6 Years On, The MCU Still Can’t Escape Its Thanos Obsession

It’s been six years since Avengers: Endgame brought down the curtain on Thanos – and in that time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced multiverses, Celestials, Kang the Conqueror (and then un-introduced him hastily), and the short-lived nonsense of Secret Invasion. But even with a packed schedule of new and potentially world-ending threats, the franchise just cannot let go of its most prominent villain so far. Thanos might be dead (several times over, in fact) and dusted, but he seemingly remains the yardstick by which every MCU event is measured.

This isn’t just about legacy or emotional fallout, which the whole of Phase 4 felt like it dealt with. That was to be expected, and even necessary, after all, given the seismic impact of The Blip and its planetary trauma. But the MCU’s lingering fixation on Thanos feels increasingly like a symptom of a larger problem: a failure to move forward. Even in small ways, the franchise keeps pointing back to gauntlet-wielding Mad Titan, because frankly, there’s not been anything else as big or as good to replace him. And with the multiverse careering towards its climax with Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, even Ironheart isn’t free of the curse.

Ironheart’s Thanos Reference Explained

In Ironheart‘s very first episode, a street preacher shouts “Thanos was just the start… and this time Tony Stark won’t save us!” Ignoring the fact that nothing else comes of this apparent prophet of doom with his urgent, apocalyptic warning, his first words are the ones that matter. It’s yet another example of the MCU pulling from the same deck of cards it’s been shuffling since Infinity War. This isn’t just a nod to the past; it’s a reminder that the franchise still sees Thanos as the very definition of existential danger. And while there’s a logic to that – he did, after all, unmake half the universe – leaning on that trauma so heavily risks making everything else feel like a sequel to his saga. And we need to move on.

More importantly, it also drags Ironheart into a gravitational pull it doesn’t need for the sake of an unnecessary reference. Riri Williams should be allowed to establish her own stakes, her own enemies, her own place in the world, rather than a hollow threat of Thanos – or a Thanos-like threat that isn’t part of this story – casting a subtle shadow. Instead, her series opens by invoking the ghosts of Endgame and Stark.

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Perhaps it wasn’t accidental? With two new Avengers films on the horizon, Marvel Studios may be using moments like these to foreshadow a broader escalation to atone for the fact that the actual connecting tissue in the multiverse saga has been uneven at best. “Thanos was just the start” works as a prophecy if the MCU is building toward a villain who makes the Mad Titan look like a warm-up act. A promise to stop people giving up?

Why Does The MCU Still Care So Much About Thanos?

It should go without saying that the reason Marvel keeps maintaining the unhealthy Thanos obsession is because there’s no suitable heir to the throne. Ironheart‘s passing prophecy here, then, works as an acknowledgement of that, whether intended or not, as well as a subtle promise of course correction. Kang was supposed to be the Next Big Thing – a time-warping, multiversal nemesis who could match Thanos’ brute force with more cerebral nuance. But between the legal trouble surrounding Jonathan Majors and the franchise’s own hesitation, Kang is now lost to limbo.

That fallback instinct to Thanos feels a little desperate, and worse, it risks making newer threats start from a losing position, defined more by their relationship to Thanos than by their own menace. Even when the MCU introduces promising villains – say, the Celestials or Doctor Doom (eventually) – there’s a chance they’ll be framed as “worse than Thanos” rather than uniquely terrifying in their own right. But then, maybe there is hope here: maybe they’re saying “Thanos was just the start” because they’re willing it to be true? Let’s hope so, because the Thanos nostalgia has gone on long enough.

Ironheart is streaming on Disney+ now. And for more spoiler analysis and discussion of Ironheart, click here.