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Okay, it's like this . . .
You're one of the most powerful creatures ever to have evolved on planet Earth. Your ancestors were genetically manipulated to create a super-race of god-like humans and your lifespan is easier to measure in millennia that year. Now, let's suppose that you had an unfortunate physical defect at birth and as a kid, maybe no one wanted to play with you and you were sad a lot.
What do you do with your extremely long life?
Why, if you're Thanos, you worship, then fall in love with the physical mainfestation of Death and try, repeatedly to either conquer or destroy all life in the universe!
Thanos is the character who introduced me to cosmic villainy. Up to that point in my comic reading, I was used to dealing with fairly mundane -if monthly attempts by Lex Luthor, Brainiac and/or Mordru to rule and/or destroy the Earth can be called mundane- threats in comics. Jim Starlin's singular artwork and storytelling, his use of broad story arcs, long before such were common in American comics, made for some fascinating stories. His characters, like most Marvel characters, had flaws, but they also had dreams, desires, believable inner conflicts.
I find these stories remain engaging, even after more than 30 years. Even after reading and re-reading them many, many times. There is psychological depth to them that helps set them apart. If you're one of the eleven people on Earth who don't know what stories I'm talking about, track down back issues or the reprints of Starlin's run on Captain Marvel and Warlock.
Back to Thanos. This is one of those characters I've never drawn before. I don't know why, I always liked him, but I never had occassion to draw him. I suppose it's because I never really thought I had anything to add. He's far from perfect, but his outfit works for him. I guess this is why I used to sketch Mongul, who's so similar to Thanos is many ways, because I never liked Mongul's look. Ah, well, that's the inside of my head for you.
Thanos is so powerful, he once fought Thor and the Thing, simultaneously. In addition to unbelievable strength, he's got energy powers and a devastating intellect. Oh, yeah, he's crazy and worships Death, too. Now you know why Spider-Man prefers to deal with Doc Ock and the Vulture.
Like most of Starlin's character designs, there's more going on than just the usual tights. The boots and gloves aren't magic skin-tight material, they look heavy and functional. But, there are also decorative elements. You can see this with his Adam Warlock costume and others.
Since I like most of the costume, I'm not going to stray far from the original. I think there needs to be more obvious armored pieces, so I put those in. The boots and belt, too could use updating.
I darkened the blue and made the orange a little more golden. Thanos is supposed to be gray-skinned, and I chose to use a true gray, rather than the muddy purple used in comics back in the day.
Villains are such fun to work with.
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