Warning! Spoilers for Attack on Titan Chapter 139 ahead!
Fans of the popular manga series Attack On Titan have grown accustomed to the roller coaster ride that is each characters' plot progressions since early on in the story. No one, however, has gone through more of a drastic change than protagonist-turned-villain Eren Jaeger. He started the series off as a vengeful soldier bent on destroying the Titan race. However, upon learning a bit more about the reality of the world around him, his motivations change drastically...leading him to turn against the very people he once fought with. Determined to accomplish his mission at all costs, Eren may remind Marvel fans of a notorious villain.
Attack On Titan's long-awaited final chapter has been released, and it paints a dark picture of Eren's character towards the end of the story. Eren confesses to being responsible for the death of 80% of the population during the Rumbling. This massive march of Titans ended with an incomprehensible amount of damage left in its wake. Despite the obviously evil act of killing a large number of people, Eren believed in what he was doing at the time. Fans of both Attack On Titan and the Marvel Cinematic Universe couldn't help but see similar characteristics between Eren and the infamous mastermind of destruction, Thanos.
Just like Thanos, Eren proves to be his own greatest enemy. Their commitment to their mission proves to be the downfall of both villains. Both characters found incredible power; Thanos built his infinity gauntlet and Eren discovered he could shift into a Titan form. On a basic level, the two are surprisingly vulnerable. Once Thanos finds himself without the gauntlet, he is easy defeated. Without his Titan form giving him the ability to communicate with and lead an entire Titan army, he would not have had the power to accomplish such a devastating feat. The two are incredibly resourceful, taking advantage of their access to power, but rather use it for evil than for good.
Of course, the two are not exactly the same. Eren has been driven by anger for the majority of his storyline. Whether fighting against the Titans or against his former allies, it may like he has done everything in the name of making things right. Sure, he sees the wrongs of society and wants to enact change, but he goes about trying to change the world in a manner that can only be shown through violence. He destroys everything in his path on his mission. A less chaotic villain, Thanos aims to rid planets of exactly 50%, leaving the specific lives lost up to random chance. Eren had a vengeance against society himself that Thanos never had. Both believed their misguided plans would be for the betterment of society, and are equally evil beings, yet it may not seem that way given Eren's erratic behavior.
The two can't help but be compared regardless of their differences. Both mass murderers took their worlds by surprise with the amount of damage they were able to inflict. Eren's ability to wipe out the majority of humanity as Thanos did without having to scour the universe for magic rocks would almost be impressive...if not so tragically deranged. By the end of the Rumbling in Attack On Titan, Eren officially killed an even larger percentage of humanity than Thanos himself. Does that make him the more "inevitable" villain?