10 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching All 7 Thanos Appearances In The MCU

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Summary

Thanos' character development in the MCU left a lasting impression, but there are flaws in his story and motivations.
Thanos was a more interesting and nuanced character in Infinity War compared to his shallow portrayal in Endgame.
Thanos has been continuously nerfed in subsequent appearances, making him less intimidating and more of a punchline.

The undisputed most iconic villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thanos left quite a legacy behind, though not one unblemished by some unfortunate realities. Few superhero movie antagonists have been as well received as Thanos, whose extended character development amplified his latent power as one of Marvel's strongest villains to leave a lasting impression in the minds of fans. However, as the Mad Titan himself states, "reality is often disappointing" -- Going back over his many MCU appearances unearths some inconvenient flaws.
Thanos is widely heralded as one of Marvel's greatest villains, both in terms of accomplishment and storytelling. That being said, he isn't without flaws, and being the best MCU villain isn't a terribly high bar to clear. As great as the alien warlord is as a "final boss" for the original Avengers lineup, there are some aspects to his story, motivations, and overall place within the series that could've been done better. Objectively revisiting his seven MCU appearances make these critiques painfully obvious.
10 It's Clear The MCU Didn't Have A Plan For Thanos Early On As confirmed by the creators themselves

Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War were incredible capstones to the Infinity Saga of the MCU, but re-watching Thanos' earlier appearances makes it clear that Thanos' plan wasn't always written in stone. Avengers writer Joss Whedon has admitted being unsure how Thanos would fit into the future of the MCU at the time of his earliest appearances, and his actions and dialogue certainly make this apparent. Thanos willingly handing over the Mind Stone to Loki in The Avengers is particularly incongruous to his ultimate goal to collect all six of the powerful cosmic artifacts.
9 Thanos Isn't Nearly As Interesting In Endgame As Infinity War The character narratively and literally has two different versions within the duology Close Avengers: Infinity War was largely Thanos' movie, essentially acting as the film's main character despite being the antagonist. It was a breath of fresh air to see Marvel take the time to develop their villain as the emotional and narrative throughline of a major installment. Unfortunately, all the nuance and depth to the character would largely be discarded in Avengers: Endgame, with the past version of Thanos who returns as the final antagonist, being a shallow, cartoonishly evil bad guy compared to the Thanos audiences had become acquainted with.
8 The MCU Keeps Making Thanos Less Intimidating From mysterious mastermind to one-note villain to a punchline Close The mystery and grandeur of Thanos as the ultimate villain of the series was seeded early on with his appearances in the first two Avengers movies, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy. However, in every subsequent appearance following his successful Snap that erased half of all life in the universe, Thanos has been continuously nerfed to the point of irrelevance. From being quickly killed by Thor in Endgame to becoming a punchline or being defeated in seconds by Ultron in What If...?, Marvel has refused to honor Thanos' memory as an intimidating villain.
7 Thanos Has Distracting Differences In His Early Appearances The more comic accurate look and eventual re-cast is distracting on later re-watches

Thanos' often-forgotten appearances in post-credit scenes early on in the MCU's history present a distractingly different-looking take on the character. Beyond wearing his iconic armor, faithful to the comics but quickly discarded in the Infinity War and Endgame, Thanos was played by a different actor entirely, Daimon Poiter. Between the re-casting of Josh Brolin and the significant changes in character design, it's hard to even think of the Thanos that appears in the first half of the Infinity Saga and in the one in the second half as the same character.
6 Thanos' Plan Never Made Sense Why not just use the Infinity Stones to double the universe's resources?

Avengers: Infinity War explained Thanos' motivations for wanting to eliminate half of the universe, describing his origin as the sole survivor of an overpopulated planet ravaged by an attrition of resources. Yet Thanos' plan makes no sense, as the Infinity Stones could be just as easily used to double the universe's resources as a solution instead. Admittedly, Thanos' plan has always been a thin cover for his messiah complex and delusions of grandeur, but it would've been more interesting to see the audience finding themselves being able to understand his reasoning, making for a stronger villain.
5 Thanos' Motivation From The Comics Could've Avoided Some Long-Term MCU Complications The MCU wouldn't have struggled to try justify his comic motivations as much

In the comics, Thanos' desire to eliminate so much life is actually done out of love, hoping to impress the female personification of Death in the Marvel Universe. This goal is hinted at in one of his earlier appearances, before Marvel Studios had decided what to do with the character, as one of his minions mentions him "courting death" by meddling with humans. While this motivation would've certainly been less rational, it would've been a fascinating avenue to explore, and wouldn't have required so much mental gymnastics on behalf of the MCU attempting to justify the overpopulation angle.
4 Thanos Is More Easily Shaken From His Convictions Than It Seems The Mad Titan is more easily convinced than he let on

Part of the appeal of Thanos as a villain is his zealotry, unflinchingly committing to his cause enough to even kill his own daughter if it meant furthering his goal. Yet the MCU has repeatedly demonstrated that Thanos is capable of being convinced to re-evaluate his position somewhat easily. In Avengers: Endgame, he quickly drops the pretense of trying to be anything other than a galaxy-scale dictator at the slightest resistance from the Avengers, and in What If...? T'Challa is able to talk Thanos out of his plans completely. It's a little disappointing that Thanos' convictions aren't that strong.
3 Thanos Takes A Long Time To Do Anything The Mad Titan spends most of his early appearances in the MCU sitting in a chair

Today, Thanos is remembered by his standout appearances in Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, but it's easy to forget that his three earlier appearances were largely belittled by Marvel fans before the payoff was revealed to be worth it. In two back-to-back teases in the first two Avengers movies, Thanos does little more than sit on a throne, not exactly instilling terror in his first impressions. It's a shame that Thanos wasn't given more to do earlier on, which could've helped establish him even more as a threat going into Avengers: Infinity War.
2 Thanos and Gamora's Relationship Should've Been More Fleshed Out Fans only get to see a single flashback of them interacting, and it happens as late as Infinity War Close One of the most defining moments of Thanos' character is his willingness to sacrifice his daughter, Gamora, to the cause, earning the Soul Stone with heartbreaking blood. However, other than a single flashback in which Thanos abducts Gamora from her home, audiences never got to see how close their relationship was -- Characters like Nebula and Thanos himself simply say as much, and audiences are given little choice but to believe them. It would've felt more like a sacrifice on Thanos' behalf rather than a cruel murder if their father-daughter relationship was more developed.
1 The Memes Of Thanos' Lines Has Undermined Their Weight It's hard not to chuckle at what was once serious dialogue

Beyond simply being the most famous and recognized MCU villain, Thanos has also become the most memeable. Nearly every line the Mad Titan speaks has been misconstrued as a hilarious running joke among moviegoers, to the point that re-watching his scenes makes it hard not to think of these jokes, almost eclipsing the actual weight of his words in the films. It's unclear as to just what it is that makes Thanos' lines so easy to make memes out of, but it certainly makes it hard to take him seriously when re-watching his MCU appearances.

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