Can the MCU do justice to Thanos?

As massively successful as the MCU has become, there has always been one rough edge in it's franchise wheel—weak, underdeveloped villains who are mostly used as mere plot device characters in service of the main storyline. Other than Zemo in Civil War, almost all of the MCU's villains have received a particularly lackluster treatment (Ronan, Malaekith, Yellowjacket) and in some cases, were even reduced to just a punching bag for the heroes' (Ultron and Loki in The Avengers comes to mind). 

And this really begs the question: how will the MCU portray Thanos in the upcoming Infinity War? Will he truly get the 'ultimate badass' treatment that he deserves from his long comics history or will he just turn out to be another addition in the MCU's long pantheon of de-powered and under-utilized villains?

Now of course we won't know the final answer to this question until the movie actually comes out or at least a full length trailer gets released. And that can easily take another year or so as the movie has barely begun it's filming process. But looking at how Thanos has been set up so far in the MCU, we can certainly get a clear picture of where it's all headed. 

Thanos 101 

But first, if you are not particularly familiar with Thanos or just know him from those few handful of moments where he was shown in Avengers, Age of Ultron and Guardians of the Galaxy, then take a look at these screens. These on-panel feats (measures of power) will get you a clear understanding of where The Mad Titan stands in terms of power levels.

Here's Thanos one-shotting Hulk (yes, you read that right).

This is Thanos overpowering Thor, Vision and Iron Man combined without even trying. 

 

And yes, Thanos can do this to Cap's shield without any effort.

 

As you can obviously see, Thanos is leagues above all the Avengers combined, in terms of raw power and pretty much everything else. Which means, he can crush each of them to their deaths without really trying. Yup, that's why he is easily one of the most fearsome foes in the Marvel-verse. 

However, this is only half the reason why The Mad Titan is such an iconic villain. The other is that he almost always succeeds in achieving whatever he wants, from gathering all the Infinity Stones and thereby yielding the Infinity Gauntlet (which makes him the most powerful being in the Universe) to attaining even greater power and absorbing all the Multiverses (as happened in Marvel's The End series) in himself. And each time, he manages to overcome seemingly impossible odds to get there.

In a nutshell, this guy is obsessed with gaining absolute power and the scary part is that he actually gets it, every single time. Now of course, that doesn't make him impervious to defeat and as revealed in each of these stories, it's Thanos' own ill-ambitions that cause him to lose everything he worked for and not because he gets overpowered by the heroes' or anyone.

This is captured beautifully in Marvel's The End storyline where even after attaining supremacy over the entire multiverse, Thanos finds himself with no other option but to give up all of his power and instead, turn all the universes into a better place, thereby becoming a cosmic healer. Ironic, ain't it? And that's what makes the Mad Titan such an endearing character.

This is also an apt metaphor towards Life—No matter how much effort we make or whatever we manage to achieve (in the eyes of others), we're destined to fail if we're doing it for the wrong reasons. Struggles and hardships can only take us so far. 

The Villain-ous problem of the MCU 

Now that you know who Thanos is and what he stands for, the question is whether the MCU can successfully bring this complex and memorable villain to life on the big screen, something that hasn't been ever attempted before. Also, it's been evident that the Marvel movie-verse is a cinematic heaven for all superheroes and supporting characters but an equally troubling place when it comes to the villains.

Most of the villains whom we've seen so far in the MCU have relied on the weaknesses of the heroes and their only chance (s) of victory was to exploit said weaknesses. Let's take a look at a few films, starting from the one that actually marked the beginning of the MCU, 2008's Iron Man.

As you already know, the sole reason why Iron Monger managed to pose any real threat to Tony was because he had stolen his arc-reactor, thereby making Tony use only a fraction of power in that fight than what he would've normally used in such a situation. If Tony faced the Iron Monger suit in a fair fight, he would've completely destroyed Stane.

 

The same goes for Thor—he was separated from his true power for most of the film and just as he got them back, he casually took down the Destroyer who seemed earlier as a serious match for Thor in terms of raw power. And if you are a reader of comics, you know that how incredibly powerful the Destroyer armor is (he can easily lay waste to the entire planet) and it would've made an all-around epic showdown in the movie if the filmmakers were a bit more faithful to the source material.

