The Mad Titan Thanos’s obsession with the Infinity Stones is legendary, however, the story of how he first obtained the stones at all remains to be told in its entirety. This series of adventures were recapped in Avengers Annual #7. The issue was both written and illustrated by Jim Starlin.
This double-sized story follows Adam Warlock as he tries to recruit the Avengers in his battle against Thanos. Previously, the Avengers faced off against Thanos when he obtained the Cosmic Cube, granting him the power of a god. The Avengers were able to defeat him, which caused Thanos’s love, Death, to turn her back on him. In order to fall back into her good graces, Thanos searched for a means to gain his revenge. He scoured the universe and discovered a scroll on a dead world. It is on this scroll that Thanos first learned about the Infinity Stones.
Referred to at the time as Soul Gems, each holds a different power like their modern versions. In a series of s, Adam Warlock quickly recaps how Thanos acquired each of them. The first he acquired from a being called The Stranger in what appears to be a “Jack and The Beanstalk” type adventure. The second Gem Thanos stole from a prison satellite floating through space. The third he found in a deep cavern on a strange planet, which is somewhat similar to how Star-Lord found the Power Stone in the Guardians of the Galaxy film. Thanos gained the fourth Gem by killing a tentacle monster called Xiambor.
The fifth Gem was discovered on Earth’s moon. Apparently, it was left there by an Elder of the Universe called The Gardener. Although The Gardener doesn’t appear in this issue, Thanos does encounter him when he tries to collect the Gems for a second time. During that meeting, Thanos seeks to get the Time Gem from him. The last Gem is the hardest for Thanos and also the most unique. Adam Warlock has the Gem in his possession and Thanos recruits Adam Warlock’s nemesis Magnus to assist him. During their battle, Thanos doesn’t steal the Gem but is able to syphon off its energy.
Not surprisingly, this encounter with Adam Warlock is the only scene that is actually depicted in another book, but it’s unlikely fans are aware of just how much work Thanos went through in order to unify the Gems during his first go around. This is probably because his ultimate plan was such a failure. With the same energy syphoning tactic he used to steal Adam Warlock’s Gem, Thanos combined all six of them into one large synthetic Gem. This is a strange plan and one Thanos eventually abandons in favor of the iconic Infinity Gauntlet.
Though Thanos' plan was ultimately unsuccessful, it was still an important chapter in the Mad Titan's life, one that fans can only view through the limited scope of this short montage. Many of these encounters could make up entire story arcs in their own right, yet all that has ever been seen of them is this small slice. With his appearance in the MCU, Thanos is bigger than ever, and it's high-time Marvel retells his first attempt at harnessing the Infinity Stones.
