10 “Big Picture” Manipulators In Comics

For most of his life, Thanos has had a single goal: winning the love of the personification of Death.

She was his confidante as a small boy to help him get over his fear of killing. Later, he began pursuing her again, even though the realization that she was actually Death drove the young Titan mad. It did not dissuade him from decimating his home planet and begin to move pieces into place so that he could achieve universal power.

First, Thanos misused the Cosmic Cube on Earth but had to relinquish that power and be saved by his ship. Later, he gathered all the Soul Gems, aka the Infinity Stones, having taken the Stones from the six Elders of the Universe and assembled them on a golden gauntlet. Using that gauntlet, Thanos killed half the beings in the universe in an attempt to impress Death and earn her love. The remaining heroes of Earth and Adam Warlock were able to reverse this action.

Despite his megalomania and homicidal nature, Thanos wasn’t without reason. In fact, he would even aid others against threats greater than himself. He helped Adam Warlock against the Magus, worked with the Guardians of the Galaxy to halt the invasion of the Cancerverse, and worked with Deadpool to release Death from Eternity’s prison. All of these things benefited Thanos personally, but also benefited others as well.