Thanos by Donny Cates

Thanos (2016) #3 + Cosmic Ghost Rider

by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw (Illustrator), Dylan Burnett (Illustrator)

Collects Thanos (2016) #13-18, Annual; Cosmic Ghost Rider #1-5, Thanos Legacy #1.

Ask the most powerful beings in the galaxy how they fear the universe will end, and in their most honest moment, they will answer with two words: "Thanos wins." Now that disturbing thought becomes a horrific reality! See what happens when the Mad Titan achieves his ultimate victory. Will he cause the cosmos to spiral downward into chaos and death…or will something very different happen? Plus: In the far future, an iconic and unexpected Marvel character has become — the Cosmic Ghost Rider! But following his experiences at the Titan's hands, what are his vengeful plans for…baby Thanos?! Donny Cates explores Thanos' full legacy in a thrill ride that spans all the way from the end of time to the stunning events of Infinity Wars!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

297 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 17, 2019

Reviews

[Derek]

The first 150 or so pages are really interesting. That grandfather paradox trope is quite exciting when done well and in here it is. Thanos VS Thanos is an awesome thing to behold. Beyond that, the back story and Ghost Rider's attempt at a sardonic, devil-may-care pathos does quite come off. It sounds too much like trying too hard. Anyway. The first half is a great read, the latter not so.

[Václav]

(4,2 of 5 mostly for Cosmic Ghost Rider)
Donny is a rock star of the current comic world. He has bold, crazy ideas and somehow he manages to achieve them. I'm impressed with that and I must say reading most of his stuff is anything but boring.
First, the Thanos' part is not that great. It's like Donny holding back so the story gets a short breath towards its progression. I enjoyed what Donny came up with but the execution was lacking.
Then there is the Cosmic Ghost Rider. And that's a crazy ride which I greatly enjoyed. It's dark humour, action-packed craziness and that's what I expect and love about Donny's work. And nice last word after that was Thanos Legacy.
The whole thing felt almost like Donny invites us for a party, which sounds cool but it is somehow dying. And in some moment, Donny stands up, kick down the table yelling "Fuck this shit, let's roll!" and suddenly bringing new fun and life to it. And it's good he did that because he brought some really skilful artist to make it vivid, dynamic and pretty awesome.
Marvel/DC stuff is not my main concern in comics. But I gave it right when the name is right. And with Donny, it's always worth a shot, because Cosmic Ghost Rider was a hell of a ride (pun intended).

[Matt]

Collects Thanos (2016) issues #13-18, Thanos Annual (2018) issue #1, Cosmic Ghost Rider issues #1-5, and Thanos Legacy issue #1

I originally read this story as the two different volumes that make up this hardcover. Here are my thoughts on those two collections:

Thanos (2016) issues #13-18 and Thanos Annual (2018) issue #1: This is a great story that gives us a glimpse into the future. What truly happens if Thanos wins? This collection shows us the future of various Marvel characters, and introduces us to the Cosmic Ghost Rider. Loved it.

Cosmic Ghost Rider issues #1-5 and Thanos Legacy issue #1: Donny Cates nails it with this one. Funny. Weird. Dark. Entertaining. This is a great follow-up to his short run on "Thanos," and the final issue in this collection sets up the next Cates project, "Guardians of the Galaxy."

[Matěj Komiksumec]

S Thanosem jsem se cítil jako na houpačce, bylo to krásně přapálený a mělo to hrozně fajn nápadů ale hluchých míst tam bylo překvapivě dost a způsob, že je Donny vypravěč mi vůbec neseděl. Ale Cosmic Ghost Rider, to bylo úplně jiný kafe. Nejen, že to bylo skvěle přapálený ale i ten příběh mi přišel hodně zajímavý a celkově chemie mezi Thanosem a Kosmickým Riderem funguje skvěle celou knihu.
Rozhodně mě tohle zaujalo a mám chuť si přečíst nejen Donnyho Guardiany ale i Dr.Strange a Venoma.
Co tomu ještě je potřeba vytknout byl ten sračkovej, nudnej annual u kterého všichni raději pojďme dělat, že neexistuje, ok? Nechci si ten dojem kazit kvůli tomu bullshitu.

