Full spoilers follow for Marvel’s What If…? Episode 2.
The sophomore episode of Marvel Studios’ What If…? animated series on Disney+ put an interesting spin on two of the most popular characters in the MCU. “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?” is a fascinating use of the show’s main gimmick, that one single decision could alter history and create a divergent reality. The jump-off point here happens on Earth where, instead of a young Peter Quill getting kidnapped by Yondu’s Ravagers, it’s Wakanda’s once-future king T’Challa who is taken into space.
As he grows to become a legendary intergalactic outlaw, T’Challa (voiced by the late Chadwick Boseman) also forms a different version of the Guardians of the Galaxy. This one features a most unexpected team member: Thanos!
Yeah, that’s right, in this reality the Mad Titan is reformed and on the side of right. And he comes through in the end when the team, and particularly Gamora, needs him most. And while it is no doubt going to be weird for some people to see Thanos as one of the good guys in What If…?, it’s not unprecedented. Let’s delve into the classic Marvel villain’s history as… well, sometimes not being all that bad!
What has always made Thanos one of Marvel’s most interesting adversaries is that he’s never seen himself as the bad guy. He is driven by what he is after at a particular moment in time.
And there was a time in the comics, shortly after he wore the Infinity Gauntlet and killed half the universe, that he realized being omnipotent isn’t all it was cracked up to be (it didn’t help that even wielding all the Infinity Gems at once didn’t impress Mistress Death).
After Adam Warlock took possession of the Infinity Gauntlet at the end of the classic mini-series bearing that name, Marvel gave him his own title, Warlock and the Infinity Watch (written by Jim Starlin and drawn by Angel Medina). The first issue begins with Eternity essentially suing Warlock in cosmic court before a “jury” of some of the biggest powers in the universe – Galactus, a Celestial, Uatu the Watcher, Chaos and Order. Eternity wanted Warlock to turn over the Infinity gems (they’re known as gems in the comics, not stones) to him. His argument was that Warlock was too unstable to responsibly wield that power. The judge in the case, the Living Tribunal, ruled against Warlock, an outcome that – because he held the ultimate power in the universe – he foresaw. So Warlock set about dispersing the gems to a group of people to keep them separate. They would come to be known as the Infinity Watch.
Each being – Pip the Troll, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer and Moon Dragon – would be entrusted with one of the Infinity gems, including Warlock who would stay with the soul gem. But hey, that’s only five. There are six gems. So who got the Reality gem? Well, nobody but Adam Warlock himself knew the answer to that. It was all part of his plan to prevent the gems from being reunited. And while some savvy readers eventually figured out who had it, the identity of the protector of the gem wouldn’t be revealed for a few years as Starlin kept the mystery going.
Spoiler Alert: It was Thanos all along!
One of the hallmarks of Starlin’s ’90s cosmic books was they established the unique bond these two cosmic beings, Warlock and Thanos, shared due to their many battles. With Warlock and the Infinity Watch, it became a grudging partnership.
But why would Warlock think Thanos could be trusted with an immensely powerful object he had already possessed once, and used to such negative effect? To Warlock, the Infinity Gauntlet experience ensured the Titan knew better than anyone just how important it is to keep all six gems from ever being reunited again by a single person. Also, Thanos is pretty close to unbeatable, so good luck trying to pry it from his cold, purple hands. It’s why Warlock once admitted, “To tell the truth his gem was the last one that I expected to have any trouble with.”
Thanos’ role as the secret member of the Infinity Watch was finally revealed in yet another Warlock book, The Warlock Chronicles, an Infinity Crusade crossover. It came in the form of a splash page that was classic ’90s comics.
That epic conclusion to Starlin’s Infinity trilogy was about saving the universe from the manifestation of Adam’s “good side,” the Goddess. While the crossover featured just about every Marvel hero of the era, they had little to do with the actual outcome. It was Thanos who teamed with Warlock to defeat the Goddess, even if Warlock insisted, in Infinity Crusade #6, that the Mad Titan had his own reasons: “As always, Thanos did act in a manner that be most beneficial to himself, nothing more.”
However, it appeared he had his chance to take out Warlock at the end, but chose not to.
Thanos would again help the Infinity Watch deal with another major crisis when he joined them to stop Thor when he was battling the “warrior madness.” And years later, during the Annihilation War, when Thanos realized he had been played by Annihilus, he set in motion plans to free an imprisoned Galactus so he could save the universe.
For a guy with the rep of being the gravest threat in the universe, the Mad Titan, in the comics at least, has actually helped save the universe more times than he’s tried to end it.
Given how the MCU seems to be expanding further and further into the cosmic corner of the Marvel playground, and with the multiverse offering up all sorts of options for a “resurrection,” it certainly wouldn’t be that far-fetched to see Thanos return in a future storyline. And what if this time he would actually fight alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, instead of against them?
What if, indeed.
