Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)



"The only matter I do not take seriously, boy, is you. Your politics bore me, your demeanor is that of a pouty child! And apparently, you have alienated my favorite daughter, Gamora. I shall honor our agreement, Kree, if you bring me the Orb. But return to me again empty-handed, and I will bathe the starways in your blood."

- Thanos to Ronan the Accuser

 Thanos is the true main antagonist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is also the quaternary antagonist in the superhero films, The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and ''Avengers: Age of Ultron. He will become the foremost antagonist of Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1 & Part 2. ''

He is a powerful alien warlord who rules over a dead dimension and commands a massive army known as the Chitauri. He allied himself with Lokito invade Earth, and allied with Ronan the Accuser to destroy Xandar, both in exchange for the deliverance of two powerful infinity gems, but they both failed to accomplish this task and had betrayed him.

He was portrayed by Damion Poitier in The Avengers. He is portrayed by Josh Brolin in Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron and Brolin will reprise Thanos' role in Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1 & Part 2 .

History
Thanos' past is unknown at this point and how he came to power. Not even his species has been fully discovered, sans the assumption that he is an Eternal. It is known that at some point, he gained control over the deadly army of the Chitauri, and took the assassin Gamora as his daughter after killing her people. Thanos greatly desired the Infinity Gems, objects of immense power that held considerable dominance over the various forces that occupied the universe, and forged several alliances in order to locate them.

The Avengers
At some point during his quest, Thanos discovered that the Tesseract, the Space Stone, was on Earth, and allied himself with the exiled Loki, providing him with the Chitauri, who would help him conquer the planet in exchange for the Tesseract. Once Loki had arrived on Earth, he succeeded in acquiring the Tesseract, but as he was preparing for his invasion, Thanos contacted him. Through his intermediary, The Other, Thanos threatened the Asgardian god of mischief, saying that if he failed in delivering the Tesseract, Thanos would force him to endure a new kind of suffering.

After Loki was defeated sent back to Asgard to face trial for his crimes, the Other reported to his master that the Earth's inhabitants were not as weak as they were thought to be. He also declared that challenging the heroes would be to court Death. Thanos simply smiled at this.

Guardians of the Galaxy Thanos Scene - Guardians of The Galaxy HD 1080p
Some time later, Thanos formed a deal with his old ally, Ronan of the Kree, promising to lend a fraction of his forces in a genocide against the Xandarians in exchange for aiding in the search for the Orb. Ronan discovered the true location of the Orb on the planet Morag and attempted to deliver it to Thanos, but an unexpected turn of events ensued and the stone fell into the possession of human Ravager member, Peter Quill. Unwilling to be denied another stone, Thanos ordered Ronan to pursue Quill and recover the stone, sending Gamora to aid the Kree in his pursuit.

Gamora found Quill first, cornering him on Xandar where he was attempting to sell the Orb. She recovered it, but what Thanos did not realize is that Gamora had chosen to cut all ties with him and now planned on handing the Orb over to the infamous Collector, Taneleer Tivan, who also sought the stones. When Ronan relayed news of Gamora's betrayal to Thanos, the Kree berated the Dark Lord for not taking the situation seriously and even murdered The Other when he lectured Ronan on not showing Thanos respect. Undaunted by The Other's death and Ronan's complaints, Thanos turned Ronan away, instructing him to return to his task and correct Gamora's betrayal, which he was only slightly irked by. He instructed Nebula to take Gamora's place as Ronan's aide in the endeavor.

Ronan and Nebula both eventually stole the Orb from Gamora, Quill, and their allies, but when Thanos was contacted by Ronan, he was furious to discover that the Kree, having experienced the power of the Orb firsthand, intended on betraying him and keeping the Infinity Stone for himself. Nebula, contemptuous towards Thanos after the horror he forced her to endure throughout her youth, used this opportunity to betray him and join up with Ronan permanently. Now believing himself superior to Thanos, Ronan promised to come after the Dark Lord once he had finished Xandar. Unfazed, Thanos cut contact with the pair without even putting in another word.

Ronan would eventually perish at the hands of Gamora and her companions, who gave the stone to the Nova Corps, making another Infinity Stone lost to Thanos.

Avengers: Age of Ultron
Following the death of Ultron at the hands of Avengers, Thanos appears in the mid-credit scene, where he is completely dissatisfied by the failures of his previous enforcers attempting to locate the remaining Infinity Stones. He is seen putting on the Infinity Gauntlet and preparing to go out and find the Infinity Stones himself.

Future films
Thanos will appear in the two-part film Avengers: Infinity War as the primary antagonist.

Powers and Abilities
Thanos has not demonstrated his powers at this point. However, it is conceivable that he is extremely powerful, able to strike fear into an Asgardian like Loki and command the Chitauri army unchallenged. Korath says he is the most powerful being in the universe, although Ronan was confident he could kill Thanos with the power of the Orb. Nevertheless, Thanos displayed no sign of concern after Ronan threatened him.