Summary
Thanos left his mark on pop culture by starring opposite the Avengers in two of the highest-grossing movies of all time. However, despite fans praising Josh Brolin for his incredible performance as the Titan mastermind, there are many villains across various media who have worked in similar fashions to Thanos.
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In the vein of the famous villain, sometimes gaming villains have a point, or at least good intentions andsome sort of twisted logic behind their designs. These villains, powerful figures who are willing to wait for a victory that sees themselves as some sort of savior, are usually broken in a unique way. From old-school games to the most modern ones, a wide variety of antagonists are similar in nature and style to Thanos.
6Pagan Min – Far Cry 4
There are a lot of similarities between the style of Pagan Min and the style of Thanos, quite apart from the famous quotes they both have and the fact that they respectively managed to feel more like the main character than the protagonists at times. Pagan Min is also well-known for sitting on his throne, and he has a sense of purpose about him, even though he is clearly a madman and a violent one, he has the kind of charisma that enables him to retain his power through strength.
Like Thanos, Pagan tragically lost a daughter before the events ofFar Cry 4, the sadness of this affected him in a very real way, despite his mad nature, in the way that Thanos feels the loss of Gamora so deeply inAvengers: Infinity War. While Pagan’s plans and rule are also viewed by him as honorable, they are not quite so wide-reaching as those of Thanos, though Pagan’s reveal in theFar Cry 6DLCthat there is a nuke under his palacedoes showcase that his power may have reached even as far as decimating the world, similarly to how Thanos decimated the universe.
5Lord Emon – Shadow Of The Colossus
A character who can be referred to as either an anti-hero or anti-villain definitely fits in with the style of Thanos. Like Thanos, Lord Emon actually has a good intention at the heart of his actions. His only goal is to stop Dormin from returning. The problem with Lord Emon is that even though this is a righteous goal, the methods by which he goes about it are horrific in their own way.
Emon was suspected to be the one behind the death of Wander’s lover, and he ordered his men to kill Wander after he killed all the Colosi, making it easy to brand him a villain. However, after he was the one who originally defeated Dormin, it is easy to see why he goes to extremes in his attempts to keep Dormin from reforming. This is similar to how Thanos and his plan of saving the Universe by destroying half of all life go too far, but still makes a level of sense in the context of him having lost his planet.Shadow of the Colossusstill contains unsolved mysteries, so perhaps there will be a sequel eventually.
4Bowser – Mario
It is difficult to say that Bowser and his intentions are as noble at heart as those of Thanos. However,he is a large villainwho physically overpowers everybody he comes up against, who even seeks more power in the form of stars (instead of stones). Bowser is a constant thorn in Mario’s side, much like Thanos was an overarching villain for so long to the Avengers.
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Bowser is such a recognizable figure in media that he is very similar to Thanos. His imposing style and legions of faceless armies help this view a great deal. He is a villainous character who just manages to keep reappearing many times over, which is very similar to the way that Thanos has continually reappeared in Marvel Comics for decades now.
3King Logan – Fable 3
Fable 3is a fascinating game with a great story, and a particularly amazing villain was at the core of a lot of that in King Logan. A leader with a vicious streak, Logan forces the player to choose whether to sacrifice their love interest or a bunch of random rioters early in the story, this choice making for a brutal decision and a memorable scene.
The big reveal that makes Logan seem similar in style to Thanos is that all of his tyrannical policies throughout the game, and before it, was to allow the Kingdom to have a strong enough army to fight against the Crawler. Between all of that, his calm demeanor, and the incredible voice acting by Michael Fassbender, Logan ends up feeling like a great Thanos-style villain thathelped makeFable 3one of the bestFablegames.
2Letho – The Witcher 2
A villain whose physique, if nothing else, resembles Thanos, Letho is the primary villain ofThe Witcher 2, heralding from the School of the Viper. Letho was wreaking havoc throughout the second game by killing as many of the Northern Kingdom Kings as possible, but it turns out that his reasons for this were very much because he couldn’t resist Emhyr’s offer.
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The Emperor of Nilfgaard offered Letho the chance to havehis beloved School of the Viper restored, at the cost of murdering the Northern Kings. A hugely difficult task, Letho could not help but accept the offer, so beloved to him was his Witcher School and its legacy. He shows that he still has a sense of morality during these events, like sparing Geralt after defeating him because Geralt once saved his life. This strange sense of honor feels in line with Thanos and his actions.
1Vayne Solidor – Final Fantasy 12
TheFinal Fantasyfranchise has amazing villains and narratives, so it is unsurprising that one of them resembles the epic style of villain that Thanos embodies. Vayne Solidor was the primary antagonist ofFinal Fantasy 12and an absolute genius who masterminded several invasions of various countries simply to obtain the items he required for his plans, making him one ofthe bestFinal Fantasyantagonists.
Vayne is attempting to collect divine crystals (a fairly similar idea to infinity stones) to become a Dynast King and help humankind rise above the powers which he viewed to be perverting their destiny. Vayne simply hates that the Occuria have guided and influenced humankind, and wants humans to be in control of their future. This somewhat noble purpose is the setting behind his acts of evil, and though he is a twisted character, he is one of the smartest and most well-written JRPG villains in history.
