Here’s how Avengers: Infinity War’s Thanos was christened “the Mad Titan” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Through over 10 years of movies, Marvel constructed the Infinity saga, and Thanos was the overarching villain at the center of the story. Despite plenty of teases and post-credits setup, it wasn’t until 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War that Josh Brolin’s character finally appeared in full, revealing his plan to wipe out half of all life with the Infinity Stones. As he sees it, the chaos and misery of the universe could be immediately rectified if only there were less people in it. 50% less, to be exact.

The Infinity War storyline of the MCU is directly inspired by the Marvel Infinity Gauntlet comics, but Thanos has a much larger presence that extends far beyond that single story, encompassing a litany of nefarious schemes. In his printed misadventures, Thanos is commonly referred to as the Mad Titan, simply because he comes from the moon of Titan and was driven mad after an encounter with Death herself, but this moniker is used sparingly within the MCU. Perhaps to avoid being overly cartoonish and conjure up images of Thanos hanging out of his bright yellow helicopter, MCU characters largely refer to Thanos by his actual name, rather than his dramatic villain nickname.

However, Avengers: Infinity War does confirm that Thanos is still the Mad Titan in the MCU, while also revealing the movie franchise’s explanation for how that title came to be. As Avengers: Infinity War heads towards its climax, Thanos meets a selection of stranded Avengers on his own desolated homeworld. Explaining what happened to the ruined Titan, Thanos reveals that the planet’s population faced dire circumstances, and he suggested they randomly kill half their number in order to spare the rest. Obviously, Thanos’ suggestion was thrown out, and he claims to have been branded a “madman” for even coming up with it, but Titan ultimately died out, thus arguably proving Thanos was right, at least to the minds of some.

This backstory explains the origin of the Mad Titan name in a way that’s more fitting with the MCU. Rather than simply being called “mad” in the usual comic book villain sense of the term, Brolin’s incarnation earned the title by way of a radical and ruthless answer to a problem threatening his people’s very existence. The state of Titan in the present day acts as Thanos’ justification for implementing his strategy on a universe-wide scale, hoping to spare everyone else the same fate, and thus allowing him to wear the “mad” title like a badge of honor; proof that he was right all along. The MCU mostly attempts to ground itself within some sort of reality, and this is why Scarlet Witch is more likely to be referred to as “Wanda” or “Maximoff” than her superhero title. The same logic applies to Thanos, so the “Mad Titan” name is merely alluded to, rather than used with any regularity.

After being exiled from his home, Thanos began exacting his genocidal solution upon other planets, as seen in Avengers: Infinity War’s Gamora flashback, and this likely nurtured the “Mad Titan” reputation further after the tag’s beginnings on Thanos’ home planet. More and more societies would’ve found themselves subjugated and halved by the sudden appearance of a warrior from Titan who insisted that half of them must die in order for their population to survive. What other name would they have possibly come up with?

More: MCU Theory: Scarlet Witch Won Infinity War, Endgame Rebooted The MCU

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