The Infinity Gauntlet #1
The Infinity Gauntlet #1 marks the opening salvo of what became one of the defining crossover events in Marvel's history — the moment writer Jim Starlin, architect of Marvel's cosmic mythology since the early 1970s, brought his long-running Thanos saga to its apocalyptic culmination. In its very first issue, Thanos snaps half of all life in the universe out of existence, establishing a storytelling device that resonated so deeply it was adapted nearly verbatim for Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), the two highest-grossing superhero films ever made. The issue also anchors one of the earliest modern examples of a tightly pre-planned, writer-driven Marvel event — unusual in an era when such crossovers were typically assembled by committee — giving it a narrative focus and emotional coherence that distinguished it from its contemporaries. Its scope, deploying virtually every major corner of the Marvel Universe under a single, unified cosmic threat, set a template for event comics that publishers continue to follow.
In "God," the first chapter of the landmark Infinity Gauntlet series, the Silver Surfer crashes into Dr. Strange’s sanctum with a dire warning: Thanos now wields the Infinity Gauntlet, and with Mephisto at his side, he’s testing his godlike power. George Pérez’s dynamic art brings the cosmic scale to life as Thanos, driven by obsession, wipes out half the universe’s life—leaving Earth’s heroes reeling and the cosmos in shock. The story, written by Jim Starlin and illustrated by Pérez with inks by Rubinstein and Christopher, features cover art by Pérez himself.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The series grew organically out of Jim Starlin's return to Marvel's Silver Surfer title in 1990, where he and penciller Ron Lim built a sixteen-issue runway of Thanos storylines, culminating in the two-part Thanos Quest, before the event was green-lit as a standalone miniseries. Starlin's original intention was a large crossover contained within Silver Surfer, but the commercial success of Thanos Quest prompted Marvel's management — under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco — to expand the concept into its own six-issue limited series. George Pérez was recruited to pencil the series after Marvel writer Jim Valentino alerted editor Craig Anderson that Pérez's DC contract was lapsing; Starlin then personally called Pérez to bring him aboard, partly because his name recognition eclipsed that of the already-busy Lim. Pérez completed the first three issues and part of the fourth before his schedule and creative dissatisfaction led him to be replaced by Lim, and Marvel had originally planned bi-weekly shipping but deadline difficulties forced a monthly release schedule instead.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Written by Jim Starlin and pencilled by George Pérez, with inks by Josef Rubinstein and Tom Christopher, colors by Max Scheele and Ian Laughlin, letters by Jack Morelli, and edited by Craig Anderson under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco.
- Issue #1 contains the first in-series appearance of Thanos's snap erasing half of all life in the universe, witnessed on Earth by Spider-Man, Captain America, Hulk, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Skrull Empress S'byll, among others.
- The issue introduces the first appearance of Thanos's palace (his newly constructed cosmic sanctuary) as a story location.
- The story continues directly from Thanos Quest #1–2 and Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #50, making those issues essential reading context for the opening chapter.
- George Pérez — fresh off a decade-long run at DC that included Crisis on Infinite Earths and Wonder Woman — was making his return to Marvel Comics; his experience drawing massive multi-character ensemble casts made him the creative team's top choice for the project.
- The series spawned two direct sequels — The Infinity War (1992) and The Infinity Crusade (1993) — and the success of its tie-in books prompted nearly every Marvel editor to request crossover involvement in those follow-ups.
- The collected edition (reprinting all six issues) has been reprinted in numerous formats including a True Believers facsimile edition (2018), a Deluxe Edition (2018), and a 1,248-page Omnibus (2014) that also collected the Silver Surfer lead-in issues, Thanos Quest, and affiliated tie-ins.
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Reprints
Reprinted in De Infinity Gauntlet #1 (1992), Un Récit Complet Marvel #33 (1992), Infinity Gauntlet #[nn] (1992), Marvel Comics Presenta: Zona M #1 (1993), Marvel Exklusiv #20 (1999), Marvel Exklusiv #20 (1999), Best of Marvel : Le gant de l'infini - Le défi de Thanos #[nn] (2005), Infinity Gauntlet #[nn] (2006), Infinity Gauntlet #[nn] (2010), Infinity Gauntlet #46 (2010), Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet #[nn] (2011), Infinity Gauntlet #[nn] (2011), Infinity Gauntlet #[nn] (2011), Marvel Gold : le Gant de l'infini #[nn] (2012), Infinity Gauntlet Aftermath #[nn] (2013), Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus #[nn] (2014), True Believers: Infinity Gauntlet #1 (2015), Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #68 (2016), Infinity Gauntlet: Deluxe Edition #[nn] (2018), Avengers & the Infinity Gauntlet #[nn] (2018), The Infinity Gauntlet #[2] (2018), True Believers: Infinity Gauntlet #1 (2018), The Ultimate Graphic Novels Collection #150 (2018), Marvel's Avengers: Endgame Prelude #[nn] (2019) + 3 more
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