Thanos has gone from a niche comic villain to a household name. It all started back in 2012 when movie-going audiences were given a glimpse of him at the end of The Avengers. Subsequent movies would build on his mystique until he fully appeared in Avengers: Infinity War and stole the show. Thanos had arrived.
That movie, and Avengers: Endgame, taught casual fans something comic fans have known for years – Thanos is awesome. While the Mad Titan has gone through a lot of ups and downs over the years, he has remained one of the biggest threats in the Marvel Universe. As great and powerful of a character as he is, Thanos faces stiff competition for the crown of comics' greatest villain. This list is going to look at the reasons why he is and the reasons why he isn't.
10 Not The Greatest: The Movies Have Muddied The Water
A lot of people think that Thanos in the MCU is in some ways superior to the comic version because "his motivations are better." In the comics, Thanos' love for Death is the driving force behind the villain's desire to erase the universe's population by half, which can come across as superficial compared to the MCU version's "bigger picture" motivation.
However, Thanos' love of Death is a metaphor for his own nihilism. Thanos's childhood on Titan was full of ridicule and loathing, both from himself and others. It molded him into someone who believed that death was the only thing that would solve the problem. He's not a deluded self-righteous person trying to "save" everything by killing; no, he is a nihilist who believes death is the only answer for his pain.
9 The Greatest: He Defeats Himself
While this might not seem like something that should be in the plus column, it actually shows just how well-defined Thanos is. Over the years, Thanos has gained godlike power many times and, yet, he always loses. That shouldn't be possible, but the reasoning behind it makes a lot of sense.
Thanos knows that deep down, he's not worthy of the power that he covets, so he always ends up leaving ways for his enemies to defeat him. This says a lot about what a multi-faceted character he is. Thanos's nihilism extends even to himself.
8 Not The Greatest: The Thanoscopter
Every comic book character has some kind of lame skeleton in their closet. Comics have been around for a very long time and have gone through a lot of changes. The more childish storytelling of the Silver Age evolved into the more mature storytelling fans have gotten used to.
Thanos debuted in the early '70s, meaning his creation took place during that indefinite period between the Silver and Bronze Ages of comics. He should have been safe from the lamer aspects of the Silver Age, but he wasn't and all the proof of that can found in the Thanoscopter. Look upon it and despair.
7 The Greatest: It Takes A Team
Thanos, even without the Infinity Gauntlet, is one of the most dangerous beings in the Marvel Universe. There are few beings who can stand against him in a solo battle: Silver Surfer, perhaps Thor, and Thanos generally stays away from the Hulk, so it's possible that he could beat the villain. That's a really short list with only one definite, though.
The fact that Thanos is such a great threat goes a long way in establishing his villainous pedigree. A battle against Thanos is an event that takes everything out of the heroes of the Earth.
6 Not The Greatest: Jim Starlin's Boy
Jim Starlin created Thanos in the pages of Iron Man. Starlin would go on to be the guy who put the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe on the map and a big part of that was Thanos. Starlin would use Thanos to great effect during his time on Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock.
Jim Starlin writes Thanos better than anyone else. As the Mad Titan's creator, he understands what makes the character tick because he's the one that made the clock. Other creators have worked on Thanos, but none of their portrayals of the character are as powerful as the ones written by Starlin. Most of them play to the stereotype of Thanos and do nothing special with the character.
5 The Greatest: His Costume
There's something regal about Thanos's costume. Maybe it's all the gold everywhere on it, but it's the type of costume that makes people take notice. It sticks in the mind, even if there is nothing overtly intimidating about it. There are no spikes and the blue color is kind of bright and almost jaunty.
It's a classic design and it screams, "I'm the king. Don't mess with me." Hero and villain alike see it and know that they're about to get whupped.
4 Not The Greatest: The Wrong Impression
Thanos usually finds himself on quests to gain ultimate power. When one wants to kill half of all life in the universe so the personification of Death will love them back, they sort of need a lot of power to get it done. Thanos is always trying to get the Infinity Gauntlet, a Cosmic Cube, or some other object of supreme power.
This can give fans the wrong impression of the character. They think that he needs those objects of power but he doesn't. Thanos is powerful enough on his own to give pause to gods and destroy cosmic beings. Thanos wants infinite power. He doesn't need it. Even without it, he'd still be able to kill half the universe...it would just take him longer.
3 The Greatest: Thanos Wins
Even though Thanos knows he's not worthy of godlike power, that doesn't mean he wants to lose. In fact, there have been glimpses of the future where Thanos does the one thing he can't do when he has godlike power – win.
Thanos is inevitable. The amount of power he has is staggering. For example, it took the combined powers of the X-Men and the Avengers to defeat a Phoenix Force possessed Cyclops. Thanos was able to single-handedly beat his son who also had the Phoenix Force. When he was trying to get the Infinity Gauntlet, he defeated the Elders Of The Universe on his own. Thanos is that good.
2 Not The Greatest: None Rival Doom
Thanos has a lot going for him. He's a powerful villain with a cool origin and a great look. The problem, though, is that Thanos comes across more like a gimmick than anything else. As a character, he's pretty good but rarely great.
When it comes right down to it, Thanos can't be the greatest villain in all of comics because he is arguably not even the greatest villain in the Marvel Universe. Doctor Doom may not be as powerful as Thanos, but he is an all-around better character and villain than Thanos. The MCU has given Thanos a considerable amount of clout, but greatest of all time clout? Nope.
1 The Greatest: Infinity Gauntlet
Thanos is the star of one of the best Marvel events ever, if not one of the best comic events period, The Infinity Gauntlet. This is the story that redefined Thanos for a new generation of readers. If it wasn't for this comic, Thanos definitely wouldn't be considered as great as he is.
Without The Infinity Gauntlet, there would be no overarching story for the MCU to put into its movies. Would the MCU be as big as it is without this story to build up to? Maybe, but it's hard to tell. This saga did so much to not only help the MCU but build Thanos into the threat he is today.