Now, there’s Thanos.
Thanos takes Hela and Kilmonger’s personal conviction of righting a wrong and expands it to a universal scale – literally. He wants the Infinity Stones for his gauntlet – not for the sake of being the most powerful being ever known, but because he truly believes that he’d be doing the right thing if he made half the population of the universe blink out of existence. He holds sacred the notion that this is what’s required to bring balance and order, and he feels that he’s the only one with the strength of character to do what’s necessary. It’s this central ethos of the character – coupled with a phenomenal performance from Josh Brolin – that makes Thanos the ultimate Marvel Cinematic Universe villain. He’s truly frightening, due to the combination of his level of conviction and his firm belief that he’s acting altruistically.
This misguided, twisted sense of altruism is what so many past MCU villains have lacked. They’ve been, for the most part, driven by personal gain or revenge. Thanos succeeds where they failed, by demonstrating gentleness, and empathy, alongside his murderous and genocidal ways. He’s the stereotypical patriarchal figure – dispensing ‘tough love’ out of a sense of duty, and a desire to protect. He inflicts pain and suffering because he has to – or so he believes.
But, this characterization would not be so effective without the narrative work of earlier franchise installments. We caught our first glimpse of Thanos in the final reel of 2012’s Avengers – as he was revealed to be essentially pulling the strings of the Chitauri as they attacked Earth, attracting the attention of the Titan with Loki’s use of an Infinity Stone. We learned more about him in 2014’s Guardians Of The Galaxy, when we met his adopted daughter, Gamora, her sister Nebula, and heard about the devastation he caused Drax in the past. The villain of that film – Ronan the Accuser – was a Thanos foot-soldier, and it was through his actions that we came to understand the mercilessness of his ominous master.
These cinematic efforts built a picture for audiences of Thanos being a terrifying entity – the most dangerous foe and a creature that would kill without hesitation. A father that would torture his own children. In a film universe hitherto renowned for its tip-toeing around the subject of permanent death, Thanos loomed large as an intimidating threat.