[David]

Heard such great things about this and I was greatly disappointed. It takes place in a possible timeline in the far, far future so it actually has zero impact on the Marvel Universe. Likewise, the story had zero impact on me. And, why the hell is Thanos head so tiny?

[Cristhian]

Maravilloso todo el arco de Thanos Wins pero Cosmic Ghost Rider está en un nivel único.

7/5

[Dubzor]

3.5

Cates does a great job with Thanos, but whoo boy is Cosmic Ghost Rider the break out character here. Worth reading if only for him.

[Rob Alderman]

Donny Cates is easily the best writer working on major comic titles right now, and this Thanos book ranks right up beside Redneck and God Country. It’s a remarkable piece of storytelling.

[Zack! Empire]

Crazy, insane, fun as hell. Just a wild ride from start to finish. Definitely gets a high recommendation from me.

[Henry Blackwood]

This would be one of those perfect times where a half star rating would be good because this is a perfect example of a 4.5 star affair. It’s not quite perfect but it sure is goddam enjoyable.

I love Thanos as a villain, I think everything I’ve ever read or seen him in has been great and it’s hard to make these villains interesting! Because I think Darkseid is very boring compared to Thanos - marvel just got it right and Donny Cates got it right again with this story. It’s funny, it’s cool, the Thanos issues look beautiful, it changes Frank Castle and still keeps him interesting, it’s just got a lot going right for it. Donny really picked the coolest characters to run with on this whacky story im definitely going to buy his Guardians run now I want more of Frank Castle Ghost Rider it’s so much fun and Donny is so good at writing him.

[Jana]

Ganz klar ein echt gut gemachter Comic. Es geht halt um Thanos, den Marvel-Charakter, der einfach mal so Gottheiten tötet, ohne sich auch nur teilweise anstrengen zu müssen.
In diesem Band wird vor allem die Geschichte erzählt, wie der Ghost Rider sich zuerst mit Thanos verbündete und anschließend versucht ihn zu verhindern. Sehr interessant.

Clearly a really well done comic book. It's about Thanos, the Marvel character who simply kills deities without having to make any effort.
In this volume the story is told how the Ghost Rider first allied himself with Thanos and then tries to prevent him. Very interesting.

[Tassos Gkouvitsas]

While I was still in the middle of reading this book, I sent it to one of my friends. My friend described it better than I ever could. A "wild f***n' ride."

The first issues with Thanos are great, but the last ones with the Cosmic Ghost Rider are truly awesome!

The Cosmic Ghost Rider is a new character and is already one of my favorites. I wish I hadn't been spoiled on his true identity before reading this book. If you don't already know who he is, stop reading this and go read the book. Loved the reveal!

The art is so gorgeous that I've uploaded a panel as my FB profile cover.

[Rolando Marono]

