Thanos: The Worst Role Model Ever
It makes sense when you read it, I promise.
Okay, hear me out here. Lend me your common sense. I know Thanos is evil, okay? You don’t need to tell me that wanting to wipe out 50% of all life across the entire universe is an evil motive. Especially when he had reality-warping stones that he could’ve used to make the universe bigger or produce more resources or more money or literally anything else before reaching mass murder as a solution to overpopulation/resource scarcity. I know all that already.
So why the hell did I find myself getting inspired by him after Infinity War and Endgame? I felt fired up, like a soldier that just received an encouraging speech by their general and was now raring to fight, throwing all cares away with a deafening war cry. It’s not that I believe in his cause (though it stems from a genuine worry), but that I’m moved by his unshakable determination and absolute belief in his mission.
Thanos doesn’t think he’s right. He knows he’s right. To him, this evil mission of his isn’t evil at all, but a necessary action to save all life. He’s so certain of this to the extent of delusion and he is refusing to see it another way. He trained to be strong, conquered planets and enemies, built an army and his own personal enforcer squad for this same belief. That isn’t something you do for something you casually believe in. Can you imagine how hard it was to make an army? To make an army?! That’s an insane achievement in itself, but of course, Thanos didn’t stop there. It wasn’t enough to create the force necessary to bring his vision to life. No. He had to actually make it happen. He strategised carefully, using pawns like Loki and Ronan to execute his vision, tugging on their personal motives and using his intimidation to puppeteer things into play.
I mean, let’s face it: Thanos is a G.
So, it’s no surprise I came away from the 10 year MCU arc respecting our Avengers as amazing heroes doing everything in their power to save the world but also with a ton of respect for Thanos as a character. Like — damn, man, that dude really did what he said he was going to do.
And isn’t that what we all want to say some day? We actually did what the hell we said we were gonna do? That we persevered and remained determined enough to actually make our vision come to life? That we didn’t give up, despite everyone saying it was stupid and didn’t make sense and it was “evil”? Man, I don’t know about you, but that’s always respectable in my book.
I learnt as much from Thanos as I did from the Avengers. Where Captain America taught me morality and hope, Thanos taught me self-belief. Where Iron Man (the GOAT) taught me perseverance, Thanos taught me determination and discipline.
And that’s the biggest lesson I learned from the Mad Titan — the power of discipline. He took no crap and gave zero F’s. He made decisions and stuck with it. Showed up on time to take what he wanted and got rid of anyone in his way. He didn’t let anything stop him from achieving his goal. He saw what he wanted and did everything to make it happen. And, yes, of course everything he did was deplorable and evil. I hope nobody agrees with him or ever tries to do what he did on any scale.
But imagine what we could do if we had his determination? His discipline to stick with our vision and focus and make our dreams happen? His near unshakable belief in himself to achieve? That relentless drive? Imagine using all those qualities and putting them to use for a good dream? One that betters you and the world around you? I can’t help but smile.
That’s why I’m working on developing my inner Thanos voice. When I find myself low and scrambling for shreds of self-belief, I imagine a Thanos John. And Thanos John doesn’t need to convince himself that he can do what he wants — he knows he can. Thanos John is disciplined and in control of his mind and won’t shake, no matter how many things life throws at him. Thanos John offers me a hand and tells me to get up. To throw off the self doubt on my shoulder and move: there’s work to be done. Thanos John sees the big picture and gets ready to labour. We can rest when the dream is real.
But I’m conflicted. Despite Thanos John providing a certain brand of toxicity that actually encourages and bolsters me into more action, there’s a tic in the back of my head. A voice that doesn’t let up, doesn’t let my conscience rest. And it’s because of Thanos himself. I have to admit it to myself — Thanos is the worst person to inspire anyone. Here’s why:
He killed half the universe.
That’s pretty much it. What else do you need? Sure, all those characteristics I mentioned are admirable and something we all wish we had more of, but when it’s being applied to a good cause.
And that’s the problem with Thanos. He’s inseparable from a horrible and, frankly, unnecessary cause. As I said in the first paragraph, he didn’t have to kill half the universe. There are like, a million steps and ideas to work through before you get to the stage of thinking: “Yep, the only thing we can do is kill everyone”.
But Thanos does a beeline to that conclusion. ‘Cus he’s a murderous psycho. Like, swap Thanos with Hitler and you could more or less argue the same thing. That kind of makes all his qualities a different shade. Ruins the whole thing; burns him out from having any semblance of a role model.
So… I dunno now. I’m kind of stuck. I mean, I like Thanos John, but I hate the inspiration for him. It’s a dilemma. One worthy of lengthier discussions and discourse than I’m willing to have on this article. It asks you questions.
Can you admire someone’s qualities, but hate their actions? Can you love the art but hate the artist? Are the two inseparable? Who knows? And who cares? He isn’t real and I’m just a guy trying to motivate myself to be more productive. I’m sure there are easier ways, but this kind of works for me so I’ll just go on with it until it gets old.
After all — it’s what Thanos would do.
