Kronos (, ), also spelled as Chronos, is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. The character first appears in ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

'' #55 (Feb. 1973) and was created by

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, and ...

Publication history

Kronos first appears in the title ''

'', saving the soul of Arthur Douglas, killed by a barrage from the ship of the Titan,

Thanos Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...

. Kronos subsequently uses Douglas' soul to create

Drax the Destroyer Drax the Destroyer (Arthur Douglas) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in ''Iron Man (comic book), The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 (February 19 ...

, a being intended to kill Thanos, his own grandson. A back-up story in the alternate universe title ''

What If What If may refer to: Film * ''What If'', a 2006 TV film starring Niall Buggy * ''What If...'' (2010 film), an American film * ''What If...'' (2012 film), a Greek film * ''What If'' (2013 film) or ''The F Word'', a Canadian-Irish film Telev ...

'' reveals in flashback that many

millennia A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

ago the character was originally one of the

immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

Eternals, and led a rebellion against his tyrannical brother Uranos. After a successful coup, Kronos fathered the Eternals

Zuras Zuras is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a member of the Eternals who is the uncle of Thanos and Starfox. Publication history Zuras first appeared in ''The Eterna ...

and

A'lars Mentor (A'lars) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''Iron Man'' #55 (February 1973), and was created by Jim Starlin. Mentor is the leader of the Titanian colon ...

(also known as Mentor, the present leader of the Titanian Eternals), before being accidentally atomized during a botched experiment. The character's spirit survives, continuing to exist in

astral Astral may refer to: Concepts of the non-physical * Astral body, a subtle body posited by many religious philosophers * Astral journey (or ''astral trip''), the same as having an ''out-of-body experience'' * Astral plane (AKA astral world), a ...

form with amplified powers and abilities. In the title '' Captain Marvel'', Thanos comes into possession of the artifact the

Cosmic Cube The Cosmic Cube is a fictional object appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. There are multiple Cubes in the Marvel Universe, all of which are depicted as containment devices that can empower whoever wields them. Although th ...

and uses it to imprison Kronos, who is eventually freed when Thanos is defeated by the

Kree The Kree, briefly known as the Ruul, are a fictional scientifically and technologically advanced militaristic list of fictional extraterrestrials, alien race appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are native to the p ...

hero Mar-Vell and the

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

team the ''

Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...

''. In the third volume of the title ''

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

'', Kronos realizes that the entity

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

has restored Thanos to life, and, in response, the character restores an at-the-time deceased Drax to life, to hunt Thanos once again (with an increase in physical power at the cost of his mental acuity). Kronos features briefly in the title ''

Quasar A quasar is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a m ...

'', encountering the disembodied spirit of villain

Maelstrom Maelstrom may refer to: * Maelstrom (whirlpool), a powerful whirlpool ** originally the Moskstraumen in English Amusement rides * Maelstrom (ride), a former log flume dark ride attraction in the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World Resort ...

, and glimpses

Infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

when the entity manifests. The character features in the

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

the ''

Infinity Gauntlet ''The Infinity Gauntlet'' is an American comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. In addition to an eponymous, six-issue limited series written by Jim Starlin and pencilled by George Pérez and Ron Lim, crossover chapters appeared ...

'', and with the combined cosmic pantheon of the Marvel universe attempt to stop Thanos, who at the time wields the

Infinity Gems The Infinity Gems (originally referred to as Soul Gems and later as Infinity Stones) are six fictional gems appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, named after and embodying various aspects of existence. The gems (Mind, Pow ...

. In the title ''

Warlock and the Infinity Watch The Infinity Watch is the name of three fictional organizations appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of Infinity Watch was gathered in ''Warlock and the Infinity Watch'' #1, and starred in that series un ...

'' Kronos listens to the entreaties of the heroine

Moondragon Moondragon (Heather Douglas) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A powerful telepath, master martial artist, minor telekinetic and highly skilled geneticist, Moondragon's most notable characteristi ...

, and restores Drax - her father when Arthur Douglas - to his original, thinking state.

Powers and abilities

Kronos was originally one of the Eternals of Earth. Due to an explosion caused by an experiment gone wrong he lost his physical form. The energy from the same explosion resulted in the other Eternals of Earth becoming immortal and gaining cosmic powers. Once an abstract being, Kronos became a cosmic entity with the ability to achieve virtually any effect by willing it. The character occasionally manifests as a huge transparent humanoid so lesser beings can perceive the entity.

Reception

* In 2021, ''

CBR.com ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

'' ranked Kronos 1st in their "15 Most Powerful Eternals" list. * In 2021, ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

'' ranked Kronos 1st in their "10 Most Powerful Members Of The Eternals" list

References

External links

Kronos
at the Marvel Database Project {{Marvel Cosmic Entities Characters created by Jim Starlin Comics characters introduced in 1973 Eternals (comics) Fictional characters who can manipulate time it:Kronos (personaggio)