Tenía rato que no leía un cómic que me entretenía y hacía reír tanto, y al mismo tiempo me rompía el corazón.
Cates toma la serie después de Lemire, pero esta serie se siente bastante a parte. Lo único que se mantiene, al menos narrativamente, es el hecho de que Thanos está curado de nuevo, es más malvado que antes, y está ansioso por hacer un caos en el universo. Una constante que todas las series de Thanos deberían de tener.
Donde Cates se arriesga a ofrecer algo diferente, con una narración poética e irreverente a tantos y con el hecho de mostrarnos a Thanos en todo su potencial de constante universal: Al final, cuando el universo se apague, será a manos de Thanos, y él será el único testigo de eso, Thanos gana. Siempre. Con eso mantiene la esencia del personaje y de todo lo que se nos ha contado sobre el; pero ahora nos muestra ese universo donde Thanos gana.
La historia es realmente simple, Ghost Rider Cósmico (invención de Cates) heraldo de Thanos, viaja al pasado a traer al Thanos que acaba de recuperar sus poderes, condenó a Thane, ya no está muriendo y está enojado con Lady Death. Lo lleva al futuro para que ayude a vencer al Rey Thanos al último sobreviviente del universo y así poder consumar su boda con Lady Death. Esa es toda la trama, lo interesante es cómo la narra y cómo nos va mostrando pequeños detalles del universo conquistado por Thanos que nos emociona y nos lleva a imaginarnos qué sucedió.
De ahí tenemos el anual de Thanos. Historias cortas, humorísticas principalmente, que se encargan de mostrarnos lo malvado y desalmado que es Thanos. Y lo logran, hubo una historia en específico que pensé, "Que humor tan negro" era la historia de "El terrible día que Thanos ayudó a una viejita a cruzar la calle" una gran y oscura historia.
Este tomo trae también la mini serie de Cosmic Ghost Rider, tras los sucesos de Thanos Wins, nos encontramos con Ghost Rider en el Valhalla, donde se le encomienda una última misión: Matar a bebé Thanos. Pero cuando llega al pasado, las cosas no son como esperaba y se ve sumido en una aventura espacio-temporal acompañado de bebé Thanos. Esta historia nos muestra otras facetas de los personajes que no habíamos visto y nos proporciona más detalles sobre lo que Ghost Rider vivió al lado de Thanos. Cates sabe manejar bien a sus personajes e incluso en esta mini serie, se podría decir que es como Thanos Wins 2, importante si leíste la serie anterior.
De las series actuales de Thanos creo que esta es la que más me ha gustado, un gran acierto de Cates contarnos esta historia de la manera en la que lo hizo. La volvería a leer ahora mismo sin problema.

[Jamie]

Donny Cates follows up 'God Country' with another tale of epic figures and cosmic clashings. Marvel is not known for its villains, but Thanos is one of the only popular antagonists, especially after his successful film portrayal by Josh Brolin. Cates centers his story around one simple idea; what if Thanos won?

The sheer ridiculousness of this tale shows an unhinged revelry of violence and imagination with classic characters given epic powers. Geoff Shaw teams up with Cates again for some truly fantastic art that perfectly captures the extreme concepts at play. The insane design and phenomenal artwork of Geoff Shaw and Dylan Burnett makes this complete volume a true success, and Antonio Fabela's stunning colors are absolutely breathtaking.

Thanos is brought to the end of time to face his older self and see the result of his unending quest for dominance. Such an end is empty and ultimately sees Thanos forced to confront his mortality (or maybe his subservience to Death). Thanos is merely the tool of Death, but even the Mad Titan will eventually die.

The greater success of that series has his own series contained in this volume as well; Frank Castle, the Cosmic Ghost Rider. Cates' crazy idea is a fan favorite that Marvel has adopted into the regular continuity, and his five issue series is an entertaining adventure showing Castle attempt to redeem an infant Thanos. Not surprisingly, the Punisher is the wrong person to raise to healthy child. I loved Cates' reveal that Castle's quest is what made Thanos what he is and basically illustrating that violence is never justice. The irony of the Punisher is on full display, and even though this is basically Frank Castle with Deadpool's personality, I enjoyed the untethered imagination of this story.

Both these characters, Thanos and the Punisher, are popular figures in Marvel, and there mutual penchant for violence makes them perfect for a team-up. However, Cates makes sure to illustrate their place on the spectrum of morality while also showing the inevitable consequences of their shared obsession. It's such a great take on these guys that is also just a fun book to read.

[Ian]

Thanos is pulled out of the timeline by a strange incarnation of the Ghost Rider and taken to a distant future to aid his future self in his final victory over all creation. The Cosmic Ghost Rider then attempts to subvert Thanos' path by travelling through time in an attempt to rehabilitate the Mad Titan as a small child.

The first part of this book is mostly just two version of Thanos patting themselves on the back about being more powerful than anyone else, whilst expressing their disgust with each other.
It's not bad, but it's not really the sort of story you can get particularly invested in, especially since it takes place in a possible future so far from the present that the events can have no impact on the Marvel Universe that we know.

