Thanos
Thanos is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Thanos was a male Titanians Eternal who was born to Sui-San and Mentor on the planet Titan.
During his birth, his mother wanted to name him Dione but upon seeing the child's eyes she named him Thanos. (Thanos v2 #14)
Annihilation
After a period of study, he successfully managed to find a means of harnessing the Power Cosmic by turning Galactus into a giant collector of its energy for harvest. He was used as a weapon to destroy worlds then harvest their cosmic energy whereby only a fraction was used to sustain his own functions whilst the great majority was diverted to the Annihilation Wave for Annihilus to feast on it. At first, Annihilus wanted Galactus killed as he wanted none of the energy lost but Thanos had explained that this was impossible as the World Devourer was needed for the process. Afterwards, the Mad Titan met with the captive Moondragon whose body was infested with control bugs thus making her obey his commands. He wanted her to probe the mind of Annihilus to learn of his grand plan and came to learn that the master of the Annihilation Wave had intended to turn Galactus into a giant living bomb with the intention of detonating him to destroy the entire universe. The goal was for Annihilus to be the only survivor and thus fulfil his desire to eliminate all life as they were deemed a threat to his existence. Such a plan saw Thanos underestimating his ally and he had Moondragon freed in order to aid him in enacting a failsafe to free Galactus. Whilst attempting to do so, Drax had arrived having forced his way onto the Annihilation Wave flagship in order to fulfil his purpose in eliminating Thanos. He knocked his daughter Moondragon unconscious and proceeded to land a critical blow against the Mad Titan who gazed upon a vision of Death in the background as he was killed before he could free Galactus thus potentially dooming the universe to Annihilus. (Annihilation v1 #4)
Though dead, the Universal Church of Truth discovered his remains and encased it in a protective cocoon where they proceeded the long process in trying to resurrect him. Upon emerging from the pod, Thanos killed everyone on the Church's homeworld of Sacrosanct as his mind went feral and he was in a mindless rage at being resurrected. The Guardians of the Galaxy attempted to stop him but were unable to match his strength in this state until Star-Lord used a Cosmic Cube to knock the Mad Titan unconscious. (Guardians of the Galaxy v2 #25)
Infinity
Requiem
In the aftermath, his brother Starfox called a gathering of galactic groups to attend the reading of Thanos's last will and testament. This saw a recording where the Mad Titan proclaimed that he had a final measure in the event of his death to upload his mind into the brain of another person thus allowing him to be reborn. At the same time, the gathering was interrupted by the Black Order who stole Thanos's slain body and took it to Hela as she intended to resurrect the Mad Titan. (Guardians of the Galaxy v5 #1) She was aware of the fact that Thanos had indeed place his mind in another person to aid in his resurrection should his physical form ever be killed with this actually being his brother Eros. Hela came to Starfox where the programming was triggered and Thanos was in possession of his body where he accompanied her back to their headquarters where his body had been reconstructed. It was then that he went through the mind transferral with it expected that Eros would perish in the process. (Guardians of the Galaxy v5 #5)
Whilst dying in a singularity, he came to found by Phastos of the Earth Eternals who had need of an agent to perform set tasks for himself. He had uncovered that the Machine that was on Earth helped maintain resurrect the Eternals by killing humans in the process to use their energies to restore one of the planet's immortal members. Horrified at this revelation, Phastos looked to sabotage the Machine in a way that would prevent this function but knew that his fellow Eternals would not accept such an act. Thus, he forcibly recruited Thanos for this task where he did not fully resurrect the Mad Titan and had placed failsafes designed to kill him if he failed to comply with him. He had Thanos used the teleportation network of the Machine to murder Eternals that would oppose them whilst Phastos conducted his sabotage efforts. (Eternals v5 #6) At Titanos, Thanos was confronted by Ikaris of the Eternals with the two engaging in a battle. (Eternals v5 #2) Ultimately, it was discovered that the tampering of the Machine had created a chain reaction that was devastating the Earth. During this time, Druig came to form an alliance with the Mad Titan where they secretly began to work together. (Eternals v5 #6)
Overview
Personality and attributes
At some point, he encountered a female Inhuman of Earth where he impregnated her with his child. She came to flee him and escaped back to Earth where she gave birth to his son named Thane. (New Avengers v3 #10) After dying at one point, his energies came to merge with that of Death with this leading to their child being born. It was a creature of dark energy and horror that was called the Rot that was life yet not life at the same time. The Rot was a creature of darkness that grew as a void within Death and Eternity itself where it consumed anything that entered into it as it grew in size. (Avengers: Celestial Quest v1 #8)
Thanos stated that he did not create life and rather destroyed it with him being disgusted at the thought of fathering a child. (Avengers: Celestial Quest v1 #8) He was noted to had conduct a tribute whereby he demanded any child of his be handed to him so that he could kill them. (Infinity v1 #4)
He was a creature of passion and murder who enjoyed himself in such fights. (Eternals v5 #2)
Powers and abilities
Despite this, it was also claimed that he was not a true Eternal. (Eternals v5 #2)
The elite circle of generals that served the Mad Titan were his warriors among the Black Order. (Infinity v1 #1)
One of his creations were the Thanosi that were a type of clone created by Thanos. They were said to be a unique blend of android, clone and mystical doppelganger. These beings were made as a means of testing the strength and reliability of several probable foes as well as comrades. Some of them rivalled the power of Thanos himself but the clones suffered from an intellectual deficiency whereby they always opted for the most destructive answer to any problem. Any form of subtle logic seemed beyond them with their destructive shortcomings meaning they were too dangerous and unpredictable for him to use even with supervision. (Infinity Abyss v1 #3)
Among his armies included the Outriders that were four-armed genetically-engineered parasite-assassins who were not born but rather made to serve the whims of their master. They had no names but a binary designation with their existence being defined by the completion of their task. (Infinity v1 #1)
Within his headquarters, he was known to consult an object known as the Infinity Well that was a cosmic vortex linked to something greater where it became a source of unimaginable universal knowledge. Within was a realm of thought that had no barriers and it was said that all things were possible. (Thanos Quest v1 #1)
Notes
- Thanos was created by Mike Friedrich and Jim Starlin where he made his first appearance in Iron Man v1 #55 (February, 1973).
