The Big Picture: Who Was That in Thor 2?

[Gorbachof]

Maybe its just me, but does Thanos remind anyone else of DC's DarkSide?

That's because Thanos was originally based on Darkseid.

Were they not also created by the same man, Jack Kirby?

Not exactly. Y'see Kirby created Darkseid for his Fourth World Saga. Jim Starlin was a massive fan of the books at the time and so when time came round to create a new cosmic villain for Marvel, he created Thanos, The Mad Titan!

...Who he had based visually on Metron; another character from Kirby's Fourth World Saga whose role was to essentially witness the events taking place between all five books that comprised Kirby's Fourth World Saga, including Jimmy Olsen: Superman's Best Friend. I'm dead serious. It was on the suggestion of an editor (whose name escapes me) that Starlin should beef Thanos up and that he should take his visual cues from Darkseid instead. The rest was history and one of Marvel's most popular and memorable characters was created.

This is where things get a little funny though.

Y'see, by the time Starlin started to work for DC he created a character called Mogul, whose most famous act forcing Superman to live a fantasy in which Krypton was never destroyed in an Alan Moore story called "For the Man who has everything" starring Wonder Woman, Batman and Jason Todd's Robin. Starlin chose to base Mogul...on Thanos!

And here is where things get even funnier.

Jack Kirby created The Fourth World Saga as a direct response to Marvel's Thor. Y'see, Kirby wanted all the affiliated characters and worlds of the God of Thunder and Lightning to go through Ragnarok, the end of the world scenario in which the figures of Norse Mythology would finally fall at the hands of Loki and his armies in a battle that would see Asgard destroyed. From this destruction, Kirby hoped to create new characters; New Gods. Lee wasn't a fan of it though and managed to talk Kirby out of it.

So when Kirby finally left Marvel and started to work at DC, his first order of business was to start his Fourth World Saga with The New Gods, where the first panel showed a barren battlefield with the half destroyed helmet of Thor in the foreground amongst the rubble. The first words of the book?

"THE OLD GODS HAVE FALLEN!"

Neat, so Old Gods isn't just what paradox interactive felt like calling there Norse expansion...

 

[chibby]

Many thanks guys

 

[Gunnyboy]

I don't know how anyone can defend that scene. Not only does it make an infinity stone really weak, and silly, but there is no reason for The Collector to be so campy.