What I’m talking about is the relationship between Gamora and Thanos, and how it really helps round off the characterization of both of them (but especially the latter).
First things first, allow me to say this: Their relationship is toxic. I am not going to sugarcoat this, or try to make the moldy grape seem more sympathetic. That being said, the relationship is, in many ways, a lot more human that I had anticipated.
It’s clear to me that Thanos is manipulative and emotionally abusive. Gamora’s feelings for him are portrayed as complicated. On the one hand, she utterly hates him, and wants to kill him - this has been clear since the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. But when she thinks she does, thanks to the illusion Thanos created, she breaks down sobbing over what she’s done, and earlier, she openly admits to Peter that if it came down to it, she could not refuse him if he asked her to help him.
This implies that at least some part of her still sees him as a father. This is... very disturbing, and really reminds me of many accounts I’ve read where an abuse victim is aware that they are being abused, yet still possess love for their abuser, regardless of their personal relation to said abuser. This has to be intentional on Marvel’s part.
Then we see how Thanos sees Gamora, and... He loves her. He really sees her as his daughter. Despite all he’s done to her, despite knowing she hates him enough to kill him, he cares for her. This represents an aspect of many abusers that I never really see touched upon too much - that they do care for their victims, and many think they’re doing the right thing.
Now obviously, this is in no way an excuse for their behavior. In fact, it’s downright terrifying to think about. But it’s also a surprisingly humanizing factor for Thanos. It shows that he isn’t just some insane, genocidal tyrant. He is more than that. He is a person in his own right. He may possess more power than any single person ever could, yet at his core, he is just as complex as any human.
That, to me, is what makes him such a horrifying villain. His actions are inexcusable, both on the large and small scales, but unlike other Marvel villains up to this point, he has become someone capable of resonating with audiences while still remaining irredeemable.
The scene where Gamora attempts to kill herself rather than be killed by him is, to me, what cemented this. She cannot say no to him, yet knows that whatever she does, she will not survive. So she tries to end it herself... Only for Thanos to take that away from her. Then he throws her off the edge, sacrificing her to fulfill his “destiny” - but he cannot stop his tears. And from then on, even as he continues to conquer and destroy, he remembers Gamora... And, as Mantis said, he mourns.
In the Harry Potter fandom, many profess to loathe Umbridge as mush or even more so than Voldemort himself, for while he is the large scale evil of fantasy, she is the evil that we face in our everyday lives. Thanos, to me, manages to be both of these. A villain hellbent on killing half the universe, no matter the cost. The abusive parent, manipulating their child for their own ends in spite of their love for them. An unholy marriage of these two almost unrelated concepts, in the last place I would have expected to see them.
Marvel Studios, I commend you. You have surpassed my expectations with Thanos gloriously, and to this one viewer, have transformed him from an ambiguous “ultimate bad guy” into a truly memorable antagonist.
Rant over.