- In an interview with Jim Starlin, he commented on the characters creation, "I went to college between doing U.S. military service and getting work in comics, and there was a psych class and I came up with Thanos ... and Drax the Destroyer, but I'm not sure how he fit into it, just anger management probably. So I came up to Marvel, and editor Roy Thomas asked if I wanted to do an issue of Iron Man. I felt that this may be my only chance ever to do a character, not having the confidence that my career was going to last anything longer than a few weeks. So they got jammed into it. Thanos was a much thinner character and Roy suggested beefing him up, so he's beefed up quite a bit from his original sketches ... and later on I liked beefing him up so much that he continued to grow in size."
Alternate Versions
- In Ultimate Fantastic Four v1 #35 (2006), an alternate version of Thanos was shown to inhabit the Ultimate Marvel universe designated as Earth-1610. He was shown as being the leader of the Endless Resurgence that was a vast empire in another plane of existence that contained thousands of worlds with its capital being the planet Acheron.
- In Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four v1 #48 (2009), an alternate reality version of the Thanos was shown to had existed in the universe designated as Earth-TRN430. By the End of Time, he was shown to had a son named Kratos who headed a group called the Black End which sought to ensure all life perished as the universe ended. Thus, their target was Galactus who was attempting to survive the collapse and escape into the new universe. Kratos and his allies were defeated by the Fantastic Four that were brought temporarily forward in time and whose powers were amplified by Galactus's Zero device.
- In Thanos v2 #13 (2017), an alternate future was shown where Thanos succeeded in wiping out all life in the galaxy with him taking the name King Thanos. He ruled the cosmos as a solitary ruler with Frank Castle being turned into his servant as the Cosmic Ghost Rider and Hulk being turned into a ravenous pet that served him. King Thanos used his Ghost Rider to abduct his younger self to aid him in battling the Fallen One under the belief that the destruction of this threat would allow him to finally be with his lady Death.
- In Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018), an alternate timeline was created when the Cosmic Ghost Rider travelled back in time to kill an infant Thanos. However, upon seeing the child, he decided to take him away and attempted to raise him to be a force for good. This resulted in a Thanos that saw the Cosmic Ghost Rider as his father and he moulded himself in his image as the Punisher where he operated under a similar ideology as his adoptive parent Frank Castle. He created a future where people lived under the peace he created or were left to die slowly in a wasteland outside his paradise. Upon seeing this future, the Cosmic Ghost Rider was horrified and rejected the future that he had unintentionally created.
In other media
Television
- In Silver Surfer, Thanos first appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Gary Krawford.
- In Avengers Assemble, Thanos appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Isaac C. Singleton Jr.
- In Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Isaac C. Singleton Jr.
Films
- In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thanos made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting.
- In The Avengers, Thanos made a cameo appearance in the end-credit sequence of the live-action film where he was non-voiced but was portrayed by actor Damion Poitier.
- In Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos appeared in a minor role in the 2014 live-action film where he was voiced by actor Josh Brolin.
- In The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thanos had a minor appearance in the 2015 live-action film where he was voiced by actor Josh Brolin.
- In The Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos appeared in the setting of the live-action film where he was voiced again by actor Josh Brolin.
- in The Avengers: Endgame, Thanos appeared in the setting of the live-action film where he was once more voiced by actor Josh Brolin.
Video games
- In Marvel Super Heroes In War of the Gems, Thanos appeared as the final boss level antagonist in the setting of the 1996 beat-'em-up platform game.
- In Marvel Future Fight, Thanos appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game.
- In Marvel: Contest of Champions, Thanos appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game.
- In Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, Thanos appeared in the adventure video game where he was voiced by actor Jake Hart
- In Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Thanos appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor Isaac C. Singleton Jr.
- In Marvel Strike Force, Thanos appeared in the setting of the 2018 mobile game.
- In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Thanos appeared in the setting of the 2019 action role-playing video game where he was voiced again by actor Isaac C. Singleton Jr.
Appearances
- Iron Man v1: (1973)
- Captain Marvel v1:
- Cosmic Powers v1:
- Infinity Abyss v1:
- Avengers: Celestial Quest v1:
- Thanos v1:
- Annihilation v1:
- Guardians of the Galaxy:
- Avengers Assemble v1:
- Infinity v1:
- New Avengers v3:
- Thanos v2:
- Cosmic Ghost Rider v1:
- Guardians of the Galaxy v5:
- Thanos v3:
- Eternals v5:
External Links
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