Audiences finally witnessed the true extent of Thanos' power in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR earlier this year, but it was a long time coming. The Mad Titan made his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in THE AVENGERS in 2012 during a post-credit scene in which the Other (Alexis Denisof) informed Thanos of the failed attack on Earth, adding that to challenge them further would be to court death. Thanos turned and smiled in response, a nod to the comics in which the character is obsessed with the physical embodiment of Death.
By the time AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR rolled around, it was clear that the MCU would be taking a different route with the character, and IGN recently chatted with Joss Whedon, who wrote and directed both THE AVENGERS and AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, and asked him what he thought of what Joe and Anthony Russo did with Thanos in the recent film. Surprisingly, Whedon admitted that he never knew exactly what to do with Thanos and was pleased that the Russo's found a way to make the character work in INFINITY WAR.
Honestly, I kind of hung [Thanos] out to dry. I love Thanos. I love his apocalyptic vision, his love affair with death. I love his power. But, I don’t really understand it. He’s had a lot of power, and he was cool in the comics. And I’m like, Thanos is the ultimate Marvel villain! And then I was like, I don’t actually know what I would do with Thanos. So, I liked what [the Russo brothers] did so much, and I thought Josh Brolin killed it. And they did an amazing job of keeping that performance on-screen. But it wasn’t like I was like, here’s a set of directions. I was like, I’m gonna get through Ultron, nap for four years, and then I’ll come to the premiere. Which I did! It was like, this is so cool!
When Joss Whedon first introduced Thanos in THE AVENGERS, he had no idea on how the reveal would be paid off later in the franchise, but he was pleased that the Russo brothers gave Thanos more of a philosophical motivation. "I thought they did what they needed to do. [Thanos falling in love with Death is] not a concept that will necessarily translate. It’s sometimes also an easy out for a villain. To say, I love destruction! No, really, I’m in love with it. And yet, you’re still just a nihilist," Whedon said. "Whereas they gave him an actual perspective and made him feel righteous to himself, which is always a better idea. So I liked what they did very much. I did not know about it, I certainly didn’t come up with it."
You'll be able to re-watch Thanos (Josh Brolin) taking on the Avengers when AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR arrives on Digital HD on July 31st and on DVD/Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD on August 14th. Thanos will also make his return in AVENGERS 4 on May 3, 2019.