Finding himself spurned by his long-desired love, Death, Marvel Comics’ Thanos once created a being capable of giving him everything he ever wanted. However, it’s difficult to ignore the fact that the Mad Titan’s creation was a spitting image of himself. Even more disturbing is how she acts and appears like both a daughter and a girlfriend.
In “Infinity Gauntlet” #3, an omnipotent Thanos finds the living embodiment of Death rejecting his offer to stand by his side, even after he snaps half of all life from existence with the Infinity Stones. In response, Thanos creates a supreme being named Terraxia the Terrible, someone capable of giving him the affection he deserves and the love and devotion he needs. He even describes her as “everything my soul longs for,” making it clear her role is to make Death jealous.
However, Terraxia looks like a female version of Thanos and could easily be mistaken for his daughter. She refers to him as “my love” and worships the ground he walks on. But, despite creating Terraxia in his own image, he largely denies her devotion, and instead uses her as a tool to win Death’s love — a plan that doesn’t succeed. Throughout her short time in existence, she eagerly tries to get Thanos’ attention, offering him the loving embrace Death refuses. But the uber-powerful Frankenstein’s monster-like creation is rebuffed by her creator at every turn.
The infatuated Terraxia is is treated like Thanos’ daughter, not his lover
Terraxia stands by Thanos’ side as Marvel’s assembled heroes arrive to take his Infinity Gauntlet, intending to use it to restore reality to its proper state. She quickly proves to be a worthy creation of the Mad Titan — even if her romantic overtures to him are consistently rebuffed.
In “Infinity Gauntlet” #4, Thanos toys with Earth’s greatest heroes and their allies as they try to take the Infinity Gauntlet from him. But when Iron Man hits the villain with a powerful blast of energy, Terraxia quickly responds. She grabs the armored hero from mid-air as Thanos watches (calling her the “perfect woman”), decapitating him by ripping his head and helmet off his body. Next, she slams Spider-Man to the ground, providing the wall-crawler a bloody death by violently beating him with a rock.
Thanos is impressed with Terraxia’s actions, not so much in a romantic way but with pride, further blurring whether he actually sees her as a potential lover or his daughter.
Ultimately, Thanos watches Terraxia die after his adopted daughter, Nebula, steals the Infinity Gauntlet, relieves the Mad Titan of his powers, and reverses his snap. This leads to Terraxia being unable to breathe in deep space and dying. Thanos admits he will miss her as her lifeless body floats in front of him.
Terraxia looked like Thanos, acted on his whims, and desired his affection, appearing at times to be both his daughter and his potential lover. In the end, Thanos never labels the oddball relationship or tries to consummate it, leaving Terraxia’s intended role somewhat open to interpretation, but disturbing no matter how you view it.