Thanos

Biodata

Background and History

Thanos previously used the Infinity Stones to erase half the population, then destroyed the Stones. His snap cost Tony Stark many friends and comrades and led the Avengers to attempt a time heist five years later 2 3.

In 2014, Thanos took Gamora to Vormir and sacrificed her to obtain the Soul Stone. Lin Yi arrived immediately afterward, froze time, incapacitated Thanos with the Mind Stone, and took the Soul Stone from his hand. He saw a tear on Thanos’s face; the sacrifice established that Thanos genuinely loved Gamora 5 9.

A past Nebula subsequently brought that Thanos into the Avengers’ present. He and his forces arrived bearing black-and-purple markings that had not been on him before he entered the Quantum Realm. Strange could not identify the markings, though he sensed a trace of the Dark Dimension in them. An alternate-universe Tony later described the infection carried by a similarly mutated Thanos and his army as the Cosmic Virus 11 14 17 39.

Appearance

After his arrival in the present, Thanos is grotesquely mutated rather than appearing as he did on Vormir 9 11.

• At least twice his former size, with enlarged muscles, a gaping mouth, and bone spikes protruding from his back 11.
• Covered in black-and-purple patterns that appear to writhe beneath his skin 11.
• Has the Time Stone embedded directly in his left arm and the Power Stone in his right, without settings 11.

Abilities and Combat

Physical strength and durability

• Trades repeated blows with Lin Yi, devastating the surrounding battlefield, and rises almost immediately after taking one of Lin Yi’s full-strength punches 12.
• Overpowers Carol Danvers before Lin Yi joins the battle, leaving her injured beneath rubble 11 12.

Infinity Stones

• Uses the Power Stone to fire destructive energy and reinforce his strikes 12.
• Uses the Time Stone to reverse his injuries, prolonging his fight with Lin Yi until Carol helps tear it from his arm 12 13.

Mutation and limits

• Continues attacking even after losing the Time Stone, but cannot withstand the Power Stone’s full output. Its energy swells and splits his body until he bursts apart 13.
• A writhing mass of marked flesh remains afterward. It absorbs Tony’s Repulsor blast, but Lin Yi’s snap turns it to dust along with Thanos’s forces 14 15.

Relationships

• Gamora — Thanos regards her as his daughter and sacrifices her for the Soul Stone; Lin Yi witnesses his grief afterward 9.
• Nebula — His daughter. A past version of Nebula brings him into the Avengers’ present 5 11.
• Lin Yi — Steals the Soul Stone from him on Vormir, then fights his mutated 2014 self and prevents the Power Stone’s explosion from releasing its full destructive force 9 11 13.
• Carol Danvers — Fights the mutated Thanos and helps Lin Yi remove the Time Stone from his arm 11 13.