Thanos = This Generation's Darth Vader

[KBX]

But I thought he wont be remembered?

There was an argument that there weren’t any “iconic” moments in IW. Well it might turn on out it probably had one of the best

 

[Drizzle]

Feast your eyes on THIS, you non-believing so-and-so's!



Iconic AF.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

^That's just one random fanboy talking.

 

[Tony Stark]

Before the prequels Darth Vader was THE bad guy. If you ignore the prequels he still is, but the fact is the prequels are canon and in my mind you can't erase how George Lucas completely destroyed one of the greatest fictional characters of all time with his own writing. I don't think Thanos approached what the original Darth Vader was, but now that you can look at all of the Star Wars canon, I'd say Thanos hands down.

 

[Greens]

Before the prequels Darth Vader was THE bad guy. If you ignore the prequels he still is, but the fact is the prequels are canon and in my mind you can't erase how George Lucas completely destroyed one of the greatest fictional characters of all time with his own writing. I don't think Thanos approached what the original Darth Vader was, but now that you can look at all of the Star Wars canon, I'd say Thanos hands down.

I disagree. We're well past the prequels grieving stage. It's old hat, Vader is what Vader is. Remember how stoked people were about the Rogue One scene? That's because seeing Vader in action is still as novel as ever.

 

[DACrowe]

The important question is where does Kylo Ren fit in all this?

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

The important question is where does Kylo Ren fit in all this?

After TLJ I think of him in the same vein as prequel-Anakin. Better acted though. He may still turn out more interesting than that as he was far more interesting in TFA, aside from the mind-boggling choice to have him lose twice to Rey.

 

[Mysteryman]

No he's not. Characters like Vader and the Joker have had such long term effect, the comparison can't even be made yet.

I totally agree.
Thanos is an intergalactic version of a street punk.
Vader is akin to a dark spectral figure who can kill you before you even think about running.

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

I totally agree.
Thanos is an intergalactic version of a street punk.
Vader is akin to a dark spectral figure who can kill you before you even think about running.

Street punks must act really weird where you live. Thanos is an idealistic fanatic with an honorable goal but with terrible means.

 

[I Am The Knight]

The important question is where does Kylo Ren fit in all this?

He doesn't?

 

[Breogan]

...this SNAP! Was more powerful and memorable.

the snap very well may be the most significant single moment of a villain that I can remember since Vader's reveal.

You're the original. You paved the way for these other clowns. Give the people what they want... old-fashioned apocalyptic porn....The Phoenix Rises. Pimple-faced gamers creaming in their pants. A billion worldwide, guaranteed. You are larger than life, man. You save people from their boring, miserable lives. You make them jump, laugh, ***t their pants. All you have to do is...
\

That's what I'm talking about. Bones rattling! Big, loud, fast! Look at these people, at their eyes... they're sparkling. They love this ***t. They love blood. They love action. Not this talky, depressing, philosophical bull****. ... it'll explode into millions of eardrums. You'll glimmer on thousands of screens around the globe. Another blockbuster. You are a god.
There you go, you m***f***. Gravity doesn't even apply to you. Wait till you see the faces of those who thought we were finished. Listen to me. Let's go back one more time and show them what we're capable of. We have to end it on our own terms... with a grand gesture. Flames. Sacrifice. Icarus. You can do it. You hear me? You are... Birdman!

The important question is where does Kylo Ren fit in all this?

He doesn't?

He's this Generation's Darth Vader?
Nooooo! That was supposed to be me!
\

 

[Kane52630]

 

[DACrowe]

After TLJ I think of him in the same vein as prequel-Anakin. Better acted though. He may still turn out more interesting than that as he was far more interesting in TFA, aside from the mind-boggling choice to have him lose twice to Rey.

Ha. I like Kylo. He's a wannabe Vader and it's destroying him. I think that's great, and love how at TLJ he's in a position Vader never was in: running the show. He's going to gloriously **** it up (or he should if JJ knows how to write something less derivative), and I can't wait. But wishing he was Vader and that desire to recapture the past destroying him? Kind of fitting for geek culture today.

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

Ha. I like Kylo. He's a wannabe Vader and it's destroying him. I think that's great, and love how at TLJ he's in a position Vader never was in: running the show. He's going to gloriously **** it up (or he should if JJ knows how to write something less derivative), and I can't wait. But wishing he was Vader and that desire to recapture the past destroying him? Kind of fitting for geek culture today.

I'd like his position at the end of TLJ more if he either had a satisfying conclusion to his struggle with the light side, or if he was still clearly struggling. Unfortunately that aspect was made into an afterthought in that film.

