It's been one year to the day since the Avengers.
In the culmination of more than 20+ movies, Iron Man managed to beat Thanos after getting the Infinity Stones himself and using every last fiber of his being to reset reality five years after the initial snap. While Tony died, his sacrifice rid the universe of Thanos for good and brought 50 percent of life back to existence. But, in a Thanos-starring comic from 2018, Iron Man wasn't so lucky.
In the appropriately titled "Thanos wins" arc from Thanos by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Antonio Fabela, and Clayton Cowles, the issue takes a look back at how Frank Castle turned into the Cosmic Ghost Rider and just how Thanos managed to take down the Earth's mightiest heroes. Frank recounts the day, where Thanos, wearing a fully-loaded Infinity Gauntlet, launches a successful attack on Earth. The Mad Titan makes quick work of the superteam, killing the likes Doctor Strange and Spider-Man. A gruesome shows how Thanos defeated Iron Man. He killed Tony by ripping him into pieces.
Clearly, in this scenario, Iron Man wasn't able to get to the Infinity Gauntlet in time and stop Thanos from taking over the universe. What happens instead is one of Thanos' more gruesome kills, as Tony Stark's insides pour out of his body as he's ripped in half. The Punisher would try to get his revenge, making a deal with Mephisto to have a chance to survive and kill Thanos, becoming the new Spirit of Vengeance as the Cosmic Ghost Rider. Frank's journey would take plenty of unexpected turns - but he wasn't able to stop Thanos from completely ravaging Earth and killing most of its heroes.
The "Thanos Wins" arc is an absolutely wild ride that all readers should check out. Thanos ultimately takes on an older version of himself in the distant future who's destroyed everything - Iron Man included. While there's no way Avengers: Endgame was ever going to end with Thanos winning and ripping Iron Man apart, the comic shows the true power of Thanos and what could have happened without Tony's heroic sacrifice. He truly died a hero.