  

Without going into all of the later films, it can be safely said that throughout the MCU, only Ronan and Red Skull actually got the big-screen treatment they deserved from their comic book history. Even without the Infinity Gem, Ronan was shown to be overwhelmingly powerful for Star Lord and co. and The Red Skull was also depicted as significantly stronger than Cap, which is true to their source material counterparts. Yellowjacket (from Ant Man) could also be here, only if the filmmakers made him a bit less poorly-written.

And the rest of them were just...there, only to be punched around by the heroes (Loki, Ultron) or just getting BFR'd (battlefield removal) by plot device shenanigans (Kurse from Thor 2 ). Also, most of these villains did not even impact the storyline in any meaningful way. 

However, the most sad victim of the MCU is Ultron who was just unbelievably de-powered in the film. Ultron, as originally depicted in the comics, is one of the most powerful earth-based villains and it takes the entire roster of Avengers to battle him and most of the times they can't even beat him without resorting to some deus-ex machina plot elements.

But in Age of Ultron, this supposedly uber-powerful villain got delegated to just a manipulative Stark-bot who was cracking omelette jokes and getting thrashed around by the heroes left and right. It's just pathetic how Ultron was portrayed in the big screen and really makes many comic book fans concerned about the fate of Thanos in the upcoming Infinity War. 

How the MCU is setting up Thanos 

 

 

 

While it's certainly a possibility that Thanos will be the first villain in the MCU who can truly overpower the Avengers in terms of raw power, but the current status quo of the heroes' also raise some real issues. Like, as we saw at the end of Civil War, the Avengers are currently divided in two core groups and that means when Thanos finally arrive in Infinity War, he'll face an Earth that's going to offer him a lot less resistance.

And here's the deal—it's a completely unnecessary move from Marvel cause let's be clear—Thanos doesn't need that to happen, he's so far above the Avengers that it's not even funny. He could easily face all the Avengers at once and utterly decimate them in a fight. And that's more fitting for the Mad Titan (considering his history) than to simply use the current conflict among the heroes' to his advantage.

That's one of the reasons why I personally think Civil War happened too early, it would've been much more fitting if the movie came out sometimes in phase 4 or even later. The idea that Marvel was using Civil War to divide the heroes and have Thanos arrive after that just takes away from Thanos' overall badassery (for lack of any better word). It can also be that in Infinity War they somehow connect all of the prior events to Thanos and tell us that it was actually his influence that led to the events of Civil War. I know that sounds really convoluted but knowing how Marvel treats their villains (remember Mandarin from Iron Man 3?), it's still a not-so-crazy possibility. 

The 'Franchise Fatigue' of MCU 

 

Most comic book movie fans can clearly see that the core Marvel formula has overstayed it's welcome and is starting to show signs of age (especially after Doctor Strange). What was once fresh and exciting for a handful of films is now giving signals that it needs some drastic changes or else Marvel can't avoid that steadily growing feeling of 'franchise fatigue'. To make their upcoming films feel exciting again, they need to really shake things up.

And honestly, the future ain't looking too bright either. Based on what has been shown so far, Spiderman: Homecoming just feels like a huge fan-service fest and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. looked like it's treading the same old ground as the first one, albeit with prettier visuals and minor character changes. Also, Thor: Ragnarok seems too overstuffed to feature a memorable villain.

I may be in the minority here but at this point in time, the MCU films are clearly not looking as exciting as they did back in 2012. The novelty factor is wearing off.

This again brings us to 2018's Infinity War as that certainly looks like the film that can make or break the MCU for good. If it introduces a whole new flavor in the MCU formula and at the same time, manages to be as much successful as the Avengers was in 2012, then Marvel can safely carry on with their franchise for a few more years without losing audiences.

And I think it's safe to say that the real highlight of Infinity War is going to be Thanos himself, as the audience has already seen pretty much everything else at this point. Huge team-ups—check, spectacular set pieces and massive scale fights—check, world destroying stakes—double check, those heroic-sacrificing moments—you bet.

