Eternals Writers Blame This Marvel Character For Thanos' Snap

When "Avengers: Infinity War" first released in 2018, it seemed as if everyone was in a mad scramble to assign blame for Thanos (who, let us remember, is a fictional character) succeeding in his evil plot to wipe out half of all life in the universe (which, to be clear, did not actually happen). 

Apparently, the decision to make the Avengers come this close to defeating Thanos on multiple occasions caused some fans to more or less lose their minds, getting genuinely angry enough to pin sole responsibility of the failure on flawed heroes like a grieving Thor (for neglecting to aim for the head) or Peter Quill (for having the gall to be upset about Thanos murdering Gamora). Personally, I like when superheroes and characters in general aren't depicted as infallible and emotionless robots, but that was certainly a wake-up call for me that not everyone else agrees!

Thankfully, we can expect more reasonable and level-headed responses from the creative team behind Marvel movies. As shown by recent comments from "Eternals" director Chloé Zhao, the actions of Thanos hang heavy over the events of the latest installment of the MCU — and the "Eternals" writers have weighed in on who they blame for Thanos' snap. Because their answer deals with key plot details in "Eternals," we'll save that information for later in this post.

Turn back now if you don't want to read major spoilers for "Eternals."

So, who in the Marvel Universe would end up being tried and convicted for reckless endangerment in allowing the crimes against humanity to be committed by Thanos? In this hypothetical criminal court at whatever Marvel's equivalent of The Hague is, "Eternals" writers Matthew 'Kaz' Firpo and Ryan Firpo believe the onus belongs to a certain last-minute reveal in the mid-credits scene. That's right, we can blame Harry Styles' Eros/Starfox, the brother of Thanos, for messing him up so profoundly that he would feel the need to commit genocide on a universal scale. I'm sure anyone with brothers can relate! According to Screen Rant, Kaz Firpo explains that this was a full-blown family affair:

"We were actually, like, powerfully familiar with the crazy Thanos origin story, which I'm pretty sure is full-blown Greek myth where he, like, killed his own mother I wanna say ... It's been a little bit since I read those arcs, we did a deep-dive into Thanos ... Yeah, he was born from an Eternal and raised as a Deviant, and he's sort of caught in between the two, so there is a lot of ... again, that early connective tissue.

"But I think, for the sake of this movie as a film, we really just decided to tell this story, and maybe when we get out into the cosmos you might ... I mean, we're literally meeting Thanos' actual brother at the end of the film, and I think there's room for Eros — well, Harry [Styles] — to have a conversation about that."

Ryan Firpo points out that Thanos was first rejected by his mother. The added complication of Thanos' seemingly ideal brother Eros, however, ended up pushing him over the edge for good. Kaz Firpo continues:

"I think that Starfox is a lot responsible for why Thanos is the way he is, to have that ... all jokes aside, to have this perfect brother who can make anyone fall in love with him? It does something to you. So I hope we get to see a little bit more of that in Number 2."

Eros, who is depicted in the comics as lacking the Deviant gene that made Thanos look so different from the rest of his race, is being set up for a much larger role moving forward. Accordingly, the specter of the Mad Titan may very well haunt the MCU for years to come.

"Eternals" is in theaters now.