Avengers: Infinity War was the biggest movie of the MCU till now and it brought in its biggest villain ever, Thanos who really established why there is no one better than him! He was the only one who really took down the Avengers, and doing that, he was able to fulfil his life’s ultimate goal which was bringing balance to the Universe by taking out half of the entire population.
The Russos established a villain who was relatable to the real world as well. But do his ways really work? Are his intentions really noble after all? Or is he the Mad Titan we all see him for. There was a lot of Thanos’ backstory which was cut out of Avengers: Infinity War and it was reported that Marvel shot 30 minutes worth of extra Thanos scenes which showed his past on Titan, but given that the runtime of the film was already so long, they chose to explain that in brief as they had so much more on their plate.
The movie shows us Thanos’ homeworld in its current state, which is nothing but a barren wasteland. The film showed us a glimpse of how it was, but as Thanos said, it was falling short of resources, and the growing population did not really have anywhere else to go and that led to the fall of his planet. But how could a planet be so devastated even if it was suffering from chronic hunger?
A reddit user named Comiccow6 has a theory that suggests that Thanos himself was the one who really destroyed Titan, because of the fact that the planet did not agree to his proposal and exiled him. Thanos suggested that Genocide could really save his planet but since his people did not agree to it, he came back and knocked the planet out of orbit! Here’s what the theory says:
“In Infinity War, Titan has been knocked off course, and [its] gravity changed significantly. Also, the world is mostly barren desert decorated by crumbling buildings. It’s never explained how either of these phenomena happened to a lucious world that apparently died from a lack of resources.”
This is something that has happened in the comics. Thanos was exiled out of his planet, and him being an emotional being who doesn’t take betrayal really well reacted to it in a way that was fatal for the entire planet! Thanos’ story was told different from the comics in the movie, but this particular aspect could be the common grounds for the story on the screen and in the books.
“The answer is that Titan died a much different death. In the comics, Thanos was exiled from his home planet, and returned to destroy in in a nuclear bombardment. While the comics may not be the best resource when talking about MCU Thanos, I think they have this event in common.
Thanos was exiled from Titan for suggesting his 50/50 genocide. He later returned with an army in tow, and nuked Titan with enough force to decimate the world and knock it out of orbit. They didn’t accept his help, so why should he save them?”
The Redditor’s theory then continues to establish why Thanos is really called the Mad Titan! In the end, he was just a broken psychopath who thought what he was doing would bring harmony to the Universe, but to be truthful, he was just doing it to do it all for his own enjoyment! He is nothing but a big bad liar who just needs the approval of the Universe that has not been good to him till now.
The first Guardians of the Galaxy established that Gamora’s planet was just another wasteland and she was the last Zehoberi survivor. So Avengers: Infinity War showed that Thanos lied to his own daughter and just kills for sport. The theory concludes:
“We already know that Thanos ignores his rule of “balance” when it suits him. He slaughtered every dwarf but Eitri after the Infinity Gauntlet was forged. If he did that just out of practicality, imagine what he would do to a population that spurned his philosophy and exiled him for it. Thanos is an emotional guy, and he doesn’t take betrayal lightly.
When explaining his past to Dr. Strange, Thanos lies not just to get Strange to give him the Time Stone, but to justify his own atrocities. He does the same thing to Gamora, who has been established as the last of her species. Thanos’ method of peace does not work, and Thanos knows this. However, if he accepts that fact, he has to accept that he butchered his people and countless others not out of kindness, but out of enjoyment.”
Honestly, this is the best and probably the most workable theory on Reddit and I really wish that this turns out to be the real case! It may undermine Thanos, but it would portray the fact that he is the “Mad” Titan and what he did was not the way to bring balance to the Universe. Rather it was totally wrong. The line between the good deeds and the bad have to be drawn, and by what Thanos has done till now, it seems that he was the one who was actually right!
