Thanos’ history in Marvel Comics was rewritten in UCMand the changes became much more disappointing. Thanos cemented his place as an iconic Marvel villain through the graphic novel The Infinity Gauntlet in 1991, which saw him use the Gauntlet to destroy half of all life – something the MCU adapted in 2018 as Snap. However, his reasons for doing so in the comics were changed to fit the overarching plot of the MCU, along with a number of other details changed.
Thanos’ time in the MCU ended with the end of the Infinity Saga, but his impact can still be felt in current Marvel projects without him being physically present. More recently, a new character was introduced in Agatha all the time who has direct ties to Thanos in the comics. While it’s an exciting development and potentially gives the villain an excuse to return in future MCU entries, it’s disappointing that the character wasn’t part of Thanos’ main story.
The MCU Completely Changed Thanos’ Motivation
Comic Thanos was in love with Lady Death
Thanos had a plan to wipe out half the universe in both the Marvel comics and the MCU. The results ended up the same, but he had completely different reasons for doing so in each situation. In the comics, Thanos wanted to kill so he could conquer Lady Death. The Mad Titan loved the cosmic entity, but his feelings were unrequited. He wanted to impress her so much that he thought killing half the universe would be the answer. However, for the personification of death, Thanos’ actions were not impressive, as he simply accelerated the inevitable.
On the other hand, the MCU iteration of Thanos had a more concrete reasoning behind his actions that didn’t just stem from his own desires. He wanted to eliminate half the universe as a way to solve the problem of overpopulation. Having seen his home planet Titan fall due to lack of resources, he wanted to make sure it never happened again. The MCU’s Thanos believed his plan was for the betterment of the universe and that they should be grateful for him, while his comic book counterpart carried out his plan as a grand gesture.
Why the MCU Changed Thanos So Much
MCU’s Thanos seems more complex
The main reason the MCU changed Thanos’ story was probably because they needed it to fit into the larger plot. Having him kill half the universe because he wanted to impress Lady Death would have been a very isolated plot that would have further diverted focus from other MCU characters. It would also involve introducing Lady Death early on in the MCU. Even if Marvel didn’t yet have a specific plan to introduce her in Agatha all the timethe Infinity Saga just didn’t feel like the right time for her.
Whatever reason Thanos had for wanting to kill half the universe could have involved him trying to gather the Infinity Stones in the same way, but it seemed much more complex with his motive in the MCU. Even though Thanos is evil, no matter what murder he committed, there was a lot more space for fans to understand him as a character with his self-proclaimed noble cause. It would have been easy to dismiss him as just another flashy supervillain with his comedic backstory, although it’s really a shame that this meant Death was written out of the MCU for so long.
Death is now officially a character thanks to Agatha all along
Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal confirmed dead
Agatha all the time introduced Aubrey Plaza as Rio Vidal, who was revealed in later episodes to be Lady Death. The cosmic entity has been briefly hinted at in the MCU before, but this was the first time fans were able to see its physical form on screen. Death and Agatha were lovers for centuries in the MCUwhich means romance is still part of her story, but she found it in Agatha rather than Thanos. It’s unclear whether Death and Thanos knew each other in the MCU, but their storyline certainly doesn’t seem to have happened.
It’s good to finally have Death as an official character in the MCU, but he Agatha all the time the introduction largely changes his backstory as much as Thanos’. With Thanos now deceased and his love for Agatha being a defining point, it’s a disappointment that fans won’t see the character as she was originally created. That being said, there is still a lot of potential for Death in the future of UCMand the Multiverse Saga means that even a reunion with Thanos could somehow be possible.