In “Thanos Annual” #1’s backup story, Nighthawk, who remembers the “Heroes Reborn” reality where his Squadron Supreme served under Coulson, goes on a mission to find the Infinity Stones so he can bring back the erased reality created by Mephisto. He successfully finds the Death Stone — fresh from leaving Thanos as his plan to get a fully loaded Infinity Gauntlet fails — at a graveyard, but doesn’t know what it is as he’s never seen it before. Upon reaching out for the gem, it explodes with energy, summoning a skeleton from the ground and bonding with a corpse, slowly rebuilding and giving it life. Nighthawk expresses shock at seeing the gem merge with Agent Phil Coulson as he becomes the living embodiment of the Death Stone.

This not only brings back the character from the dead and gives a sinister new role to the hero-turned-villain, but also likely comes with some incredible powers that the living embodiment of Death previously wielded. Will he be able to control death itself? If he can, Nighthawk may get his wish in the reality from “Heroes Reborn” being remade, especially if he’s able to track down the other Infinity Stones to further reshape space and time. Thanos can’t be thrilled with the Death Stone not only abandoning him but also choosing a host; there’s little chance any good is going to come out of the dark events, at least for those trying to protect the cosmic artifacts from falling into the wrong hands.