There are no Silver Age Thanos key issues: the Mad Titan was created by Jim Starlin and first appeared in Iron Man #55 (February 1973) — the Bronze Age, not the Silver Age. That issue, which also marks the first appearance of Drax the Destroyer, carries an eBay median of €9 (73 listings, all grades combined, June 2026); a CGC 9.8 copy sold for $13,025 at ComicLink in August 2013.
The Silver Age of comics runs roughly from 1956 to 1970. Thanos simply does not exist in that period: he is a Bronze Age creation, born from Jim Starlin's imagination and introduced in February 1973. Any list of "Silver Age Thanos keys" is pure invention. This guide presents the real key issues of the Mad Titan honestly, from his 1973 debut through the landmark modern sagas.
All eBay figures come from our estimator (eBay.fr + eBay.com, June 2026) and represent blended medians across all grades, from raw reading copies to high-grade CGC slabs. Auction records are drawn from documented sources (ComicLink, Bleeding Cool). One essential caveat: the eBay median for Iron Man #55 (€9) reflects the supply-heavy mid-grade market; high-grade copies command dramatically more, as the $13,025 CGC 9.8 record confirms.
Thanos is not a Silver Age character
The Silver Age is bookended by the revival of the Flash in Showcase #4 (1956) and the early 1970s. Marvel's great Silver Age creations are the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man, the X-Men, and the Avengers — all born between 1961 and 1966. Thanos did not exist until February 1973, which places him squarely in the Bronze Age, a period defined by darker storytelling and more ambitious narrative risk-taking. Jim Starlin drew inspiration from DC's Darkseid when designing this death-obsessed cosmic conqueror. There is no Thanos key predating 1973: anyone offering you one is selling fiction.
Real Thanos key issues — eBay data and documented records (June 2026)
| Issue | Significance | eBay data (all grades) | Documented record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Man #55 (Feb. 1973) | 1st appearance of Thanos and Drax the Destroyer | Median €9 · 73 listings | $13,025 (CGC 9.8, ComicLink, Aug. 2013) |
| Captain Marvel #25–33 (1973–1974) | The Thanos War saga — Starlin takes over the title | Series not covered by estimator | Web sources only |
| Avengers #125 (Jul. 1974) | Thanos in the main Avengers continuity | Median €9 · 54 listings | Not publicly documented |
| Silver Surfer #34 (Feb. 1990) | Resurrection of Thanos by Jim Starlin | Median €19 · 55 listings | Not publicly documented |
| The Infinity Gauntlet #1–6 (1991) | Landmark saga — Starlin/Pérez/Lim; Thanos wields the Gauntlet | Series not covered by estimator | CGC 9.8 plentiful (2,000+ copies at census); market price moderate |
Iron Man #55 (1973): the first appearance, the real grail
Published in February 1973, Iron Man #55 is scripted and drawn by Jim Starlin, with Mike Friedrich co-writing. It introduces Thanos, Drax the Destroyer, Mentor, Eros (later Starfox), and the Blood Brothers all in a single issue — an exceptional concentration of first appearances. The cover, which shows Thanos thrusting his fist toward the reader, is one of the most recognisable images of the Bronze Age.
Our estimator returns a median of €9 across 73 listings — a solid, reliable sample. But that median is pulled down by the dominant mid-grade supply: the value curve for this issue is steep. A CGC 9.8 double-cover copy sold for $13,025 at ComicLink in August 2013, breaking a prior record of $9,000 set weeks earlier. Market interest has been sustained by the MCU: Thanos cameos in The Avengers (2012), then dominates Avengers: Infinity War (2018, $2.052 billion worldwide) and Avengers: Endgame (2019, $2.79 billion), portrayed by Josh Brolin.
The Captain Marvel saga (1973–1974) and Avengers #125
Jim Starlin took over Captain Marvel with issue #25 (March 1973) and developed the "Thanos War" across nine issues through #33. In this saga, Thanos seizes the Cosmic Cube to attain near-godlike power before being defeated. Issue #28 (September 1973), in which Thanos defeats Drax and obtains the Cube — with the Avengers as guest stars — is considered the standout key of the run. The Captain Marvel series is not covered by our eBay estimator; for graded sales data on these issues, specialist auction platforms are the right resource.
Avengers #125 (July 1974) continues the story in the flagship series and offers a more accessible entry point into the Thanos back-catalogue. Our estimator returns a median of €9 across 54 listings — an active market at an approachable price.
Silver Surfer #34 (1990) and the return of Thanos
After dying in Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 (1977), Thanos disappeared from comics for over a decade. Jim Starlin orchestrated his return in Silver Surfer #34 (February 1990), setting the stage for Thanos Quest #1–2 (1990) and the 1991 blockbuster. Our estimator returns a median of €19 across 55 listings — an active eBay market with a clearly higher median than Iron Man #55 or Avengers #125, reflecting a thinner supply of cheap reading copies. Silver Surfer #44 has only 12 active listings — below our 15-listing threshold for citing a reliable median.
The Infinity Gauntlet (1991) and the modern era
The six-issue mini-series The Infinity Gauntlet (July–December 1991), written by Jim Starlin and drawn by George Pérez (issues 1–3) and Ron Lim (4–6), is the definitive Thanos story: the Titan eliminates half of all life in the universe with a snap — a gesture reproduced almost verbatim in Avengers: Infinity War. Issue #1 is not covered by our eBay estimator; in CGC 9.8, the census records over 2,000 copies, making it a relatively plentiful high-grade book. The market remains active but without a headline auction record comparable to Iron Man #55.
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