Silver Surfer.
- First appearance of First Officer Styx and Bo's'n Mantrax, supporting crew members aboard Thanos's flagship Sanctuary III.
- First appearance of the Infinity Well, the artifact through which Thanos later gains knowledge of the six Infinity Gems (as depicted in The Thanos Quest).
- Key plot development: Thanos retakes his flagship Sanctuary III from Nebula, who is severely burned in the confrontation, then deceives the Silver Surfer by staging his own death — freeing him to pursue the Infinity Gems unimpeded.
- Death (Mistress Death) appears in the issue, pressuring Thanos to accelerate his plan to eliminate half of all life in the universe, establishing her role as the primary driver of the Infinity Gauntlet saga's central conflict.
- The issue has been reprinted at least eight times, including in the Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos trade paperback (first collected April 1993), the Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus (2014), and the Silver Surfer Epic Collection Vol. 5: The Return of Thanos (2022).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Nova #160 (1991), The Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos #[nn] (1993), Superaventuras Marvel #134 (1993), Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos #[nn] (2006), Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos #[nn] (2010), Marvel Universe #7 (2013), Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus #[nn] (2014), The Infinity Gauntlet #[1] (2018), Silver Surfer Epic Collection #5 (2022)
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