THE END Vol. 1

Jim Starlin

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Series: If you have read only The Infinity Gauntlet, THE END will show you Starlin dissecting Thanos once again, all the way down. Writing and drawing both, he stages a cosmic-scale finale as a magnificent and almost mournful one-act play: Earth's heroes are all but wiped out in the first half, while the ending is driven by ambiguous figures such as Thanos, Doctor Doom, and Adam Warlock. The many double-page spreads and assemblies of gods are a hallmark of cosmic Marvel storytelling of that era. Even more interesting is its position: Marvel officially classifies the series as the alternate universe Earth-4321, which is precisely why the author can kill everything without restraint, including the universe itself. That freedom brings a finality hard to achieve in main-universe series. For readers who want to understand Thanos's turn from conqueror to self-sacrificing redeemer, this volume is an unskippable link, and it also serves as a crash course in Marvel's cosmic mythology.

Summary

THE END is a six-issue limited series released by Marvel in 2003, written and drawn by Jim Starlin with Al Milgrom on inks. The story stands outside the Marvel main universe (later classified as Earth-4321) and revolves around an ancient energy source called the Heart of the Universe. A thousand years earlier, a group of alien explorers discovered this energy and formed the Celestial Order; when choosing an agent, they settled on the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. The power gradually corrupted Akhenaten: he travels from antiquity to the present-day Earth, conquers the world with the Heart of the Universe, and in the process slaughters the great majority of Earth's heroes. Doctor Doom travels through time to kill him while he is still mortal but fails. Thanos, who knows of this power, assembles the surviving heroes, including the Defenders and Captain Marvel, for a final strike against the Celestial Order. He destroys the device the Order uses to channel the Heart of the Universe, takes the power for himself, and travels back in time to erase the Celestial Order and end Akhenaten. After merging with the Heart of the Universe, however, Thanos realizes that the universe itself has a fundamental flaw that dooms it to end soon, and that the power of the Heart cannot repair it. The only solution is to destroy and remake the universe. Facing an assault by cosmic deities including Eternity, Death, Galactus, and the Celestials, Thanos finally draws the entire multiverse into himself; Adam Warlock speaks with him in the void and persuades him to sacrifice himself to restore everything. Thanos chooses to reboot the universe and erase himself from existence, and only Warlock remembers the sacrifice. This volume is Volume 1 of the series, collecting the opening portion; the exact issue breakdown depends on the edition.

Editor's review

如果你只读过《无限手套》，那么《THE END》会让你看到斯大林对灭霸的又一次彻底解剖。他既当编剧又当画师，把宇宙尺度的终局拍成一场壮丽而近乎悲凉的独幕剧：地球英雄在前半段几乎被一扫而空，真正推动结局的却是灭霸、末日博士、亚当·术士这些亦正亦邪的角色。大量跨页大场面与神明列阵，是那个年代漫威宇宙级叙事的标志性手笔。更值得玩味的是它的位置——漫威官方将本系列划为平行宇宙Earth-4321，正因如此，作者可以毫无顾忌地「杀死一切」，包括宇宙本身。这种自由度带来了主宇宙连载难以企及的决绝感。对于想理解灭霸从「征服者」走向「自我献祭者」这一形象转折的读者，本卷是不可跳过的一环，也可作为漫威宇宙神话谱系的一堂速成课。

Who it's for

A good fit for

读过《无限手套》《无限战争》，想继续追灭霸线宇宙故事的读者
偏爱宇宙神话、神明登场与世界观大场面的漫威漫画迷
对吉姆·斯大林自编自绘风格感兴趣的画风向读者
希望了解漫威平行宇宙（Earth-4321）体系设定的粉丝

Not a good fit for

第一次接触漫威漫画、需要从街头英雄入门的读者
偏好日常向、角色关系细腻刻画故事的读者
年龄较小、对大规模角色死亡情节敏感的读者

Reading tips

建议先读《无限手套》与《无限战争》，理解灭霸、亚当·术士与死亡女神的关系，本作的情绪落点才更成立。
阅读时留意「宇宙之心」与「无限宝石」在力量层级上的差别，这是理解灭霸最终选择的关键。
把它当作平行宇宙的终局故事而非主宇宙正史，不必纠结于角色死亡是否影响后续连载。
可配合漫威官方的老漫画联读介绍一起看，了解《THE END》系列各篇的定位与作者意图。

FAQ

《THE END》是漫威主宇宙的正史故事吗？

不是。漫威编辑汤姆·布雷沃特曾明确表示，《THE END》系列不属于官方主宇宙连续性，该系列后来被归入平行宇宙Earth-4321，因此其中的角色死亡不影响主宇宙剧情。

没读过《无限手套》能看懂吗？

基本能看懂主线，但会损失不少情感力度。故事高度依赖灭霸、亚当·术士与死亡女神之间的既有关系，建议先补《无限手套》及《无限战争》再读。

是谁创作了这部漫画？

由吉姆·斯大林（Jim Starlin）担任编剧并绘制线稿，阿尔·米尔格罗姆（Al Milgrom）负责勾线，克里斯蒂·席勒负责上色，2003年由漫威漫画出版。

为什么灭霸最后要毁掉宇宙？

因为他与宇宙之心同化后发现，宇宙存在一个无法用该力量修复的根本缺陷，注定很快终结；唯一解法是毁灭并重建宇宙，而他最终选择牺牲自己完成重建。

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About the author

Jim Starlin Author

Jim Starlin is a comics writer and artist, with six titles by him held in this Chinese-language book database. As public information is limited, this profile makes no speculations about his life and instead sketches his creative profile from the works on record. His representative titles include Batman: The Cult, Vol. 2; Batman Vol. 429: A Death in the Family, Vol. 4; The God Ending; THE END Vol. 1 and Vol. 6; and The Cult of Faith, Part 1. These works span categories such as fine fiction, film and television tie-ins, art, film and television, and mystery and suspense. Their subjects often involve superheroes and weighty themes such as death and faith, with narratives unfolding between grand premises and characters' inner struggles. The atmosphere tends toward the dark, with strong dramatic tension and a reflective quality. For Chinese readers, he is noted for his part in a pivotal Batman storyline, and his work is often regarded as belonging to the more adult-oriented, psychologically detailed strand of superhero comics.