The storyline is a continuation of events involving resurrected Starlin-character Thanos,[1] featured in the title Silver Surfer.

Challenging him to single combat, Thanos tricks the Champion into destroying the planet and stranding himself in space.

After the Runner destroys Thanos's craft, Thanos reveals to him that he has discovered the true nature of the Infinity Gems; they are, in fact, the physical remnants of a godlike being that existed before the creation of our universe, who committed a form of cosmic suicide out of loneliness.

He then uses the Time gem taken from the Gardener to turn the Runner first into an extremely old and decrepit man, and then into an infant.

Thanos destroys the minion in a fit of anger and stalks from Death's throne room, trying to comprehend his miscalculation, and finally wondering, while shedding a tear, how becoming a god could prove such a hollow victory.

[3] The series has been reprinted a number of times, first in a 2000 one-shot[4][5] and then as part of the Rebirth of Thanos trade paperback which brought together all the pre-Infinity Gauntlet issues dealing with Thanos's return: Some elements of the comic were later loosely adapted in Avengers: Infinity War.