Warning: contains spoilers for Clobberin' Time #5!Marvel has revealed the existence of a mysterious future villain who will rival even the dark fame of Thanos. The Mad Titan Thanos is one of Marvel’s all-time best villains, an evil (but also complex) man bent on murder and conquest. In various stories, such as The Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos nearly brought all reality to its knees, but in Clobberin’ Time #5, readers learn of a villain, still in the distant future, who will come to rival Thanos.
Clobberin’ Time #5 is written and drawn by Steve Skroce, colored by Bryan Valenza, and lettered by Joe Sabino. Ogdu Fraize, who harbors dreams of universal conquest, has traveled back to the beginning of the universe, attempting to take control of the newly-born Galactus to power his Psychopomp Machine, an engine to rewrite reality permanently. The Thing, Doctor Doom and Tuvah, a renegade Watcher, are all that stand between Ogdu and his goals. With the three held captives, Ogdu begins reading to them his manifesto for a better reality. Sensing their disdain, Ogdu says his vision for the universe will not “resemble the stunted, trite exercise in childish masculinity that the likes of Thanos or Gary Scwhartz of the 42nd century would engage in.” Ogdu does not elaborate any further on Gary Schwartz, instead launching into an extremely long-winded rant that nearly bores his captives to death.
A Comparison to Thanos is Bad Indeed
While no information was given on Gary Schwartz and what he did in the 42nd century, the comparison to Thanos should be all readers need to know. Very few villains have had an impact on the Marvel Universe as big as Thanos. First appearing in the early 1970s, Thanos would grow to become one of the publisher’s preeminent villains. His one-sided amorous pursuit of Mistress Death led Thanos to kill half of the universe’s population in the landmark Infinity Gauntlet story, which formed the backbone for the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thanos continues to pursue his dreams of annihilation and violence, and even if he sometimes has played the reluctant role of a hero, he still ranks as one of Marvel’s evilest villains.
Who Is Gary Schwartz, And Why Does He Rank Alongside Thanos?
In the 42nd century, Thanos apparently has competition–in the form of someone named Gary Schwartz. The issue does not mention any specific information about Schwartz–such as what he did, his origin story or any of the other countless questions fans no doubt had after the mention of Schwartz’s name. Yet for Ogdu to mention Schwartz in the same breath as monsters such as Thanos implies that he is bad news as well. Furthermore, there are a number of other Thanos-level villains, such as Kang or Ultron, that Ogdu could have name-checked alongside the Mad Titan, but he opted to go with Gary Schwartz; whatever Schwartz will do in the 42nd century puts him above some of Marvel’s worst villains. Gary Schwartz hails from the 42nd century, which astute fans will know is only a century after Kang the Conqueror–could there be a connection between the two?
Clobberin’ Time has had a humorous, tongue-in-cheek tone throughout its five-issue run, so more than likely Schwartz was a joke as well. The name Gary Schwartz does not exactly scream “bloodthirsty tyrant,” in the same way Thanos does, but apparently, that is exactly what Schwartz is. This seemingly innocuous name hides a bloody and violent future for the Marvel Universe, one that will put even Thanos to shame.
Clobberin' Time #5 is on sale now from Marvel Comics!
