One of the main aspects of Thanos’ entire Marvel Comics story arc is his obsession with Death - not the concept, the entity. Thanos claims to be in love with Lady Death, and has attempted to prove that love by committing heinous atrocities on a cosmic level. Death has been Thanos’ driving motivation in a number of his most iconic story lines, as he’ll do anything - kill anyone - to win her affection. But, why?

The first time readers witness Thanos’ obsession with Death is in the Thanos War crossover event. In Thanos War, Thanos is attempting to harness the unparalleled power of the Cosmic Cube, and use it to spread untold death and destruction across the universe - and he was doing it all in an effort to court Death.

While Thanos War introduced fans to Thanos’ infatuation and obsession with Death, it didn’t quite answer the previously posed question: why? Why does Thanos - a being of both Eternal and Deviant heritage with inherent power and intelligence that rivals some of Marvel’s strongest gods - bend the knee to this cosmic entity? And why is Death such a driving motivator for him throughout his Marvel Comics history? Truthfully, there are a number of reasons why Thanos is utterly obsessed with Death, but the root cause can be traced back to the Mad Titan’s childhood.

Death FORCED Thanos to Be Obsessed with Her

Thanos Rising by Jason Aaron and Simone Bianchi

It’s no accident that Thanos is obsessed with Death practically right from the moment he’s introduced, as Thanos is well into his adulthood upon his debut, and he’s been obsessed with Death since he was a child. Or, more accurately, Death forced Thanos to become obsessed with her when he was a child.

Death led Thanos to believe that she loved him, grooming him from a young age to love her.

In Thanos Rising, readers are given Thanos’ backstory, from the day of his birth to the moment he became an intergalactic conqueror. Throughout that time, one person stood by his side, pushing him to commit murder after murder in her name: Death. Death taught Thanos how to kill when he was just a boy, seduced him into a life as a murderer - and it was all part of her grand design.

Thanos Rising leaves Death’s actual involvement a bit ambiguous, leading readers to wonder if Death actually did seduce Thanos, or if it was all in the Mad Titan’s head. However, given Death’s involvement in Thanos’ life following the events of this story line, it’s widely believed that Death actually did twist Thanos’ mind as a child, and wasn’t merely the result of his own fractured psyche.

Death led Thanos to believe that she loved him, grooming him from a young age to love her. But, in truth, Death was merely securing herself a powerful follower - one she refused to let go of.

Thanos Wasn’t Even Allowed to Die Until Death was Done with Him

Silver Surfer Vol. 3 #34 by Jim Starlin and Ron Lim

Death’s grip on Thanos was so tight, she didn’t even allow him to die before she was done with him. At the end of Thanos War, Thanos loses the Cosmic Cube, and as a result, is robbed of the god-like power he wielded. His failure causes Death to abandon him for a time, but Thanos is hellbent on getting back in her good graces by going after the only artifacts that could arguably sur the Cosmic Cube’s power: the Infinity Stones (originally referred to as Soul Gems).

Unfortunately, Thanos is killed by Adam Warlock before he gets the chance to obtain the Stones. However, Death was pleased by his plan, and decided that he would bring it to its horrific conclusion. That’s why Death resurrected Thanos in Silver Surfer #34, literally doing the opposite of her cosmic purpose for the sake of maintaining her control over her greatest servant. This moment resulted in the Mad Titan claiming the Infinity Stones and killing half of all life in the universe in Death’s name with the snap of his fingers.

However, even after resurrecting Thanos to kill countless life forms in her name, Death still refused to give him even a fraction of the affection he craved - that she all but forced him to crave. In fact, Death made it clear that she found Thanos repulsive, and that she would never give herself to him. This drove Thanos utterly mad, as he had wanted nothing but Death’s love since he was a boy. And, in a parallel reality, that madness led to the end of the entire Marvel Universe.

Death Rejects Thanos Even After He Kills Everyone in the Universe

Thanos Wins by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw

Thanos Wins tells the story of an alternate-reality Thanos who comes to the conclusion that the only way he’d ever win Death’s love was by killing everyone in the universe. Thanos wipes out the Avengers, decimates Earth, systematically destroys planet after planet, blows the head off Galactus, and even tries to kill a younger version of himself from the prime Marvel Comics timeline. And yet, even after Thanos murdered everyone in the entire universe, Death still rejects him.

Death leads Thanos to believe that the only way they can be together is if he kills everyone in the universe and then dies himself. However, even after Thanos is faced with total oblivion, Death won’t even give him the final courtesy of expressing any sense of thanks, appreciation, or affection towards him.

From attaining godhood with the Cosmic Cube and killing half of all life in the universe with the Infinity Gauntlet, to literally murdering everyone in the universe before offering his own life to Death, nothing Thanos does is good enough. Eventually, Thanos realizes that trying to win Death’s heart is futile, and decides to claim her as one would an object - an Infinity Stone, to be exact.

Thanos Forces Death to be His (& Even Still, She Rejects Him)

Thanos Vol. 4 by Christopher Cantwell and Luca Pizzari

In Thanos Vol. 4, the Mad Titan has finally had enough with Death’s games. The entity twisted his mind as a child, brought him back from the dead to do her bidding, and continuously rejected him no matter how well he served her. So, Thanos finally snapped, and decided that he didn’t need Death’s love anymore, he just wanted to control her.

At the end of this Thanos run, Thanos traps Death’s essence within a new Infinity Stone that he crafted - a cosmic prison that made Death nothing more than an object to be wielded: the Death Stone. Yet, in a cruel twist of irony, Death still rejects Thanos even as an Infinity Stone. During the Infinity Watch Saga (which is told across every Marvel Comics Annual book in 2024), the Death Stone flies away from Thanos to claim a new host (which turns out to be Phil Coulson), meaning Thanos’ plan to trap and control Death against her will backfired spectacularly.

At the end of the day, Thanos is the only one who’s responsible for the many heinous atrocities he’s committed throughout his life. While he may have been seduced as a child to become a vicious killer, Thanos has only himself to blame for everything that’s happened to him since then, as he kept making the decision to pine for Death no matter how many times she rejected him. But, while not an excuse for his actions, Thanos’ history with Death certainly explains why he is who he is, just as it explains why Thanos is so obsessed with Death.