Much better is the middle section of the book where the Cosmic Ghost Rider (a future version of The Punisher empowered by both the Rider's Hellfire and Galactus' Power Cosmic) is given a new lease on life by Odin and decides to use it in a misguided attempt to reform Thanos.
Cosmic Ghost Rider is comedically insane and it's very entertaining seeing him believe that he's the one who can convince baby Thanos (often strapped to his chest with chains) to lead a life of nonviolence.
Aside from the comic value of this part of the book, there's also a certain amount of pathos to the scene where Frank Castle rejects Odin's offer of life in Valhalla because he believes that he too deserves punishment, as well as the later scene where he learns that his code as the Punisher becomes completely twisted in the hands of an alternate Thanos.

The final part of the book shows the 'real' Thanos return to his own time and doesn't really add much of interest to the story, except that it unleashes the Cosmic Ghost Rider on the Present Day Marvel Universe.

Overall, mostly just okay but elevated greatly by all the scenes featuring Cosmic Ghost Rider.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Dakota Morgan]

Yesss, this is the Thanos I want, the immovable force whose only true opposition is himself (and Cosmic Ghost Rider, along for comic relief). Thanos sort of takes place adjacent to other Marvel storylines, though the ending answers a few questions I had about the whole Infinity Wars deal. I like when a kooky writer like Donny Cates and an excellent artist like Geoff Shaw are given free reign to play in the Marvel sandbox. Things like Thanos are the result, and they're typically excellent.

The deal is: Old Man King Thanos, having defeated every living thing in the universe, sends Cosmic Ghost Rider back in time to drag Young Man Thanos forward. Together, the two Thanos defeat one more galactic hero in an attempt to win the heart of Death. I'm a sucker for a story where the villain has already won, so I was more than willing to put up with the time travel nonsense.

Cosmic Ghost Rider: Baby Thanos Must Die is also included in Thanos. I liked it on my standalone read - I like it even better now that I have more of an idea of how Cosmic GR came to be. A Thanos annual has some throwaway humor and a Thanos Legacy issue at the end wraps things up nicely with that lead-in to Infinity Wars and the current Guardians of the Galaxy series. All told, Thanos repackages several volumes that have already been released in a shiny hardcover collection, but it's highly worthwhile to prowl through the dark, incredible world of Donny Cates' Thanos all in one go.

[Chris Thompson]

So, Thanos Wins was okay. It had Cosmic Ghost Rider going for it, in that he was the comedic foil to the deadly serious (and deadly dull) Thanos. It’s a well-written and nicely-paced story, but Thanos is just not all that interesting. I mean, he made a great villain in the last two Avengers movies, but as a main character in Donny Cates’s story, he just doesn’t have much going for him. He just wants to destroy everything so that he can sit on a desolate throne on an uninhabited Earth millions of years from now just so he can woo the Black Lady, aka Death? What was he doing all of those millions of years? What a dull existence. The man/creature doesn’t seem to have much going on in his head.

The Thanos Annual was probably the worst of the stories, but these annuals tend to not be great. I found it hard to believe that a being like Thanos who seeks to destroy all life would care about tormenting a man on his birthday every year, or that he would help an old lady cross the street just to prevent a young woman from fulfilling her destiny as an important scientist. I know it’s supposed to be funny, but it wasn’t.

The hilarious Cosmic Ghost Rider gets his own story line in the third part of this book, but the problem is he’s just not as funny when he’s the star of the show. Somehow the writing from Cates just wasn’t as sharp here as in Thanos Wins.

Finally, Thanos Legacy was okay, but pretty much forgettable. I think the moral here is that Thanos is an effective villain, but reading a series of stories about how he kills everything dead over and over until nothing is left isn’t all that interesting.

[Andrew Margetson]

Thanos by Donny Cates is essentially two graphic novels combined into a singular story, Thanos wins and Cosmic ghost rider. Not having read the previous issues of Thanos by Cates (this novel collects #13-18) I did not feel I required to go back and read them, this story was an open and closed book in of itself.

