Marvel Comics

Before Battleworld, there was the end of everything. Jonathan Hickman's New Avengers run introduced the concept of incursions — parallel Earths colliding and destroying each other — and built the philosophical and moral framework that made Secret Wars inevitable. This omnibus collects the prelude material that transforms the Illuminati into reluctant architects of extinction. Collects New Avengers #1–33 and Avengers #35–44, the core incursions storyline.

Before Infinity Gauntlet, Jim Starlin spent years establishing who Thanos was and why he worshipped Death. This omnibus collects the origin material and early cosmic battles that made Thanos something other than a standard villain — a true believer whose nihilism has theological roots. It covers the foundational Starlin Thanos material that Infinity Gauntlet was built upon. Essential pre-Infinity Gauntlet Why it's worth it.