WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Thanos Legacy #1 by Donny Cates, Brian Level, Jordan Boyd and Clayton Cowles, in stores now.
When Marvel was busy hyping up the release of Infinity Wars, Thanos was one of the main characters featured on the promo material for the series. It made sense after all, given that the character is so closely tied to the Infinity Stones. A massive cosmic comic book event featuring all six gems is bound the include the Mad Titan, in one form or another. And he was... for a short amount of time.
In the opening chapter of Infinity Wars, Thanos was getting ready to make his play for the powerful artifacts when he was stabbed from behind by his daughter Gamora. Following a swift strike from her sword, Thanos was left without a head, and the person we thought to be the main antagonist of the event was now dead.
RELATED: Infinity Wars Rewrites a Major Aspect of Thanos’ Continuity
Since many questions were left up in the air, the Thanos Legacy #1 one-shot fills in the blanks between the Mad Titan's last solo storyline, "Thanos Wins," and the opening of Infinity Wars. While Legacy actually confirms that there were no tricks surrounding Thanos' death, it does tease that it may be the start of something greater -- something incredibly dangerous: A war that could burn out the entire cosmos.
But what could be at the center of this war? In the closing page of Thanos: Legacy #1, the answer stands revealed. It's Thanos' will.
Shortly after Thanos' death, the Cosmic Ghost Rider shows up to... erm... pay his respects to his former master. But he's not the only one who felt the Mad Titan's death. Thanos' brother Eros also appears momentarily. Without hesitation, Eros drives a knife in his brother's dead body and buries his hands in his purple blood. While it appears gruesome at first, we actually come to find out that Eros is retrieving Thanos' will, which has been embedded in the villain's heart.
We don't find out what is in Thanos' will yet, but Eros does reveal its potential for danger. "I'm retrieving something before it sets off an endgame that will burn this universe to the ground," he says, before adding that the quest for this will could start an intergalactic war. As of now, it's unclear what this last will and testament will lead to. However, we do know where the pieces of this new thread will be picked up on. In January 2019, the Guardians of the Galaxy title will be relaunched by writer Donny Cates and artist Geoff Shaw with a storyline titled "Endgame," which is a reference to Eros' dialogue.
Even though the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe is currently fighting for control of the Infinity Stones in Infinity Wars, it's already clear that a bigger war is on the horizon. Whatever is in Thanos' last will promises to be the driving force behind Marvel's next big cosmic event, and we can't wait to see where it will go next.
KEEP READING: Infinity Wars: To Save the Marvel Timeline, A Young Avenger May Have Just Changed It