We follow Thanos as we know him and witness the telling of the destruction of the Marvel universe at his hand, which is pretty standard with Thanos. Things start to get real interesting when we meet the Cosmic ghost rider, a previously unseen character at Marvel. He takes Thanos on an unwilling adventure through time and space to meet his mysterious master.
We get to learn all about this cosmic power house who is able to subdue Thanos, finding out his identity, his purpose and how he came to be, which is a pretty interesting take on the Ghost rider character.

The story is especially appealing to those that enjoy seeing their favorite characters in an alternate reality, Something I keenly enjoy myself, knowing that what goes on in this story will more than likely not have any real repercussions on the main Marvel continuity as an whole.
I do think we will see more of the Cosmic Ghost Rider in the future. Donny Cates has created not only an Intriguing well thought out character with a fantastic background but the over all character design is killer.

[Krzysztof Grabowski]

Czysta rozrywka na poziomie stężenia: Thanos. Tu nie ma przestojów, zbędnych gadek i nudy. Są epickie bitwy, kilka niezłych zaskoczeń i jest on, jedyny fioletowy w swoim rodzaju, oblubieniec śmierci (a przynajmniej chciałby, ale ta ciągle odrzuca jego końskie zaloty). Cates zadaje sobie pytanie: kto mógłby pokonać takiego złoczyńcę. I padło krótkie zdanie: On sam.

Thanos ląduje w przyszłości. Dosyć dalekiej. Spotyka swoją starszą "dziadkową" wersję. Minęły niezliczone millenia, a on pokonał wszystkim, poza jednym bytem i teraz potrzebuje wsparcia swojej młodszej odsłony... Szkopuł w tym, że młody Thanos postrzega to jako słabość i już się szykuje ciekawa konfrontacja. A co w tym rosole robi jeszcze Ghost Rider...

To pierwsza część tego zacnego zbioru. W drugiej koncentrujemy się na perypetiach Ducha Zemsty. Kto nim jest i co robi? Jego celem jest "wychowanie" młodego Thanosa, aby ten nigdy nie stał się postrachem świata Marvela. Czy mu to wyjdzie? Mogę tylko powiedzieć, że będzie to trudne... Zwłaszcza, że pomysł ten nie spodobał się wielu osobom...

Całość wygląda na dodatek bardzo ładnie dla oka, czyniąc drugi i ostatni tom przygód szalonego Tytana pozycją obowiązkową dla fana Marvela. To pomysłowy rollercoaster, wart poświęconego czasu. Szkoda, że się to czyta tak szybko...

[Jin]

Thanos is my first Donny Cates book and all I can say is that it's written in an eerily crazy, exciting and fun way that I haven't encountered in a comic book featuring the Mad Titan himself in this dark, brutal and funny story of him winning against all the universal odds! It's always refreshing to read something new like this where one can experience the otherwordly storytelling talent of the writer. No wonder Cates has a constantly growing number followers. Stories involving Thanos shouldn't always be presented in deep, brooding and one dimensional take on the character and this book tells us all that. The introduction of Cosmic Ghost Rider is really cool! Leveling-up your existing Punisher twice to create something totally badass, interesting yet familiar is really on a high bar of ingeniousness. Really enjoyed this. Great book!

[Mohan]

Herald: ‘ What’s the difference between a fairy tale and a Thanos story? A fairy tale begins with “Once upon a time..” But Thanos stories.. Well, They begin with “Man.. you ain’t never gonna believe this @#$%! “ 😂😂

So much memorable moments. Where does Thanos stories end?? Will he marry death finally ? Or not ?

Things I liked:
—> We get to know Thanos real name!!
—> multiple Heralds
—> Death of Galactus
—> Thanos vs …
—> Frank castle fathering Thanos 🧐
—> Punisher Thanos!!?

Things could’ve been better:
I was pleasantly surprised by the first few chapters, and I couldn’t put the book down once I started reading. It could have been the next best book in the Thanos story, but it fell short with few plot holes.

