Bizarre news out of Twitter (what other kind is there?): Marvel fans have begun to speculate that the villain Thanos has been a closeted gay this entire time.
For the uninitiated: Thanos (played by Josh Brolin) is a master villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the chief baddie of the blockbusters Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. After assembling a magical gauntlet, Thanos obliterates half the population of the universe with a snap of his fingers.
The phrase “Gay Thanos” began trending on the social media platform following a viral tweet that noted the colored gems which power Thanos’ magical infinity gauntlet actually form the colors of the pride flag.
Related: Marvel Studios president confirms a gay superhero is coming soon to a theater near you
“Gay Thanos is trending,” tweeted Comics Girl Ashley. “The man literally searched the entire universe to assemble a bejeweled pride gauntlet.”
The trend has continued to gather steam, as users note some of Thanos’ more homoerotic qualities.
“Why is gay thanos trending? You’re welcome,” wrote @Jamesrfrew.
Gay thanos trending? Explains why he was a lil too experienced in choking someone in this scene ?? pic.twitter.com/xV2n1uwCJ3
— Nikki// MARVEL IS SWEEPING THE FLOOR CLEAN ERA (@nikiwidow) May 14, 2021
“Gay Thanos is trending so i’m doing my job with the only gay thanos meme i have,” said @MakaBun_.
“Gay Thanos??? Congrats on coming out love,” posted @antmustdie. The post also made note of the pride flag/infinity gem correlation.
We’re not sure how we feel about the excitement surrounding a potentially gay genocidal maniac. That said, Thanos somehow manages to be the most sympathetic character in Infinity War. Maybe he was just snuffing homophobia out of existence?
This isn’t the first time a fictional villain has been “outed” on social media either. Back in 2017, the titular monster from the horror movie The Babadook became the subject of a similar trending campaign, which has forever made the character something of an ironic queer icon. Ditto the evil clown Pennywise, from the cinematic adaptations of IT. If those incidents sets any precedent, we expect to see plenty of Thanos cosplay at this year’s pride festivals.
