Thanos creator Jim Starlin says he was ‘flabbergasted’ by Avengers: Endgame

Legendary writer Jim Starlin talks about his reaction to seeing Avengers: Endgame, with IGN. Did it live up to his original comic?

Warning: Spoilers ahead for those who have not seen Avengers: Endgame. 

Recently Jim Starlin — writer of The Infinity Gauntlet comic — sat down with IGN to discuss seeing the latest Marvel movie, Avengers: Endgame. Much like the rest of the world, Starlin was blown away by the movie, and is still digesting it.

“All I want is a drink, and I’m completely tongue tied. I was just flabbergasted,” he told IGN.

To be honest, I think we all were. This was the end for a lot of big Marvel heroes, but it was also the start for a whole slew of new characters. Many of Starlin’s own creations saw their end in Endgame, and he was pleased with how they met their demise. Especially the villain, Thanos.

Starlin created Thanos, and debuted the titan in Iron-Man #55 (1973). After his initial appearance, Thanos was featured as a main villain in the Marvel universe. He appeared in comics such as Captain Marvel, Strange Tales, and of course the Avengers. 

Thanos himself saw many changes through the comic. He originally started as a silly looking scrawny villain, and then he developed into the menace we all know.

“He developed into this powerhouse more as the stories went along. He kept inflating and getting bigger,” Starlin said.

As far as the conclusion to the reign of terror Thanos caused for the MCU?

“His final moments in the movie, I think are just priceless. His demeanor once he realizes whats happening — I think that’s just one of those little moments in film that, everyone will remember.”

Starlin was even pleased with the changes from the comics. He realized and understood that changes needed to happen for the general audience, but he was happy with them. The original Infinity Gauntlet story was fairly quick and to the point, yet the movies expanded on them considerably. The movie was missing a few characters that were in the original comic (such as Warlock and Silver Surfer), but that didn’t bother Starlin.

“They had to depart from where I was going with the book. I thought at one point that Nebula might get a hold of the gauntlet as that was in the book. I thought it was very satisfying.”

It’s always a delight to see how a comic creator reacts to his creation being brought to the big screen. Do you agree with Starlin, or would you have done things differently? Let us know in the comments below!