Infinity Gauntlet

Collecting Infinity Gauntlet #1-6 (1991), this Jim Starlin-written miniseries — illustrated by George Pérez and Ron Lim — sends the cosmic villain Thanos on his quest for absolute power. Having recovered all six Infinity Gems and fused them into a single gauntlet, Thanos gains total command over time, space, reality, power, mind and soul.

To win the favor of Mistress Death, Thanos snaps his fingers and erases half of all life in the universe. Adam Warlock rallies Earth's surviving heroes, including the Avengers and the Silver Surfer, in a last-ditch effort to wrest the Gauntlet from him before the universe itself unravels.

Starlin balances cosmic-scale spectacle with a surprisingly introspective portrait of Thanos, giving the arc philosophical weight beyond the battles. It became one of Marvel's defining event comics and the direct source material for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Infinity Saga.