Infinity Gauntlet

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The Infinity Gauntlet storyline was developed after Steve Englehart wrote a Silver Surfer storyline involving the Infinity Gems and Mistress Death in 1988. Editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco wanted to save the idea for a big summer crossover. Jim Starlin was invited back to Marvel to write the story, returning because work for him at DC declined following his controversial Batman story "A Death in the Family" (1988). Starlin began writing Silver Surfer with #34, cover dated February 1990, reintroducing Thanos. The plot continued through Silver Surfer and the two-issue limited series The Thanos Quest (September–October 1990) before concluding in The Infinity Gauntlet. George Pérez was brought in to pencil the series because he had more name recognition among fans and because Ron Lim already had a full schedule. However, after completing three issues and part of the fourth, Pérez's busy schedule and dissatisfaction with the story led to him being replaced by Lim.

In Their Own Story

At the start of The Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos has collected all six Infinity Gems and attached them to his gauntlet. With their combined power, he becomes "like a god" and sets out to win the affection of Mistress Death, the living embodiment of death in the Marvel Universe. Thanos uses his powers to instantly erase half of the life in the universe from existence. Adam Warlock leads Earth's remaining heroes against him. After the Infinity Gauntlet is stolen by Thanos' villainous granddaughter Nebula, Thanos aids the remaining heroes in defeating her.

Reader's Guide

The Infinity Gauntlet is a six-issue limited series written by Jim Starlin and pencilled by George Pérez (issues 1-3 and part of 4) and Ron Lim (remaining issues). The series was published from July to December 1991. It was preceded by the two-issue limited series The Thanos Quest (September–October 1990) and followed by two immediate sequels: The Infinity War (1992) and The Infinity Crusade (1993). The story's events continued to be referenced in other Marvel comics for decades. The series was a top seller for Marvel during publication and has been reprinted in various formats and editions. Most notable among later adaptations was the "Infinity Saga" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which incorporated elements of the original comic story into a saga that spanned across almost two dozen connected films.

Did You Know?

• The Infinity Gauntlet storyline was originally planned to conclude within the pages of Silver Surfer, but the high sales of The Thanos Quest warranted a spin-off limited series.
• George Pérez was brought in to pencil The Infinity Gauntlet because he had more name recognition among fans and because Ron Lim already had a full schedule.
• Pérez completed pencils for the covers of the first four issues before finishing the interior art for the first issue, so they could be used as promotional material.
• X-Men editor Bob Harras only allowed Cyclops and Wolverine to appear in the story; the rest of the X-Men cast were said to have died off-panel or were otherwise omitted.
• Starlin began writing with the expectation that this would be the last Thanos story 'at least for a while' and was midway through the story before deciding to make Thanos an antihero.