The mad tyrant Thanos was introduced in the mid-credits scene of the first Avengers film, and has since appeared albeit fleetingly in Guardians Of The Galaxy, as the wrinkly-chinned baddie pulling all the strings behind the scenes. It's been a while since the villain was introduced and he's...barely really done much since, besides hanging out on a flying golden chair in the middle of space and getting over people to do his dirty work for him. The dirty work in question is collecting up all the Infinity Stones, which remain distantly scattered across the MCU. Despite being introduced years ago and casting big name Josh Brolin in the role, Thanos has since barely appeared and whenever he does, it's in a passive role, getting others to run errands for him. All of which changes in the mid-credits scene of Age Of Ultron, where Thanos is seen wielding the Infinity Gauntlet and commenting that he's gonna have to do this job himself. The Avengers now have a target on their back knowing where most of the Stones are, with Vision having the Mind Stone in his forehead and the most powerful enemy in the galaxy is heading their way. This is the beginning of Phase 3. The focus of which is, presumably, the coming cosmic apocalypse heralded by Thanos as soon as he gets all the Stones in his possession. From Age Of Ultron onwards, the safety of the entire universe is on the precipice. The stakes have never been higher! And so on and so forth.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
