Jim Starlin Didn't Know Marvel Studios Was Using Thanos Until Right Before The Avengers Hit Theaters

Thanos (Josh Brolin) has served as the big bad for the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the past decade and his schemes have been felt throughout every MCU movie. He's as integral to the fabric that makes up the shared universe as any of the Avengers. Despite, being so integral to the development of the franchise, the character's creator didn't get too much notice about the Mad Titan's initial silver screen debut.

According to a recent interview with Jim Starlin, the writer/artist wasn't aware Marvel planned on using Thanos until just a few days before Joss Whedon's The Avengers hit theaters in 2012, a movie in which the Mad Titan had the quickest of cameos.

"Well, I only found out that he was going to be in The Avengers about two days before the movie came out," Starlin tells Discussing Film. "So I went to a midnight showing, and behind me was sitting a comic book fan and a cartoon fan, and, you know, they were these types of characters who spoke a lot during the movie, but it was that kind of film, but when Thanos finally shows up in the final credits, the comic book fan gasped, 'Thanos!' and the cartoon fan went 'who's Thanos?'"

After his very brief cameo in The Avengers, Thanos went on to appear on-screen in Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) and in a post-credits scene to Avengers: Age of Ultron, the latter two being Josh Brolin's first stab at the character before his major roles in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In case you're wondering, Brolin has Starlin's stamp of approval, with the creator going on record by saying he can't see anyone else in the role.

Avengers: Endgame is now showing while Spider-Man: Far From Home swings into theaters July 2nd.

Where does the Mad Titan fall on your ranking of MCU villains? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or by hitting me up on Twitter at @AdamBarnhardt!

-----

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we share our Detective Pikachu review, talk MCU Phase 4, Marvel's new Hulu shows, and more! Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode!