Notes on Thanos

Thanos of Titan. The greatest villain the MCU has ever seen. Possibly even any other superhero film.

Thanos had one very clear goal. He wanted to reduce the population to half in a flash. No pain. No blood. Just wiped from existence. He never wanted power, riches, or fame. He wanted to preserve life. But ultimately, he wanted to watch the sun rise on a grateful universe.

I see this perspective, where you can view Thanos’s journey in the Infinity War as the journey of a selfless hero.

Almost immediately after acquiring the Infinity Gauntlet and accomplishing his goal, the first thing he does isn’t changing reality itself to his own benefit or becoming an omnipotent god.

The only thing he does after accomplishing his goal was to destroy the stones to make his actions irreversible. This is a surprisingly humble move by the warmonger of the universe. A reflection of the quality that made Thanos so special. Humility.

Throughout Infinity War, we are constantly told that Thanos has one ultimate goal besides providing universal salvation.

He wants to watch the sun rise on a grateful universe.

And that’s exactly what Thanos does in Infinity War.

He doesn’t gloat like a moron or dance on the graves of his fallen enemies.

He still has his injuries, and slowly sits down on his porch to watch the sun rise. A symbol of a new beginning.

Another thing about Thanos is that he wasn’t scary because he was powerful or strong and tough. He was scary because in a dark, twisted way he was right.

Most people do not have the potential to improve their surroundings. Their environment. Their homes. People do not have the will to act on the consequences of their actions. Thanos knew planets were going to die. He discerned that at some point in time, the cosmos would darken with dead planets and wiped out civilizations.

So he acted on it. He acted on it, with pure determination, might and sheer will.

“The hardest choices require the strongest wills.” -Thanos, 2018

In complete truthfulness, Thanos was right. Unquestionably right. And if you can debate and question the villain without coming to an absolute solution, that’s a scary thing. It’s terrifying.

PS: Do you wanna know what Thanos means in Greek?

Death.