Thanos played an important role in Marvel Cinematic Universeculminating in his death in Avengers: Endgamebut it looks like another terrifying Marvel character will be taking over much of its comic book history. After some mixed reception to the foes expected to take Thanos’ place as the MCU’s big bad, including Kang the Conqueror, Marvel has geared up for some of the MCU’s best villains in Phase 6. However, the one who takes control of Thanos’ story has been around in the universe for some time.
The status of many past villains in the MCU is varied, and some of these characters, including Ultron, are expected to return in multiple projects in the near future. Following this, it looks like the Marvel Universe will truly be full of terrible enemies to tell their stories. Despite this, it appears that more Thanos appearances could occur in future Marvel projects. That said, a significant portion of his canonical story has already been told using someone else.
Death’s MCU Romance With Agatha Mirrors Marvel’s Thanos Comic Story
In the comics, Thanos fell in love with death
Many of Thanos’ motivations in the MCU are different from those in the comics, where the villain had a relationship with Death. The story of Death and his influence on Thanos caused much of what happened in the stories they inspired. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. As a result, it was strange to see such a thoughtful, contemplative version of the brutal hero, who was driven less by desire and more by a misguided hope for how to better shape the universe.
In the films, the romantic connection with Death and how it motivates actions and events is Agatha’s story. The relationship between the two is much less one-sided, with Death sacrificing many of his own needs for Agatha, such as allowing Nicholas Scratch to live longer in Agatefinal episodes. This created an environment that allowed Death to be explored with much more nuance. while also allowing for the same conflicts and stories that existed in the comics with Thanos.
Offering Agatha Thanos’ Death Romance in the MCU Makes More Sense for the Franchise
Agatha opened up the spiritual side of the Marvel universe
The spiritual side of Marvel has only begun to be explored in the MCU and will certainly influence future stories. This is likely to include projects such as Blade and the rumors Midnight’s Children. However, without this spiritual side being established, as was done from WandaVisionthe story, the franchise did not have the appropriate paradigms for the existence of a metaphysical villain like Death. Giving Thanos more grounded motivations was an effective way to tell this story without relying on the metaphysical side of the universe.
Fortunately now that witchcraft and magic play a more direct role in the franchise there’s more room for characters like Agatha to explore romance with figures like Death. While Agate’While the finale didn’t explore the history of their relationship, there are now plenty of opportunities for future stories to delve deeper into that connection. With Agatha playing a complex character who isn’t a direct antagonist, there’s also a lot more room to examine a romance with her than with Thanos.
Agatha’s MCU Death Romance Could Set Up The Franchise’s Most Unusual Love Triangle
The love triangle of death in the comics featured Deadpool instead of Agatha
Just because Agatha has taken on a love for Death that would have been Thanos’ in the comics doesn’t mean those stories can’t be explored in the future of the MCU. The line Thanos said about courting Death in The Avengerswhich was clearly a wink to his comic strip, could be used to introduce a past relationship between the two. After that, incredible relational tension could arise between Agatha, Thanos, and Death, which could make for some fun scenes.
Additionally, other characters have fallen in love with Death in the comics. A love triangle previously appeared in the comics where Deadpool and Thanos were in love with Death, leading to interesting conflicts. While Deadpool has a clear MCU love interest in Vanessa, things could change, and that triangle could be between Agatha, Deadpool, and Death. There are many possibilities to explore and they are all attractive. Certainly, more stories about Death and his place in the MCU will come in the near future.
However the story plays out, Death will likely remain a major force in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Aubrey Plaza’s performance as the character was celebrated, and has long remained relevant to her character and her incredible powers.. Seeing a culminating idea of what Death is in Marvel Cinematic Universe It’s a challenging concept, but if done right, some of the best stories from the comics could be adapted into future MCU projects.