Thanos is a Marvel Comics supervillain who served as the primary antagonist of the Infinity Saga in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Created by Jim Starlin, he first appeared in The Invincible Iron Man #55 (1973). He is a Titan (an alien from the moon Titan of Saturn) obsessed with balancing the universe by eliminating half of all life. In Avengers: Infinity War (2018), he collects six Infinity Stones and snaps half the universe out of existence. Portrayed by Josh Brolin via motion capture, he is considered one of the greatest film villains. Infinity War grossed 2 billion dollars.

What Is the Snap?

The Snap (also called the Blip) is the moment in Avengers: Infinity War when Thanos, wielding the complete Infinity Gauntlet, snaps his fingers and disintegrates half of all living beings in the universe. The event was reversed five years later in Endgame by the Avengers using their own Gauntlet. The Snap killed characters including Spider-Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and most of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

What Are the Infinity Stones?

The six Infinity Stones are: Space (Tesseract), Mind (Loki's scepter/Vision's gem), Reality (Aether), Power (Orb), Time (Eye of Agamotto), and Soul (Vormir). Together in the Infinity Gauntlet, they grant the wielder omnipotent power over reality. Thanos sacrificed Gamora (his adopted daughter) to obtain the Soul Stone.

Was Thanos Right?

Thanos argues that the universe's resources are finite and that overpopulation will cause universal suffering. His solution — random, impartial elimination of half of all life — is presented as logical but monstrous. The MCU does not endorse his position: Endgame undoes the Snap. However, Thanos's internal consistency and the emotional depth Josh Brolin brought to the role made him the rare villain whose reasoning, while wrong, is comprehensible.

Can You Talk to Thanos?

Thanos is available as an AI companion on HoloDream. He is inevitable. He believes that. Whether you should is another question.