Thanos: key annuals and special issues

Thanos — the Mad Titan conceived by Jim Starlin (art and concept) and Mike Friedrich (script) — made his debut in Iron Man #55 in February 1973, firmly in the Bronze Age of comics. His early years unfolded across the so-called Thanos War in Captain Marvel (1973–1974) before a dramatic death in Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 (1977). His 1990 resurrection launched a modern era culminating in The Infinity Gauntlet (1991), and more than two decades later, two MCU films that grossed over $4.5 billion worldwide at the box office.

This guide focuses on the specials, annuals, and limited series that mark the key milestones of Thanos's publishing history. eBay figures come from our estimator (73 listings for Iron Man #55, 55 for Silver Surfer #34, June 2026); auction records are drawn from documented sources (Bleeding Cool, sellmycomicbooks.com). Series not indexed in our tool are flagged: their values rest exclusively on third-party auction data.

Thanos special issues ranked (real values, June 2026)

The Thanos Quest, Infinity Gauntlet, and Bronze Age Captain Marvel series are not indexed in our eBay estimator; the values below rely on documented auction and dealer sales. Iron Man #55 and Silver Surfer #34, covered by the tool as regular series, are included to frame the key issue landscape.

Record sources: Bleeding Cool (2013), sellmycomicbooks.com, Heritage Auctions, eBay estimator mycomicscollection.com (June 2026).

Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 (1977): the Titan's first death

Published in December 1977, Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 closes Jim Starlin's first Thanos epic. The story unites the Thing, Spider-Man, the Avengers, and a dying Adam Warlock against the Mad Titan in a battle that ends with Thanos petrified — turned into a granite statue at the moment of Warlock's death. It also marks the first appearances of Lord Chaos and Master Order, two cosmic abstractions that recur throughout Marvel's cosmological mythology. Not indexed in our eBay estimator, raw reading copies trade for a few euros; the documented record sits around $580 (sellmycomicbooks.com). A high-grade CGC copy would logically command more, but no headline auction result has been publicly reported.

Silver Surfer #34 (1990): the return after 13 years

Jim Starlin himself brought Thanos back in Silver Surfer #34 (February 1990), thirteen years after the Titan's petrification. The resurrection was the opening move in a larger editorial plan that would lead directly to The Infinity Gauntlet. Our estimator returns a median of €19 across 55 listings — a reliable signal, though those €19 reflect the bulk of lower-grade or reading copies; a high-grade CGC example is worth considerably more, with no specific public record known at this time. The same era produced Avengers #125 (1974), a regular-series tie-in to the Thanos War: our estimator returns a median of €9 across 54 listings.

Thanos Quest #1–2 (1990): the quest for the Gems

Published in September and November 1990, the two-issue limited series Thanos Quest is entirely the work of Jim Starlin (script) and Ron Lim (pencils). It is the essential narrative bridge between the return in Silver Surfer #34 and the full-scale event of The Infinity Gauntlet: Thanos takes on the Elders of the Universe to steal their Soul Gems — and it is here that the term "Infinity Gems" is used for the first time, replacing the older "Soul Gems" nomenclature. Not indexed in our tool, the series remains accessible: the documented record sale for the first issue sits around $500 (sellmycomicbooks.com), and raw reading copies regularly surface for under €10.

The Infinity Gauntlet #1–6 (1991): the cosmic apex

Published from July to December 1991, The Infinity Gauntlet is the limited series that fixed Thanos permanently in popular culture. Jim Starlin wrote the story; George Perez and Ron Lim shared pencilling duties. Issue #1 opens on an omnipotent Thanos, Gauntlet on his fist, erasing half of all life in the universe with a single snap — an image reproduced almost identically in Avengers: Infinity War (2018, $2.05 billion worldwide gross) and Avengers: Endgame (2019, approximately $2.8 billion worldwide). Not indexed in our estimator, the series is one of Marvel's most widely distributed copper-age limited series; the documented record for Infinity Gauntlet #1 in high grade reaches approximately $1,400 (sellmycomicbooks.com). Raw copies are very affordable.

Thanos Rising #1 (2013): the revised origin in the MCU era

Published in April 2013 — one year after Thanos's post-credits cameo in The Avengers (2012) — Thanos Rising #1 is the first issue of a five-part limited series by Jason Aaron (script) and Simone Bianchi (art). It revisits the Titan's childhood and psychology on Titan, making explicit his obsession with Death. The issue generated strong speculative demand at launch, with several cover variants (Skottie Young, Djurdjevic). Not indexed in our estimator, it commands modest prices on the secondary market today except in high-grade CGC variants, where MCU-driven demand still reflects a premium.