Thanos

For Death’s Sake

A native of the planet Titan, Thanos saw the danger his people were in from overpopulation and suggested a severe solution—the elimination of half the population, at random and without prejudice, in order to make life better for the planet as a whole. He was shunned as a madman, but his planet did indeed eventually die, lacking the resources needed to keep up with the demands.

Firmly believing that the universe at large was in the same danger as Titan, Thanos grew to power as a force bringing death and destruction from planet to planet, with untold legions of soldiers and servants at his beck and call. Infamous for annihilating entire races in service of depopulating what he believes to be an overcrowded universe, he most often works through surrogates to achieve his goals, but has been known to take a personal hand in special circumstances.

More than once, Thanos took a child from a galactic species he’d decimated and raised them as his own. Some of these children have been tutored in the arts of assassination and war, making them among the deadliest killers imaginable. Thanos has also given powerful artifacts to individuals who he believes will use them to spread the cause of death in certain important spots among the galaxies.

Thanos went on to have a great interest in acquiring the Infinity Stones, six objects of immense power scattered throughout the universe, and has had the Infinity Gauntlet built in order to harness their power.

A Titan among Men

Physically, Thanos stands head and shoulders above the average human or humanoid, with powerful muscles, a broad face, and a purple-hued skintone. He often wears a protective suit of armor and his strength is such that he has been physically able to battle—and defeat—the likes of the Hulk.

Not known to use much in the way of personal weapons, the one extremely notable artifact he keeps with him is the Infinity Gauntlet. Made from Uru metal on Nidavellir by Eitri, under duress from Thanos, the Infinity Gauntlet enables its wearer to harness the power of each Infinity Stone added to it. Once it holds all six stones, it becomes the most powerful item in the universe.

A Big Target

Thanks to his actions, the list of those who consider Thanos an enemy is vast, though he has gained a few particularly notable adversaries. First and foremost among them would be his daughters Nebula and Gamora, after they turn against him and seek his end by their own hands. Nebula’s Guardians of the Galaxy teammate, the warrior Drax, also hopes to be Thanos’ killer, as he seeks revenge for the deaths of his wife and daughter.

The entire Nova Corps, the intergalactic police force of the Xandarians, also opposes Thanos as he quests for the Infinity Stones, with the Guardians of the Galaxy serving as somewhat of an extension of their protective bubble.

After killing Heimdall, Loki, and other Asgardians, Thanos acquires the personal wrath of Thor, Asgardian god of thunder. In the wake of dispatching Gamora, he earns the loathing of Peter Quill, Star-Lord. Despite no longer officially functioning as a team, most Super Heroes who previously served as Avengers, along with allies like Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and Black Panther, also stand against Thanos as he gathers every Infinity Stone.

The Children and the Lackeys

Thanos does not seem to have any genuine friendships or close confidants, mainly interacting with beings under his thrall and command, along with those he deems his children. For a while, he was often accompanied by a high-ranking servant referred to as the Other, an individual who spoke for his master and was able to issue threats on Thanos’ behalf. The Other seemingly enjoyed a position that allowed him to deliver unfortunate news to his master without apparent punishment, though Thanos also expressed no displeasure at his demise.

The assassin Gamora and warrior Nebula are raised as Thanos’ daughters after their respective races are targeted by the Titan. While Thanos seems dismissive towards Nebula, expressing no qualms about torturing her, he believes he truly loves Gamora, hoping she will one day succeed him as ruler. Eventually, both women break away from his abusive rearing to make their own way in the universe and become his opponents. The Kree warlord Ronan the Accuser also initially does Thanos’ bidding in the search for the Orb, but when Ronan realizes its true power, he begins to act on his own to claim it for himself.

During his push to acquire the Infinity Stones, Thanos commands a powerful foursome of galactic assassins: Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, and Cull Obsidian, referred to as the Children of Thanos—to do his bidding across the galaxies. Totally devoted to their master, they hold an almost religious fervor in serving Thanos and aiding him in gathering the Stones. When Thanos learns of Maw’s death, he expresses some regret over the loss.

Malevolent Machinations

Thanos directed the Other to make contact with Loki of Asgard to bequeath a special scepter to him that he might use to wreak havoc on Earth. When Loki’s plan backfired and brought about not only an assemblage of the planet’s mightiest heroes to combat him as the Avengers, but also a nuclear weapon sent back through a Chitauri wormhole, Thanos learned of Earth’s formidable defenses and seemed to be pleased at the thought of future engagement with them.

Afterward, Thanos directed Ronan’s mission to retrieve the powerful Orb and tasked Gamora and Nebula to aid him. Unfortunately for Thanos, all three turned against him in the course of events that followed and he lost the Infinity Stone housed in the Orb. Sometime later, Nebula managed to get onboard Thanos’ ship and nearly killed him, but he was able to capture her instead.

Thanos then increased his drive to gather all six Infinity Stones. After attacking the planet Xandar to snare the Power Stone from the Nova Corps, he halted the space flight of the surviving Asgardians to take the Space Stone from Loki. From there Thanos travelled to Knowhere to wrest the Reality Stone from the Collector, and was reunited with his adoptive daughter, Gamora.

Taking her with him, Thanos returned to his throne ship and revealed his ongoing torture of the imprisoned Nebula. This broke Gamora’s will and she told Thanos that the Soul Stone could be found on the planet Vormir. Together, Thanos and Gamora traveled to Vormir and met the being responsible for the Soul Stone’s caretaking, the Red Skull, who told Thanos he must sacrifice something he loved as a price to possess the stone. After being mocked by Gamora for her belief that he was incapable of loving anything, Thanos, in tears, killed her and was then gifted with the Soul Stone—confirming his love for Gamora, even as he ended her life.

Thanos then returned to his home world of Titan to confront the combined forces of Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and members of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Joined by an escaped Nebula, the heroes nearly managed to subdue Thanos and take the Gauntlet from him, but Star-Lord’s despair and anger upon learning of Gamora’s murder disrupted their efforts. This allowed Thanos to take the Time Stone from Strange. With only one more Stone to acquire, Thanos travelled to Earth to complete his quest.

On Earth, Thanos clashed with the remaining Avengers and their allies in Wakanda. Though the Scarlet Witch succeeded in destroying the Mind Stone, and Vision with it, before Thanos could claim it, the Titan simply used his newly-acquired Time Stone to bring Vision back. He tore the stone from Vision’s forehead and assembled all six Infinity Stones together in his gauntlet.

Thor flew in with his new weapon, the axe Stormbreaker, and planted it in Thanos’ chest to kill him. Weakened, Thanos still possessed enough strength to use his gloved hand to snap his fingers and fulfill his personal mission of wiping away half of all life in the universe, effectively winning the war he’d set off. For a moment, Thanos found himself in an ethereal landscape, speaking to the childhood version of Gamora he’d first met. He told this image of the little girl that while he’d accomplished his goal, it had cost him everything. Back on the battlefield in Wakanda, Thanos was able to teleport away, leaving Thor and the others to look on in horror as their friends and allies disintegrated away thanks to the power of the Infinity Gauntlet.

Later, in a cabin on a peaceful, serene morning on a beautiful world, Thanos smiled, believing he had brought salvation to the universe.