Infinity War Fun isn't something one considers when balancing the universe

[Mike Murdock]

In anticipation of this movie, I'm finally getting around to reading Infinity Gauntlet. Prior to it starting, I'm reading the prelude Silver Surfer issues with the resurrection of Thanos. One thing that caught my attention is that Thanos says his motivation is that the universe has gotten unbalanced. Creatures throughout the galaxy have used scientific advancement to advance their life expectancy, so there is more life than death. But, because of this, they will ultimately destroy themselves. Since death likes to have a steady stream of souls rather than all at once and no more, his goal is to cull half the universe's population to make sure the other half can better survive.

This got me thinking about Thanos's motivations in the movie. Prior to Thor Ragnarok, people said that Hela can replace Death. After watching the movie, I don't think that makes much sense since Hela seems far more to be a goddess of causing death than receiving death, if that makes sense. But that line in the trailer I put in the subject line got me thinking. What if his motivation is far more faithful than we're giving credit? What if it's exactly that - there is too much life in the galaxy and he thinks that will lead to its destruction, so he's providing some death to rebalance things?

I still think it's still an open question whether Mistress Death will literally appear, though. My suspicions are that she won't, but she might be there in spirit. What do you guys think?

 

[MbJ]

The Silver Surfer arc is really good. Thanos' argument about balancing the universe was actually not without merit, which made it all the more baffling that this part of the motivation pretty much fell by the wayside (by the time of Thanos Quest and the actual Infinity Gauntlet crossover, he's more or less dropped any pretense that this is about anything other than winning Death's love).

The Russo's had talked about wanting to make Thanos nuanced, so I expect this angle will be played up more here.

 

[Wildcard]

Personally, I think that it was always about winning over Mistress Death and he was trying to make it seem more noble by saying he was balancing the universe. After reading the Infinity Gauntlet story the first few times, that was the conclusion I immediately came to. He tries to sprinkle this noble narrative over what he's doing but in reality he's acting selfishly and solely to win over the woman he loves.

I still don't expect Mistress Death to actually show up, though. I could be wrong but I still think Hela will take that spot within the MCU.

 

[Mike Murdock]

I don't necessarily disagree with the justification being just that, but my point is that's either something they can expand upon the movie as a genuine motivation or he's at least alluding to it in the trailer. Although, I will say that I do think Death genuinely believes killing half the universe will lead to better long-term results for those remaining so new generations could be born and then die.

I just can't see how anyone thinks Hela would replace death after seeing Thor: Ragnarok.

Spoiler

Her title "goddess of death" seems entirely related to how she causes death. Certainly, she does not take in the souls of the dead in that movie and would have no great benefit for the death of half the universe.

 

[legendkillin]

Personally, I think that it was always about winning over Mistress Death and he was trying to make it seem more noble by saying he was balancing the universe. After reading the Infinity Gauntlet story the first few times, that was the conclusion I immediately came to. He tries to sprinkle this noble narrative over what he's doing but in reality he's acting selfishly and solely to win over the woman he loves.

I still don't expect Mistress Death to actually show up, though. I could be wrong but I still think Hela will take that spot within the MCU.

I too think Death was his main motivation, he wanted her to actually notice him and appreciate what he is doing for her. I think having Death in the MCU would be a bit redundant since Hela is around and can do that same part. Also Death didn't speak in the comic which is well and good in the comic. I don't think it would work in the movies.

 

[Wildcard]

I too think Death was his main motivation, he wanted her to actually notice him and appreciate what he is doing for her. I think having Death in the MCU would be a bit redundant since Hela is around and can do that same part. Also Death didn't speak in the comic which is well and good in the comic. I don't think it would work in the movies.

Yeah, I always found it odd that outside of her minion speaking for her, she didn't say anything. That's probably one of the only things about the comic I'd want changed if it were possible.

But yes, he was far more concerned with securing his place as Mistress Death's lover. Honestly, any time Thanos is doing anything that relates to Death, I don't ever believe him when he says "x, y and z" is why I'm doing this. She's always the primary motivation.

 

[jaqua99]

I don't necessarily disagree with the justification being just that, but my point is that's either something they can expand upon the movie as a genuine motivation or he's at least alluding to it in the trailer. Although, I will say that I do think Death genuinely believes killing half the universe will lead to better long-term results for those remaining so new generations could be born and then die.

I just can't see how anyone thinks Hela would replace death after seeing Thor: Ragnarok.

