Thanos had an intricate plan to set up, his next three targets would be aware that he was after their gems. First one his list was a call to "The Collector" and Elder known for his fascination with collecting items, both living and non. In his possession was the most dangerous of all the gems, The Reality Gem. Without informing him of the Soul Gem's true ability he made the preparations for a trading deal, but not what he would give him. Satisfied that he had the Elder's curiousity peaked, Thanos directed his ship to the being known as "The Runner", who possessed the Space Gem at the time. Upon arriving the Runner completely destroyed Thanos' ship, and the Titan agreed to tell him of his plans. Thanos had prepared for such an eventuality however, and by the point at which he finished his story he had aged the runner to more than a million years of age (Also proving that Elders are not beyond aging). He then took the Space Gem, and reversed the aging of the elder to the point of merely being a baby. With 4 Gems in his possession, and a baby elder (An extremely rare commodity) Thanos used his newfound gem to appear on the ship of the Collector and propose his deal.

The next gem was by far the easiest for him to obtain. In a quick deal with the Collector Thanos traded the baby elder for the Reality Gem, and left for his final confrotation with the Grand Master.

The Grand Master would prove the most difficult to conive out of his gem, for he had spent his near limitless life doing nothing except mastering every game known. Thanos, however, was well prepared for the Grand Master and approached knowing that there would be a game involved if he wished to take the gem. The following games were filled with deceit and treachery on the part of the Grand Master, but in the end Thanos won, and possessed all six of the Infinity Gems.