What Is Thanos's Backstory in the Comics?
Thanos's Sad Story in Avengers: Infinity War Is a Major Deviation From the Comics
Spoilers for Thanos's arc in the comics below, FYI!
Since the end credits of the very first Avengers movie back in 2012, Thanos, the Mad Titan, has lurked behind the scenes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. UntilAvengers: Infinity War, though, the movies haven't given us much to go on. Who is he?Why is he purple? And what makes him so damn important?!
The MCU introduces him as Gamora and Nebula's adoptive father who's out tocollect the Infinity Stonessohe can destroy half the universeto "save it." Sure, he's a villain, but he honestly believes he's doing the right thing. He's even capable of familial love, guys — how bad can he really be? Well, Thanos of the comics is one of the most powerful and unsympathetic villains, so pretty bad.
The MCU gets off light with Daddy Thanos, honestly, despite the ending ofInfinity War. MCU Thanos suggests a mass genocide to "save" his homeworld, which is . . . at least pretending to be noble, I guess. The Mad Titan of the comics murders his own mother, lovers, and children; captains (and murders) his own space pirate crew; nukes his own world and many others; and experiments on himself, unwittingly giving himself many powers . . . all before he even getscloseto getting ahold of the Infinity Gems.
His True Motivations
Thanos first appears back in the early '70s in an Iron Man comic, but he's more famed for theInfinity Gauntletstoryline and its subsequent parts,Infinity WarandInfinity Crusade. TheInfinityminiseries of 2013 is also said to have partially inspired theAvengers: Infinity Warfilm. While Thanos's 40-year history varies greatly, his motive largely remains the same: he wipes out half the universe for a lady love. (And you thought a diamond ring was impressive.) As far as the comics go, Mistress Death, the feminine personification of death (go figure), inspires Thanos's quest. She believes the universe is out of balance as the living souls outnumber the dead.
In an effort to impress her and win her love, Thanos collects the Infinity Gems on his gauntlet, and, with a snap of his fingers, wipes out half the universe for her — yes,thatinfamous snap in the middle of an issue. Unfortunately for Thanos, Mistress Death spurns him anyway, which definitely doesn't help his attitude.
His Brush With Adam Warlock
Thanos screws up big time when he traps thepowerful Adam Warlockin the Soul Gem, and he escapes to Earth to rally whoever is left of the heroes (for a diversion, basically). They lead a charge against him, but Thanos easily wields the power to destroy them all with the gauntlet. As Adam Warlock learns while trapped in the Soul World, Thanos doubts his own worthiness to wield the gems, so with a dare like this, he limits his own power.
He still succeeds in wiping out many of the heroes, though, and projects himself onto the astral plane after Mistress Death once again rebuffs him. This guy can't catch a break in the love department, but he's known as theMadTitan for a reason. He even creates a lover for himself by the name of Terraxia at one point, but even that doesn't exactly work out.
Thanos makes another mistake when he leaves the Infinity Gauntlet with his physical form, since his enemies are all supposedly dead. When a weakened, basically-deadNebulafinds the Gauntlet and steals it to rule the universe for herself, a humbled Thanos ends up teaming up with Adam Warlock, Doctor Strange, and the other heroes to retrieve it from her. After the dust settles and they use the Infinity Gauntlet to return the universe to the way it was before, Adam Warlock separates the Infinity Gems and Thanos settles down as a farmer and guardian of the Reality Gem on a distant planet.
His "Retirement"
Thanos essentially goes from pirate to Mad Titan to farmer — what a career path. Despite his peaceful retirement, Thanos is Thanos and eventually getsideasagain, resuming his quest multiple times. Everyone from Drax the Destroyer to the Ultimates to his own son defeats Thanos in the comics. His on-and-off fling with Mistress Death keeps him alive through many seeming deaths — she curses him with eternal life a couple times when she's mad at him — so Thanos appears to cause a ruckus over and over.
While the MCU neglects the love story angle of Thanos's backstory, it gets one thing right: as the Avengers learn, whenever Thanos is involved, things aresure to get f*cked upbefore they defeat him.
