Marvel: The End

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Creative team
Marvel: The End
Cover to issue #1
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Format	Limited series
Publication date	2003
Number of issues	6
Main character(s)	Marvel Universe
Writer(s)	Jim Starlin
Penciller(s)	Jim Starlin
Inker(s)	Al Milgrom

[edit] Publication History

Marvel: The End is a six-issue comic book limited series published in 2003 by Marvel Comics. It was written and penciled by Jim Starlin and inked by Al Milgrom. Marvel: The End is part of the The End line of comics, and is thus far the only publication in that line to actually occur in the actual Marvel Universe (Earth-616). The other various The End stories are just possible futures. The series was collected in trade paperback format as Thanos: The End.

[edit] Plot summary

The Titan Thanos discovers the existence of a infinite source of energy, which he calls the Heart of the Universe. The power of this cosmic artifact, also known as the Heart of the Infinite, exceeded that of any other similar artifact, including the Infinity Gems, the Cosmic Cubes, and the cosmic entities - including the all-powerful Living Tribunal. He discovers that an ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten has the object in his possession, and with it conquers the Earth - slaughtering most of the metahumans in the process. The villain Doctor Doom attempts to kill Akhenaten by traveling back in time and killing him while he was still human, but this is stopped by the all-powerful pharaoh. Akhenaten goes on to kill many of Earth's deities. Thanos gathers the last of the heroes for an assault, during which he is able to absorb and now control the Heart of the Universe. Akhenaten is killed when Thanos prevents him from stopping Doom from killing his past self.

Contact with the Heart of the Universe allows Thanos to learn that due to a fundamental flaw the universe is doomed to end very soon. The entity the Living Tribunal gathers a group of cosmic beings including Eternity, Infinity and Galactus in a bid to take the Heart from Thanos, but he simply absorbs them - and the entire universe - and then restores it minus the flaw. The last act wipes Thanos himself from existence, a sacrifice only remembered by the hero Adam Warlock. ^[1]