Destiny has arrived for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it’s taken the form of Thanos.
Otherwise known as the Mad Titan, the purple-skinned giant is ostensibly death incarnate, and the fact that he’ll stop at nothing until half of the universe is eviscerated leaves Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in quite the pickle.
And so we arrive at Avengers: Infinity War, the imminent MCU blockbuster that places Marvel’s finest on a collision course with Thanos, who is arguably one of the most nuanced and well-realized comic book villains in quite some time. Even if he is the very definition of an unstoppable force.
Jim Starlin certainly thinks so, too, after the comic book scribe took to Facebook to share his final verdict of Infinity War. Spoilers: he liked it quite a bit.
The Avengers the Infinity War! [sic] I really have to watch what I say here, so as to not spoil the many surprises this film holds (even for me). So let me stick with generalities, with a few specifics tossed in at the end, concerning Josh Brolin. Visually spectacular, as are all the Marvel movies. But this film hits emotional depths few of the others have even come close to, yet humor takes center stage at all the rights moments.
Starlin has had a long history with the Mad Titan, so he knows a good Thanos when he sees one. And much like everyone else, the scribe then took a moment to recognize Josh Brolin’s “incredible” performance as the MCU’s big bad.
There are a couple times my chest constricted from what I was seeing, making me want to cry. You’ll recognize those instances when you watch the film. Brolin is an incredible Thanos, moving and emoting just as I tried to portray him in the comics. The movie’s two and a half running time shoots past nearly unnoticed. The thing is though, I feel I’m going to have to view the film a number of more times before I get a solid grip on just how good it is. Still at that rather stunned point.
He concluded:
Yes, I know my opinion should be considered a bit biased, because of my connection to the production but the Russos, Markus, McFeely and everyone else involved in this film get my heartfelt thanks for bringing everyone’s favorite Titan to life in the best way possible, in a jaw-droppingly awesome fashion. Ten out of ten thumbs up.
Biased though he may be, Jim Starlin’s open letter is simply the latest in what has become a tidal wave of adulation. And it’s one that will only continue to grow and grow as Avengers: Infinity War expands worldwide over the course of the weekend.
