Thanos proved to be one of the most complex and layered supervillains we’d ever seen on the big screen in Avengers: Infinity War. It wasn’t easy to live up to the years of hype surrounding him, but the movie’s writers and directors found a way. As such, even months after seeing the blockbuster event in cinemas, fans are still ruminating on what made the so-called Mad Titan do what he did and wipe out half of the entire universe.
Case in point: Reddit user @Iamre decided to fill in the blanks of Thanos’ backstory themselves and came up with the idea that perhaps events that happened in the villain’s past make him a dark mirror to Iron Man. For instance, the theory kicks off with the notion that maybe Thanos was once a renowned scientist on his home world, much like the Armored Avenger.
“I came up with a theory of Thanos’ origins and what lead him on his path. When he was on Titan he was a scientist like Stark, someone who was curious and a man of science (and why I think he respects Tony because tony is also very logical person with the will to act). His research led him to the conclusion that his planet was on the brink of collapse and the only way to save it was to kill half the population. He proposed it and his people dismissed him and called him mad. This both angered and saddened him when his prediction came true.”
Something we haven’t learned as yet is how Thanos first came into contact with the Infinity Stones and decided to make collecting them his ultimate goal. On that note, the fan continues by imagining that he discovered the Mind Stone first, with the powerful gem imbuing him with the knowledge of the rest of the Stones. This, the theory says, inspired him to do whatever was necessary to bring balance to the universe.
“I don’t think he immediately became a warlord though… I think something else happened. He began searching for the meaning life and death and somehow (maybe through some cosmic entities or someone) he came across the Mind Stone which opened his mind to all the mysteries of the universe and inspired him to do what he needed to do. At first he started proposing his solutions to other planet, but like Titan they dismissed him. So feeling like he had no other choice he started conquering planets and became a warlord, which having an infinity stone to start out with certainly helps.”
The theorist then goes on to touch on that major question that every MCU viewer has: why the heck did Thanos wait so long to go on the offensive? Perhaps, this fan argues, he was gathering all the information that he could on the Stones’ whereabouts, methods and more to make sure that he could master them once he got them. The theory even ties in to previous ideas others have had about Odin’s own quest for the Stones and the importance of the deaths of several key figures in recent years.
“He began going from planet to planet both to complete his mission of killing half and growing his empire, but also to find more information on the infinity stones: their locations (which is why he knows how to easily find them and knows where they are, perhaps he has a device to locate the stones), how to use them (which is why he’s so good at using them right away), etc… this could even tie in to the Odin Infinity Gauntlet theory of how he knew Odin was a competitor which is why he stayed in the shadows for a while, then after Odin’s death (plus Ego / Ancient One) and the fall of Asgard the opportunity came to not only take the gauntlet that Odin designed but also go after all the stones.
I know the Russo brothers said that he waited so long to do it himself because he was waiting for the Soul Stone , but he has also been working in the shadows for a long long time, gaining knowledge, power, creating alliances, etc… And that’s my theory of Thanos’ origin.”
The most interesting part of this theory is the Thanos/Tony stuff. The connection between the two in Infinity War fascinated fans and it would be nice for some deeper parallels between them to be brought out in Avengers 4. Plus, there’s also a pleasing irony to the fact that Tony’s fought many anti-Starks in his time – Obadiah Stane, Anton Vanko, Justin Hammer, Aldrich Killian, etc. – and his greatest foe is yet another anti-Stark.
We wouldn’t bet against more of Thanos’ past coming out in next May’s Avengers: Infinity War sequel and who knows, parts of this theory might even turn out to be somewhere close to the truth. Time will tell.