 Can Thanos save the MCU from Stagnation?

 

 

Can Thanos be the savior of the MCU?

 

 

So at this point, it seems like 2018's Infinity War will rest solely on Thanos' shoulder. And that's really fitting—Marvel has been building him up for years and it's finally time for that big payoff. But the real question comes back again—can they really do justice to this iconic character? In a multi-billion dollar franchise that's filled with lackluster and forgettable villains, it all depends on Thanos now.

And I personally think Thanos is the only one who can make the MCU feel fresh again. Through this character, Marvel can make whatever new changes they want—from killing off a few heroes to making some permanent key changes to their universe that can resonate for years (and subsequently for the next few films that take place after Infinity War). Cause Thanos is perfectly capable of doing all that. As you can see, Marvel can really turn the tables here and make a whole new MCU after the events of Infinity War.

There's also a potentially win-win situation with Thanos, let me explain why. A good portion of the audience is already feeling that the Marvel formula is drying up and possibly will not get any different in the upcoming films in 2017. But even this group of audience would like to see what Marvel does with Thanos—their long touted and teased 'boss villain' since 2012's The Avengers. And of course, Thanos has a strong fanbase of his own in many comic book readers who're all eager to watch how the MCU treats this iconic character.

I think it's not an overstatement to conclude that Marvel has got a solid 'wild card' on their hands with Thanos who has the potential to save the entire MCU from getting stagnated.

  

But if they somehow manage to screw up with Thanos and make him just another forgettable entry to their line-up of villains, then it'll definitely ring the death-knell for MCU. After 15+ live-action films, the MCU can not, in any way, afford to not change their pattern of storytelling or it'll send their franchise on a fast, downward spiral to obscurity.

Many comic book fans are already vying to see Thanos manhandle his way to MCU (which perfectly matches his history) and if instead they see Thanos getting badly overpowered by the puny Avengers or worse, humiliated by characters such as Hulk or Vision, just imagine how much disappointing and heartbreaking it would be. The average moviegoer might not feel any different but the long-time and 'core' fans will definitely lose all excitement and faith in the MCU if they see Thanos getting such a poor and unjust treatment on the big-screen.

An Open Letter to Marvel 

Alright, now it's time to sum all of this up (and bring this overlong article to it's end). Here's a short open-letter to Marvel—at this point in time, you know better than anyone that every big franchise must undergo some vital changes to keep itself going and the MCU isn't going to be any different. After 13 films and over 8 long years, the marvel formula desperately needs some re-invention and possibly some re-imagining. And let 2018's Infinity War be that movie when we finally get to see this all-new, all-revamped MCU.

And needless to say, a lot of that depends on how you guys treat Thanos on the big-screen. You know what to do—don't just make Thanos yet another dumbed-down foe who's not going to last the ending, give this character the proper treatment he deserves from his decades-long history. I know that the MCU cannot have a character powerful enough to destroy a planet by just touching it, it'll be way to much for the average moviegoer to handle. Just remember that Thanos wouldn't need the Infinity Gauntlet to lay waste to the heroes, he's more than capable to do that all by himself. If you folks can make that happen, it's going to be a win-win for everyone.

And here's my two cents 

 

 

Now if you ask me how I personally think Thanos will be portrayed in Infinity War, I will gladly show you this line of dialogue that was delivered in Guardians of the Galaxy—it's quite reassuring. 

But the only hiccup is that James Gunn won't be directing Infinity War and it's currently up in the air whether the Russo brothers will be faithful to this line of script. But till then, here's hoping we all get a rollicking good time from Infinity War when it comes out next year and see a whole new era of the MCU unfold on the big screen. Amen. 

Dear Reader, I almost feel bad for making you sit through this huge article. And that's why I'm really eager to know what you think about it. Do you feel Thanos will go down as one of the most intimidating and memorable villains in the history of comic book films or will he just turn out to be yet another inessential character in the MCU? Shoot away in the comments section.