Why does everyone treat him like he's a super serious and unique threat to the universe?

Why does everyone treat him like he's a super serious and unique threat to the universe?

Yeah, he wiped out 50% of all life in reality; but he only did that with an artifact that anyone could do the same with. An artifact he subconsciously gave up. Without it, he's basically Mongul with lasers and a few extra superpowers he seldom uses.

After growing past, and sequentially not getting past, universal conquest and banging death, he's never done anything close to that scale of genocide or villainy. Meanwhile, the likes of the Red Skull, Ultron, Dr. Doom and even Carnage are constantly going above and beyond their own limits in new and exciting ways. Meanwhile Thanos is more or less in the same spot he was in before he got the Infinity Gauntlet despite being much more powerful and intelligent than all of them (barring Doom).

So why does everyone keep pretending that he's that much of a big deal when the only time he's a real REAL big threat was when he gets his hands on some cosmic artifact? Especially since other's like Red Skull and the Hood have done the exact same thing?

Because every time he loses the glove he immediately goes looking for the glove again.

Who is "everyone?" Are you talking about readers or characters?

But that's wrong.

Using the Infinity Gems was supposed to require a kind of cosmic awareness and understanding that only a few, like Thanos, could have. Even the Elders of the Universe who had the gems before him, weren't aware of what they were really capable of. Nowadays, it seems like anyone can slap the gauntlet on and use them like a pro.

Both I guess.

Read a comic not Wikipedia

Hickman referenced this and had cap broke the gauntlet by using it

Because even without the Gauntlet, he's strong enough to body the Hulk, tough enough to tank a blast from Odin and the Silver Surfer at once, and is a scientific genius even by the standards of the Eternals of Titan.

he shouldn't have been able to use it in first place, or he should have caused chaos by not controlling it appropriately

>Meanwhile Thanos is more or less in the same spot he was in before he got the Infinity Gauntlet

That's because, for well over a decade, the end of Infinity Gauntlet was where he realized the futility of conquest. Barring Thanosi (basically Doombots), all of Thanos's appearances from the end of Infinity Gauntlet to the end of Thanos Imperative had him as an anti-hero. Even in Annihilation, he only seemed on Annihilus's side because his waifu told him to, and he turned on him as soon as he got a chance to.

It isn't a matter of his power level, it's the significance of his character in relation to the wider Marvel mythos, particularly within our solar system. Thanos stands as the living manifestation of existential nihilism at the heart of humanity. He isn't even interesting in the context of battling other characters, he's interesting as being this bizarre poetic artist who sees beauty in death.Very misunderstood character, Infinity War will most certainly botch him entirely.

I suppose I just have such a vivid image in my mind of who Thanos is and the complex range of his expressions. He probably won't even be an Eternal. Making him an alien takes away so much of his character.

His waifu a qt

>Even in Annihilation, he only seemed on Annihilus's side because his waifu told him to,
what? No.
He was just bored and Annihilus provided a distraction- he turned on him as soon as he realized Annihilus was going to kill everything.

He's not a hero by any definition, he just like the continued existence of the universe... well, he likeD: Thanos-8 is now GAY, GAY FOR OBLIVION and wants to destroy everything.

Nah, Thanos was most certainly some kind of Machiavellian antihero in Annihilation. He's literally the one who makes the victory play in the final battle against Annihilus's fleet.

Thanos is often the only one(except Adam Warlock) making plans, full stop.

He stated both to Moondragon AND, more importantly, to Adam Warlock that he was doing it for shit and giggles.

>defeated every gem owner using both strength and cunning intelligence
>uses a very powerful weapon that requires a deep understanding of what you're doing
>does it not for power, but for love
>has an epic quest to achieve an incredible feat in the name of love for a larger than life being
>whole misguided quest bites him in the ass, because not only does it not buy her love, but he even put himself in a position where he's still unable to have her talk to him directly.
>that last Thanos Conquest scene

Read comics kid. There's so much to the stories than what wiki resumes will tell you.

The stones are supposed to require some form of cosmic awareness that not even some cosmic elders had. He's a unique being in that sense, how he views the universe and how he knows it works.
And he was a threat with the glove because of that.
I think Bendis did something to show how hard the stones are supposed to be to use in his heroic age avanegers or assembled. I don't remember, but no one is supposed to be able to use them like him.

Last one standing bruh.

He has the mind of an artist. All of his actions served the orchestration of this grand scale mural of a cosmic conflict.

I'm asking this question after reading comics about Thanos.

In recent years, he's just been a generic space warlord who's done nothing to prove his reputation save for killing War-Machine and injuring She-Hulk. And even that is small potatoes for someone who's supposed to be a universal threat.

Because he has done more than simply wielded the infinity gauntlet (which he was the only one to figure out about)

He has killed entire solar systems.
He has prevented a universe eating being that tricked Galactus.
He has been part of some of the biggest events in Marvel history.

He's not just some guy who found some gems and beat the universe, he was a guy who was able to think up a way to gain power beyond anything in the universe and execute his plan flawlessly.

One of Moondragon's lines is literally "You did all of this because you were bored?!" or something to the affect and Thanos's response is "You must admit, even under these circumstances it is quite fascinating". I'm paraphrasing, but just barely.

Cause he was written poorly then.
Try more than just recent events and cliff notes of one big event.

God, I fucking hate Thanos.

He literally does it because he's bored

But my question isn't about his character. I'm well aware of how much Thanos has regressed in that respect. Personally, I liked him as a guy who used to be a big villain, but got over it after reaching the top, and became a nomad.

My question is why do people keep treating him like he's Marvel's #1 threat to the multiverse when he hasn't done anything terrible on the scale for decades.

I mean, unless you count Marvel: The End, but that was for the benefit of the universe. Plus I'm pretty sure that story isn't canon.

MCU influence and Marvel's desperation to make him into a huge threat.

That's about it.

>My question is why do people keep treating him like he's Marvel's #1 threat to the multiverse when he hasn't done anything terrible on the scale for decades

Because of the MCU.

In-universe, I suppose you can rationalize it as the sliding timeline putting Infinity Gauntlet at a few years ago.

>sliding timeline putting Infinity Gauntlet at a few years ago.

Swear to God, if Ewing manages to co-opt the Thanos push to do some weird shit with whatever he's setting up, all is forgiven

That's an oversimplification of the character and his mindset. He isn't just simply bored like an unfulfilled teenager, he is consumed by a nihilistic emptiness that has made him a depersonalized observer of the events transpiring around him. Moondragon is just expressing this sentiment in the limited connotation her understanding and vernacular allowed her.

also it's closer to nearly a decade ago, 1991 settles to something like 2007.