Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2019 22:03:04 GMT
It's possible. It's been a while since there's been so everlasting a villain. I tried think of who the top tier competition is for badass villains in recent memory and the most recurring one is Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men.
He's excellent but not quite in the same boat. He doesn't really have that backstory, nor does he justify or explain himself. His motivations aren't especially clear. He's more of the avatar of chaos and fear, relentlessly unreasonable and especially frightening for what's under the surface.
The differences lie in him being limited to one film and his actions influencing a small group of people in a small town. Thanos is stretched over several films, has a backstory, logical if disagreeable motivations, explains himself, shows compassion, makes sacrifice, is the good guy in his morality but strong enough to endure being the universe's bad guy, and he's got the look.
He also exists in a less serious context. You could photoshop Thanos into every day situations for days. He's malleable, marketable, all the things Darth Vader was. He seeks destruction of half of all life in the universe, yet his face takes to merchandise, memes and jokes like a fish to water.
I can't stress enough that I'm not saying one is better than the other. They're just different. Star Wars is a much closer universe to Marvel than a film like No Country for Old Men, which I thought was excellent. Really fucking good.
Who else?
...
Heath Ledger's Joker?
How far back does this generation go?
Is Tyler Durden a candidate? Or Agent Smith?