Image: Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki (Fandom), article "Thanos"
Character
Thanos
Watched his own world die of overpopulation and decided the universe needed the same cure, applied earlier.
- Status
- Deceased
- Species
- Titan
- First in print
- Iron Man #55 (1973)
- On screen
- 3 entries
Who they are
Watched Titan die of exactly what he predicted and concluded the universe needed the same correction applied earlier. What makes the MCU's version work is that he is not lying: he believes it, he grieves the cost, he retires to a farm afterwards. What makes him a villain is that he never once considers doubling the resources instead — a hole the films leave open on purpose.
Connections
Enemy
- Drax
Character
- The Avengers
Organisation
Wields
- The Infinity Gauntlet
Object · from avengers infinity war
- The Sanctuary II
Object
From
- Titan
Place
Leads
- The Chitauri
Organisation
- The Black Order
Organisation
Ally
- The Kree Empire
Organisation
- Ronan the Accuser
Character
- Ebony Maw
Character
- Proxima Midnight
Character
- Corvus Glaive
Character
- Cull Obsidian
Character
Appearances
Canonical timeline · 3 entries
Notes are veiled until you track what you have watched, or switch spoilers off in the header.
The Snap
2018-
Avengers: Infinity War2018 · Major role
The Endgame
2023-
Avengers: Endgame2019 · Supporting
Outside time
-
What If...?2021 · Cameo · 0/26 ep
Beyond the screen1 from the comics · click to open
From the comics
He did it to impress Death
The comics Thanos erases half of all life as a courtship gift to the physical embodiment of Death, who does not reciprocate. Replacing that with a Malthusian argument about resources gives the films a villain who can hold a conversation — and loses the joke that he is, fundamentally, a man being rejected.
The Infinity Gauntlet #1–6 (1991), Jim Starlin and George Pérez