Next time, Thanos.. Keep trying..

[Emma Gear]

I only read the last few issues of this run because I wanted to check out the origins of the Cosmic Ghost Rider but I did like the story being told overall! Thanos is summoned to a bleak future millions of years from now by his older self and has to do battle with the few remaining beings in the universe who still stand against him all in his effort to impress Death.

It doesn't go well. These last few issues aren't what I'd call happy, but the Cosmic Ghost Rider is a great character and I loved him during these and this is fun. Some day I might check out the first 12 issues. But probably not.

[Christopher]

Unexpectedly brilliant. As I read the Cosmic Ghost Rider back half of the book, I had trouble feeling like it was a worthy companion to the end of the Thanos series that starts off this collection. Ultimately, it’s a good mix and I love how CGR and Thanos play roles in each other’s stories. And while I enjoyed the CGR mini, the Thanos issues are the more remarkable of the two sets. Brutal, poignant, deftly told, economic and sparse, but fantastic in how everything leads up to the splash pages, comes back down, etc. - which isn’t to say that any non-splash page art aren’t gorgeous. Some of the best visuals I’ve seen in a while.

[Daniel Kovacs Rezsuk]

Donny Cates had a bunch of great, yet completely bonkers ideas for two story arcs, but the only way they could work was if he divorced them from the main Marvel continuity just enough that readers won't have to raise too many questions. The result is a nonsensical time-traveling plot, but with all the edgy humor and gore you can get away in a mainstream publication. A story that can only work as a comic and as a comic it's viciously entertaining. As for depth, serious themes, and such, some might find it lacking, but for me, it was clear from the beginning what Cates' aim was and he achieved it with flying colors.

[Omnibuster]

Jeff Lemire’s Thanos run was great and serious. Donny Cates’ run is great and wacky. I like setting such a serious character into a bizarre and trippy storyline because he enjoys it while keeping true to himself.

I can definitely see why some people dislike Cosmic Ghost Rider’s “Deadpool”-ish qualities since we seem to not get any sense of Frank Castle. Why couldn’t it have just been Cosmic Deadpool? Who knows?

[Muhtasim Khan]

The moral of the story is, don't destroy yourself for a woman.
Better story than MCU Thanos.But could have been better.I definitely wish the writers spent more time explaining how Thanos gets to such an OP level. Also more on the weapons used in the story. I didn't know the "Twilight Sword" was so powerful, and that it would be able to kill the coolest/most OP version of Silver Surfer "The Fallen One" with ease.

[Hector]

My first completed comics book, read at the insistence of my oldest so that I might better understand Thanos. He also thought it might be a good intro in Marvel comics … not so sure the was the best first one 😂. It was all a bit gruesome, but also funny at times (mostly Ghost Rider). It did work insofar as I am now curious to see what the other ones are about. Maybe I should take more of his reading recs?

[Tigertemprr]

**Thanos by Donny Cates OHC | 80-85%** | Thanos (2016) #13-18, Annual #1; Cosmic Ghost Rider #1-5, Thanos Legacy #1 | What if Thanos won and achieved his ultimate goal? What would that universe look like? How do all these alternate timeline versions of Thanos interconnect? Who is the Cosmic Ghost Rider and what role does he play? Dark, crazy, energetic, exciting, brutal, funny. Epic cosmic-scale murdering, jokes, and adventures with lots of twists/chocks/reveals. Some of the moral messages are inconsistent/questionable (e.g. mass murderers trying to "do the right thing").

[John Dillon]

My first time reading Donny Cates....I have heard a lot of good things. It's ok. Pretty standard superhero fare but he has some good, original ideas. I would say he's a better story-teller than a writer. Better than your average comic writer but if you're looking for 'groundbreaking', you won't find it here.

[Ryan Stanton]

It’s not deep or sophisticated but this is some of Donny Cates best popcorn blockbuster fare. Certainly better than his mediocre Guardians run that followed.

Best Thanos is the birthday Thanos story.