Addressing the ''Thanos is always a simp'' thing

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

He's a "simp" (that word will probably never stop reading to me as an abbreviation of "simpleton"...) to Mistress Death only in the seventies (Jim Starlin's Captain Marvel and Warlock) and in Infinity Gauntlet, so if you hate "wants to bone Death", well, you stopped at the few stories that contains it, really.

In the midst of the direct sequel of Gauntlet, Infinity War, there’s an episode that Thanos may or may not have imagined: Mistress Death comes to speak to him for the first time, to encourage him to take out Adam Warlock for her (seeding his existence as the increasingly “formal” champion of Life to Thanos’s “champion of Death”). He chooses, even after she has spoken to him, to defy her because he came to deeply respect Warlock and also because the threat of Magus was more urgent. This is quite thoroughly the end of the immaturity of this obsession. In the main story, he’s speaking of her somewhat coldly, distantly (bringing the Infinity Watch to her palace--maybe with a little too much “I don’t care!” to be believed) and otherwise not at all. This is no longer his drive.


All that said: not trying to tell you you have to like him more, less, or otherwise--just that "simp Thanos who wants to bone Death and is stronger than everyone else" really isn't the character he was written as, barring, well, The Infinity Gauntlet. And of course the whole thing is more muddled than that, as he's totally unaware (at that time) of how his own ambition is what hurts their hypothetical relationship (see: Thanos Quest)

the MCU argument for "balance" comes from Silver Surfer #35 btw (which Starlin wrote). The part where Thanos explains to the Surfer that Death chose him to solve the overpopulation problem in the universe.

I agree that MCU Thanos is more interesting than the way comic Thanos is being written since 2013 (screw you Aaron, Bendis and Cates). But the way Starlin wrote him? Nah, that guy was intimidating because he was unpredictable. You never knew what he was going to do or how he was going to react and he could be your ally or your enemy depending on what he was scheming. He could destroy the universe or help save it from another villain depending on his mood and his intentions. He could team up with a omnicidal maniac like Annihilus for something as simple as curiosity. It's also the reason why you have stories with the Avengers and other heroes either fighting Thanos or them teaming up with Thanos. Even Death didn't know what Thanos planned especially since gathering the Infinity gems was his idea and she didn't like the fact that he messed up the cosmic order while trying to be her equal (even though Death was fine with the way he was) but then he becomes more powerful than her and it's why in Infinity Gauntlet she's upset with him and refuses to speak.

He's also a contradictory mess because he claimed to be a hardcore nihilist and yet he loves Death. He also claims to love Death and calls himself her most humble servant but he has done so many things to defy her for his own personal reason. He's arrogant and postures himself as the greatest but he also has a lot of self-loathing. He's also neither completely a hero or a villain, He’s been the good guy as often as he’s been the bad guy so depending the story he can serve as both (either way hero or villain I do prefer it when he's the antihero protagonist).

MCU Thanos is fine, I honestly never thought Starlin Thanos can be adapted into a 2 hour movie even though the MCU did a good job of adapting part of his motivation in the Silver Surfer issues that lead to the Infinity Gauntlet trilogy. Still I never really cared for the idea of a Thanos with a martyr complex and something about him felt off to me.

Also Starlin Thanos no matter how crappy of a dad he was (turning Gamora into a cyborg, almost killing her and raising her to be his assassin to get rid of Magus) he's still a better father to Gamora than MCU Thanos was to Gamora (even when he was going to destroy the whole universe he couldn't bring himself to kill Gamora and according to his creator SHE is the person he's most loyal to). The way MCU Thanos dared Star-Lord to shoot Gamora in Infinity War was awful and something I don't see Starlin Thanos doing because he didn't like seeing her emotionally distressed. He also wouldn't take in a kid that he didn't care for (which is why Gamora is the only one he claims as his daughter) and when he tortured Nebula (who isn't his daughter in the comics) he at least had the reason that Nebula had insulted him by claiming to be his grandaughter just to scare his former minions into following her, unlike MCU Thanos who just abused Nebula for years because he considered her worthless.

I also really, really, like Thanos' interactions and bromance with Adam Warlock and the MCU will most likely never have that.

I think Thanos is more similar to Lucifer Morningstar than Darkseid.

[Spiderfan001]

MCU Thanos does his job and does it well and is much better than modern Thanos.
Peak Thanos can't be adapted into 2 movies imo with such little screentime.