Infinity War: Why Thanos is a Perfectly Written Villain

A video essay analyzing Thanos in Marvel's Infinity War and why I hold that he is a perfectly written villain.

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Instagram: @peanutfreepanda

[Thanos-txub]

Thank you, my child, for your praise.

[rymdalkis]

It was his smile at the end that sold me. That wasn't a victorial smile, or a smile of success. It was a smile of relief

[illomens]

perfectly written, as all villains should be

[UnidadFamiliarCristiana]

I knew Thanos was perfect when

1. He DOES NOT lie, as bad his plan is, he knows it’s evil, but undertakes the task in a “noble” way in his own eyes. He is honest about it to himself and others.
2. He has NO CONTEMPT for the “avengers” specifically. He even lets some of them live, and some he even shows respect towards. He has no personal quarrel with them, they are simply an obstacle.

As soon as he sees his task before him as greater than himself, he transcends the avengers and their little lives and motives. He is bigger than they are, more purpose-driven. His mission even transcends his OWN life.

[abbiwalker]

One thing I love about thanos is that he’s very calm and soft-spoken, it makes him even scarier

[Scally]

Infinity War: Villians Story
Endgame: Heroes Story

[DonVigaDeFierro]

Back in 2008, Thanos was only known inside the geek circles.

Now he's among the greatest and most iconic villains of all time, among Darth Vader, and Heath Ledger's Joker.

[mightytaco]

I like how he said he did what he said he’d do. He didn’t trust himself to keep the stones out of pure temptation so he destroys them. Then he goes off to live an honest farm life in a cabin.

[jameslewis]

The surprised look on Thanos's face after he snaps his fingers make me wonder if he included himself as a possibility in the random killing and he happened to survive. Or maybe he was just shocked that he finally managed to accomplish his goal. Either way it's an interesting scene.

[Penuelism]

A proper villain is one where he is a hero when you look at the world from his perspective 🔥🔥🔥

[nimarus]

If they made a movie focused on Thanos when he first started on his path, I'd watch it. Would be interesting to see Thanos grow into the Mad Titan we all know.

[ryadh]

"Understandable beings that are slaves to their imperfections." I really like this quote! That's what humans are!

[matriarchofazure]

Thanos in Infinity War: *Just wants the stones. Is more or less initially friendly to the Avengers until they attack him.*

Thanos in Endgame: "I'm about to end this whole universe's career."

[bostonpeterson]

In my opinion I like Infinity War more as a film.

I like Endgame more in an emotional standpoint. If that makes sense.

[MiguelRivera-ejqf]

Thano's face when he says:


"I'm the only one who knows that..."

[mehranshah]

Thanos has a simple goal: "If I don't kill 50%, 100% will face extinction."

[rileynovella-rasura]

who knew Thanos has bars 9:03, "scrounging for scraps, your planet was on the brink of collapse"

[Gossettc]

They had to make Thanos great...And they did. So, all the prior marvel movies they have tried focusing on the heroes and developing the heroes...Some movies did better than others, but with infinity war they had SO MANY main characters it was the wise choice to focus on the villain...And they did it right.

[xplosives]

Can we all just appreciate the fact that a studio, for the first time I know of, hyped a major film up for years, building up to it for a very long time, and actually didn’t mess anything up and made an almost flawless film?

Edit: WHAT? Since when do I have almost 2k likes? Thanks everyone!

[paragjyotideka]

One more thing you should have addded is his integrity and honesty. He never lies. His commitment for truth makes his character more strong and respectable.