The Infinity Gauntlet was a six issue miniseries published by
Marvel Comics.
Thanos, the Mad Titan, killed off half the sentient beings in the
universe using the
Infinity Gauntlet. The Infinity Gauntlet was one of
Thanos' gloves with the six Infinity gems inlaid. These gems gave control over the
mind,
power, the
soul,
reality,
time, and
space. When used together, they give the user power over the entire universe. However, because of a (much) later ruling by
The Living Tribunal, they can no longer be used together due to their enormous
potential for
destruction.
The series centers around the efforts of the heroes who are left after half the universe is killed to wrest Thanos' god-like power from him. There is widespread chaos on Earth after half of the population dies, and the few heroes that survived do their best to save the day. But the immense power used to kill so many has other effects as well. Massive tidal waves hit coastal cities. It starts to get very cold, as the Earth was knocked out of its orbit away from the sun. And dimensional walls are weakened, allowing entities to pour in from places like the Negative Zone.
So Earth is screwed. But there is hope. Adam Warlock has returned from Soul World to fight Thanos again. He marshals the heroes into a force to take out Thanos. Warlock has an intimate knowledge of the Infinity Gems, because he wielded the soul gem for years before dying and taking up residence inside of it. This knowledge is not enough, however, and the assault is doomed. Thanos defeats the remaining heroes of earth. Then, some of the universe's heavy hitters, such as Galactus, the Celestials, and Kronos attempt to stop him, but they, too, are defeated. Thanos even usurps Eternity's place as the embodiment of all that is. His own subconscious betrays him, though, and he is undone. That's not where the story ends, but that's all I'll say.
The Infinity Gauntlet is definitely one of the best comics crossovers ever. It was built up to for about a year in the Silver Surfer comics, with Thanos being resurrected and beginning his mission to kill half of the universe. These stories were excellent as well, and also brought other major players such as Adam Warlock into the picture. But the miniseries itself is the best part. Action, suspense, subtle manipulations and surprise twists: all were present in this story.
The Infinity Gauntlet was the first part of the so-called 'Infinity Trilogy', which consists of (in order) The Infinity Gauntlet, The Infinity War, and The Infinity Crusade.