Spoiler

Her title "goddess of death" seems entirely related to how she causes death. Certainly, she does not take in the souls of the dead in that movie and would have no great benefit for the death of half the universe.

Exactly.

Also in the IG story, Thanos' motives MAY have been for the woman, superficially, but it really wasn't it was actually the other way around. The romance was sprinkled in. But Thanos was very clearly doing this FOR Thanos. Everything Starlin's Thanos does is due to nihilism and how his existential, lonely soul searching character is reflected in his place in the story. His relationship with Death in Infinity Gauntlet, and the entire saga is NOT the biggest most important relationship in the story.

It's Warlock, as we and Thanos learn about about Thanos' nature through him.

This is why it irks me when people attribute Thanos' motives to Death during this time of his Marvel career, and when people link him to Death so much. It isn't NEARLY as big to the character as people seem to think.

In Infinity Gauntlet, the two most important themes are Thanos' relationship with himself and with Warlock..NOT with Death. He isn't that simple.

Thanos isn't trying to winner Death, isn't trying to balance the universe.

He's trying to balance himself..by molding the universe, and to fill the hole of love with Death. It's ALL about Thanos' psychology

 

[jaqua99]

Yeah, I always found it odd that outside of her minion speaking for her, she didn't say anything. That's probably one of the only things about the comic I'd want changed if it were possible.

But yes, he was far more concerned with securing his place as Mistress Death's lover. Honestly, any time Thanos is doing anything that relates to Death, I don't ever believe him when he says "x, y and z" is why I'm doing this. She's always the primary motivation.

Again, refer to my previous post. It Isn't about Thanos securing his place next to Death. It is about Thanos securing his place as SOMETHING. Death is a character device to Thanos.

Starlin's Thanos demonstrates very human philosophical and psychological themes. You gotta look deeper into the story and look past the mannifest content to grasp them.

 

[Wildcard]

Again, refer to my previous post. It Isn't about Thanos securing his place next to Death. It is about Thanos securing his place as SOMETHING. Death is a character device to Thanos.

Starlin's Thanos demonstrates very human philosophical and psychological themes. You gotta look deeper into the story and look past the mannifest content to grasp them.

I completely get that aspect and can't argue with it, but it can't be denied that Death is integral to Thanos' story, a lot of his motivations and his general being. I understand what you're getting at: Thanos is always striving to showcase his importance, hence why he goes to such drastic measures.

I began to understand that advent of the character more clearly with Thanos Rising, actually. Here you have someone whose mother tried to kill him as a child (and was always distant in addition to hating him) and a father who was so busy he barely paid him any attention. So is Thanos seeking to secure a role of importance? Absolutely. But so is being with Death, even if they don't carry the same weight in terms of their significance. I understand this aspect of the character because, in a lot of ways, it speaks to myself. My point wasn't ever that Death is 100% what makes Thanos what he is, just that as far as the IG story is concerned, his "noble" goal wasn't as noble as he has tried to make it seem.

 

[Mike Murdock]

New trailer is out. Given the comments recently, plus that trailer, I think my theory is correct. Thanos wants to balance the universe between life and death to prevent the universe from destroying itself due to the consequences of too much life.

 

[Melpardus]

From interviews with Kevin Feige, the Russos, and the trailers themselves, I get the sense that they're pretty much reducing Death to little more than just a concept in Thanos' mind, one that probably won't get a physical manifestation à la the comics. As someone just learning about Thanos, I can appreciate this change; even if people have been overstating the importance of the relationship with Death, it still seems a bit odd to me for him to be doing all of this at least in part to simply gain appeasement from a single female figure.

My question is what kind of villain is he supposed to be? Like, is he a figure we as the audience are supposed to relate to on some visceral or emotional level (like the Vulture or Killmonger) or are we meant to just understand his point of view on a purely philosophical level such that his motives extend beyond "for the evulz"? I'm just trying to grasp why I should fear him and see him as the MCU's biggest bad outside of his sheer power and hunt for the infinity stones.

 

[BarryAllen]

From interviews with Kevin Feige, the Russos, and the trailers themselves, I get the sense that they're pretty much reducing Death to little more than just a concept in Thanos' mind, one that probably won't get a physical manifestation à la the comics. As someone just learning about Thanos, I can appreciate this change; even if people have been overstating the importance of the relationship with Death, it still seems a bit odd to me for him to be doing all of this at least in part to simply gain appeasement from a single female figure.

I think they're setting up for more exploration of Death in Part 2. They've constantly hinted at her (remember the comic-con trailer where there was a voice that said Death follows Thanos like a shadow?)