Summary

• Thanos' origin is revealed in Cosmic Ghost Rider #5, where Frank Castle himself inadvertently teaches him to kill.
• Cosmic Ghost Rider resets the timeline after killing a future version of Thanos and returning baby Thanos to his proper time, shaping Thanos' destiny.
• In a way, Thanos' own villainy influenced his origin, making Cosmic Ghost Rider an unwitting pawn in turning Thanos into a villain.

Thanos will do anything to accomplish his goals, whatever they may be, and he’s not afraid to kill anyone who stands in his way. And now, Marvel Comics reveals the origin of Thanos’ seemingly unquenchable bloodlust, as one A-list Marvel hero secretly taught Thanos to kill.

In Cosmic Ghost Rider #5 by Donny Cates and Dylan Burnett, Frank Castle aka Cosmic Ghost Rider is shocked to learn that Thanos has conquered a future version of the Earth, pinning the entire planet under his totalitarian rule - and doing so in the name of Castle’s original moniker: the Punisher. Cosmic Ghost Rider abducted Thanos as an infant and raised him himself to avoid such an outcome, yet here Thanos was, living up to his destiny in a truly horrific fashion.

Cosmic Ghost Rider has no choice but to kill this version of his adopted son before returning the version of Thanos who was still an infant to his crib on Titan. This act reset the timeline, allowing the Marvel Universe to play out as fans know it. However, just by exposing baby Thanos to such intense violence at a young age left a permanent mark on Thanos’ psyche, and - as confirmed by Lady Death herself - is the reason Thanos became the Mad Titan.

Cosmic Ghost Rider Being Responsible for Creating Thanos is Tragic Irony at its Best

Cosmic Ghost Rider only adopted Thanos as an infant to avoid the very circumstances of his own origin. Cosmic Ghost Rider only exists because of Thanos, as the Mad Titan killed everyone on Earth in Thanos Wins, which led to Frank Castle becoming Ghost Rider and then the Herald of Galactus. To avoid another reality where Thanos does this, Cosmic Ghost Rider tries to raise him to be a hero. Unfortunately, his influence has the opposite effect.

Not only that, but Frank Castle’s original purpose in the Marvel Universe was as the Punisher, someone committed to punishing violent criminals and evildoers of all sorts - and there’s no one in the universe who fits that profile better than Thanos. Thanos not only kills any life form that crosses him, but he does so without even a shred of remorse. If he was strong enough, the Punisher would absolutely target Thanos for the evil he’s committed, making it tragically ironic that Castle himself is secretly to blame.

Thanos Arguably Shaped His Own Origin from an Alternate Marvel Future

Thanos Wins by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw

While Cosmic Ghost Rider does seem to be to blame, it could be argued that Thanos shaped his own origin. Again, Cosmic Ghost Rider only exists because of the version of Thanos from Thanos Wins, and that Thanos is also the reason Cosmic Ghost Rider tries to raise baby Thanos as a hero to begin with. Thanos’ villainy caused his younger self to be exposed to Cosmic Ghost Rider, which inspired his villainy. It’s a flat circle that begins and ends with Thanos, while Cosmic Ghost Rider acts as an unwitting pawn in this perversion of natural order.

While Thanos is ultimately responsible for his own destiny (perhaps literally), it’s interesting to learn that he wasn’t obsessed with the idea of death at such a young age for no reason. Though he was too young to it, Thanos was influenced by his experience with Cosmic Ghost Rider, making the A-list hero, Frank Castle aka the Punisher, secretly to blame for Thanos’ villainous origin.