Thanos Vs. The Magus In Thanos #5
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Gamora’s story of Thanos continues. Thanos had left young Gamora on Zero Sanctuary while he goes out the very edges of existence to parlay with the Magus. On Zero Sanctuary, Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Ballista, and the Blood Brothers search desperately for Gamora. She alludes their grasp long enough to reach out to Thanos, who simply tells her to leave Zero Sanctuary and never contact him again. She’s too stubborn for that, and she goes to the hangar…where the Maw, Proxima, and Ballista wait for her. Meanwhile, Thanos’ battle with the Magus begins.
Thanos #5 finds the Maw’s mutiny in full swing. Thanos has left Zero Sanctuary to deal with the Magus, but that leaves Gamora still vulnerable to the Maw’s whims.
Thanos reveals his true feelings about Gamora in this comic. While Gamora, as a child, thought Thanos was simply a cold father figure who would never show affection by choice, we know that Thanos is incapable of affection for a living thing. Death is the only thing that holds his love. There seems to be a passing concern for Gamora in Thanos’ mind, but he will never nurture it. That makes Gamora’s faith in Thanos even more tragic.
Thanos’ duel with the Magus is easily one of the highlights of the comic. We get to see these two murderous creatures hurl blasts of energy and brute strength at one another. We are also given a hint that the projections of Lady Death that Thanos once saw may have been the Magus all along. It’s also possible it was Death, and she simply has an affection for Magus as well.
Ariel Olivetti continues to show his mastery of the craft in this issue. The texture and detail of Thanos and the world around him in this comic are brilliant. The battle scenes between Thanos and Magus leave a little to be desired, but they’re still cool. Antonio Fabela’s color art is lively and pops well off the page throughout.
Thanos #5 continues this early saga of the Mad Titan with thunder and fury. We get to see how a young Gamora honed her skills against the followers of Thanos while the Titan himself duels the cruel Adam Magus. It’s a good read and earns a recommendation. Check it out.
Thanos #5 comes to us from writer Tini Howard, artist Ariel Olivetti, color artist Antonio Fabela, letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna, cover artist Jeff Dekal, and variant cover artist Jung-Geun Yoon.
Final Score: 8.5/10