Om top of that I don't think he works as well as the big bad guy when he's already been defeated by Rey. I'm not a fan of him acting like an angry little child either. Especially not as Hux was made into more of a buffoon in TLJ so he doesn't even have a straight man to play off of.

We'll see what they come up with, but I fear the potential is wasted at this point.

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

I feel like if JJ had directed TLJ we wouldn't be having these villain problems. That goes for how Hux, Kylo and that scarred old bald guy who I can't remember the name of were treated...can't be sure, though.

Anyway, I don't think Thanos is at Vader's level.

 

[Hammer!]

He could be but time will tell. I can't think of a major sci-fi/action/CBM villain who was better than Thanos since Joker in 2008. But that's been over ten years now, so technically a different generation from Thanos?

And what does Vader of generation even mean? You could make a strong case Freddy Krueger was a more well known, popular, fan favorite villain in the 80s. I certainly would, even though I'm more of a Friday the 13th guy.

 

[The Joker]

Vader of the generation would be a villain who is considered one of the all time great cinema villains. I don't think Freddy fits that label. Certainly not close to the level of Vader's status. Of the decades since Vader only two villains whom I think have achieved an iconic status and popularity the equivalent to Vader. They are Hannibal Lecter and the Joker (Ledger's).

 

[Hammer!]

Vader of the generation would be a villain who is considered one of the all time great cinema villains. I don't think Freddy fits that label. Certainly not close to the level of Vader's status. Of the decades since Vader only two villains whom I think have achieved an iconic status and popularity the equivalent to Vader. They are Hannibal Lecter and the Joker (Ledger's).

You could make a strong argument Freddy was the most iconic and popular movie villain icon of the 80's. I don't care enough about Star Wars or Nightmare to be the one to do so.

 

[Art_of_Crime]

As someone that works with kids I get to see their perspective as well as mine. Thanos is their "big bad guy" For most of the kids I know he is the quintessential movie villain. They think he is the most powerful thing ever and that everything that came before him was just a paper tiger.
I look at it differently. He is in good company, and he is a major enemy in a popular movie franchise, but I don't feel like he has the same menace as Vader did. The same impact. I guess time will tell. Where Vader influenced our generation perhaps Thanos will influence theirs.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Precisely.

 

[frankgutz]

Thanos = This Generation's Darth Vader

 

[KBX]

As someone that works with kids I get to see their perspective as well as mine. Thanos is their "big bad guy" For most of the kids I know he is the quintessential movie villain. They think he is the most powerful thing ever and that everything that came before him was just a paper tiger.
I look at it differently. He is in good company, and he is a major enemy in a popular movie franchise, but I don't feel like he has the same menace as Vader did. The same impact. I guess time will tell. Where Vader influenced our generation perhaps Thanos will influence theirs.

Pretty much summed it up. Good post

 

[BoredGuy]

as someone who was too young to see the original star wars in theaters and saw Return of the Jedi on HBO more than the others as it was "kid friendly", Vader wasn't all that menacing to me... he was a slow old fat white guy with scars who loved his son (at that age, I love em now, obv). So for kids today who watch it on Netflix, I could definitely see Thanos being as or more menacing than Vader. As an adult its tough to say he's AS menacing, because we can understand some of the nuance to Thanos (and Vader's I guess, for that matter) perspectives and even relate to them in some way. It's actually a testament to how great BOTH villains are.

But if we're basing it off how young people view the characters, I'd say yeah, Thanos is definitely a Vader for a new generation

 

[Tony Stark]

I was around for the original trilogy and I really thought Vader wasn't intimidating until Empire where he is flat out murdering his own people. In the first film he almost comes off as Tarkin's attack dog, it really wasn't until Empire that we see that not only is he off the chain that he is disloyal to even the Emperor who is unaware that Vader is already looking for his son. I think in ANH, he is a great bad guy but it was Empire that made him the most iconic of all time.

Back to the subject at hand, yes Thanos easily embodies all the traits that made Vader great, and he's made even more sympathetic. You flat out hate him when you see him kill Loki but by the end of the film you are flat out empathizing with him having to kill his adopted daughter to achieve his goal. And yes the snappening is easily the most culturally relative moment in modern cinema.

 

[The Endless]

Is Thanos comparable with Vader right now? Yes. It's not even a debate really.

But will he still be a cinematic icon in 40 years time? Impossible to say. I bet no one in 1978 thought Vader would still cast a shadow on pop culture in 2019.