It’s been quite some time since Avengers: Endgame was first released, but MCU fans are still buzzing about the Mad Titan, Thanos. He appeared in post credit scenes and was mentioned by other characters for roughly six years before he finally made his official, big-time debut in Avengers: Infinity War, so it’s no surprise he managed to live up to the hype.
No matter where viewers stand on their opinion of Thanos, it's hard to deny that he’s easily one of the greatest MCU antagonists the franchise has ever seen. Thanos’ ultimate goal was rooted in the betterment of the universe, although his execution was questionable at times, making it hard to chalk him up to either completely good or completely evil. Here are five reasons Thanos wasn’t the bad guy, and five reasons he was.
Updated June 2, 2022 by Julie Weyant: Some previous entries were combined or expanded upon. New entries were included about the Scarlet Witch and other Disney Plus shows to offer a comparison between Thanos' actions and the actions of newer MCU antagonists, while also focusing more on the impact Thanos had on the Marvel universe after the Blip.
GOOD - He Could've Prevented The Emergence
Thanks to the release of Eternals, the conversation about Thanos has started up again with a vengeance. The movie revealed that when planets reach a certain population, Celestials are able to emerge, simultaneously destroying worlds and absorbing power from the people inhabiting them. By wiping out half of Earth’s population, Thanos was technically saving mankind from being turned into nothingness by the ancient space-god unknowingly growing beneath their feet for centuries.
Thanos’ brother, Eros, popped up during the Eternals post-credits scene, with extensive knowledge about Celestials, Eternals and the Emergence. This implies Thanos most likely knew about these things, too, and was trying to stop the Emergence from happening.
BAD - He Killed A Lot Of People
Despite the possibility of preventing the Emergence, Thanos killed a ton of people. He didn't just take them out with a snap, either, and resorted to bloodier, more violent means before obtaining the Infinity Stones.
In most cases, the people he killed were innocent, their only crime - according to Thanos - being existing. Thanos’ proclivity for genocide is what makes it hard to see him as something other than a villain.
GOOD - He Doesn’t Discriminate In The Preservation of Life
The one thing Thanos has going for him in terms of eradicating life is that he doesn't discriminate. Thanos doesn’t make decisions about who lives or dies based on who they are as people, he simply wants to get rid of half the population.
With no consideration for things like power, status, or character, Thanos doesn't let personal opinions dictate which individuals deserve life or death. He only seeks to accomplish his goal and doesn't deem certain individuals as less worthy than others.
BAD - He’s Arrogant
With that being said, Thanos was arrogant enough to assume he could take the fate of the universe into his own hands. By killing anyone at all, even if he doesn't discriminate, Thanos is still playing God by taking the lives of others against their will.
His arrogance is what led him to assume he knows best and wipe out entire planets, even if the inhabitants didn’t want or ask for his help.
GOOD - A Lot Of People Benefited From The Blip
To further complicate the issue, there were a lot of people who actually benefited from the Blip. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier centered around the heroes facing off against a group known as the Flag Smashers, who wanted to protect people displaced by the return of those who vanished. Sam Wilson even advocated for the Flag Smasher’s mission after reining them in, agreeing that their goal was admirable, even though they went about achieving it in the wrong way.
Hawkeye repeatedly put the phrase “Thanos was right” on display, including a scene where he drank from a mug which read the same thing. Having built a following for himself on Earth because of his actions, it seems as if Thanos’ choices did create a lot of good in the world.
BAD - He Didn't Care About The Consequences Of His Actions
Because Thanos believed the end justifies the means, he didn't have much concern for the people left alive after the Blip. He was so focused on the economical advantages of population control that he completely disregarded the way survivors would feel afterwards.
Yes, the Blip eradicated people at random, but everyone left behind that was forced to accept the loss of their loved ones certainly felt targeted. Everyone in mourning was totally unable to see Thanos’ vision the way he wanted them to, which just resulted in an exorbitant amount of pain and suffering.
GOOD - He Didn’t Want Permanent Power Or Control
In Thanos’ mind, preventing overpopulation was his destiny. Having witnessed people die from starvation on his own planet, he wanted to ensure that others wouldn't be forced to watch their homes die out and lack the resources to support life. After initially succeeding with his plan, Thanos disappeared to live a quiet life on a lonely planet.
He wasn’t aiming to become a dictator or rule people with an iron fist. Once the Blip was over, Thanos relinquished his power and planned to live out the rest of his days without getting involved in anyone else’s affairs. So although he didn't necessarily go about bringing peace the best way, it's hard to deny that his heart was in the right place.
BAD - He Was The Catalyst For The Creation Of Scarlet Witch
The release of Multiverse of Madness puts Thanos’ quest into more perspective, now that the Scarlet Witch has made a name for herself as the MCU’s most powerful villain. Thanos was willing to kill Vision while on his quest to save the universe, which served as the catalyst for the creation of the Scarlet Witch.
Had Thanos left Vision alive, Wanda probably wouldn’t have lost control of her magic while grieving and accidentally held the town of Westview hostage. Having been the main reason Wanda began her descent into madness, Thanos was still inadvertently hurting people, even after he was gone.
GOOD - His Actions Were Selfless
As already established, Thanos’ bad deeds were done for a pretty selfless reason. He wasn’t blindly murdering people out of anger or spite, but because he genuinely believed he was doing something good for the world. In fact, Loki confirms that the events of Infinity War and Endgame were scripted by He Who Remains, so Thanos was technically just playing his part in the grand scheme of the multiverse.
Thanos suffered just as intensely as the people left behind in the aftermath of the Blip. He sacrificed Gamora on Vormir to acquire the Soul Stone, giving up the only person he ever truly loved to try and aid the rest of the galaxy. Thanos knew he would have to abandon everything he held dear in order to succeed, so as messed up as it is, killing Gamora actually humanized Thanos and proved that he was willing to go to great lengths to achieve his desired outcome.
Once again comparing his actions to Wanda's in Multiverse of Madness, it's important to acknowledge that Thanos is still partly responsible for Wanda’s Westview mishap, since he followed the script of He Who Remains and killed Vision. However, everything Wanda did during Multiverse of Madness was entirely of her own volition, since He Who Remains is no longer in control of what happens in the universe. She killed, tormented and turned on the heroes for selfish reasons, while also proving she’s far more powerful than Thanos ever was. Wanda’s Scarlet Witch storyline makes Thanos’ reign of terror pale in comparison.
BAD - He Hurt The People That Trusted Him
Taking his actions into consideration before the events of Infinity War and Endgame, Thanos did put his “children'' through an exorbitant amount of pain. Starting off by murdering Gamora’s birth family, then claiming her as his own, Thanos was a killer long before the Blip.
Forcing Gamora and Nebula to battle it out for his approval certainly had a negative impact on them as they grew older, and constantly replacing parts of Nebula’s body with machinery is a trauma she’ll spend a long time getting over. Overall, Thanos took “bad father” to an entirely new level, essentially abusing his so-called daughters throughout their childhood, just to create good fighters.