10 Actors Who Were Born To Play Their MCU Roles

As possibly the most obscure character on this list - at least in a mainstream sense - Thanos had a very small following during his early appearances in Marvel's comic books. When he first appeared in the post-credits scene for The Avengers, many audience members were left scratching their heads as to who the purple giant at the end was. With follow-up cameos in Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron, viewers began to learn of the danger the Mad Titan posed to the heroes they had come to know and love.

When Thanos finally unleashed his plan in Avengers: Infinity War, the rogue became an instant major player, all because of the pain he inflicted on general audiences by eliminating half of their favourite characters.

Even though Thanos' plans were foiled and he was defeated in Avengers: Endgame, his impact on the MCU has been profound, and he is now as iconic a villain as Darth Vader and Lord Voldemort. It is safe to say that a lot of the success of the character should be attributed to Josh Brolin, who turned Thanos from a niche, potentially goofy baddie, into an intimidating monster that sealed his place in popular culture.