Mark Ruffalo jokes that former President Trump used his presidential powers to pardon Thanos, the gauntlet wielding Titan who killed half of the world's population in Avengers: Infinity War. Thanos first appeared in the post-credits scene for The Avengers, setting him up to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most daunting and anticipated villain to date. His looming presence finally came to the fore in Avengers: Infinity War, wherein audiences see him travel across the universe in search of the Infinity stones that could give him the power to snap half of a planet's population out of existence.

Fighting against Thanos are Earth's – and the galaxy's – mightiest heroes, such as Ruffalo's Bruce Banner, also known as the Hulk. Like Thanos, Ruffalo's Hulk first appeared in the MCU in The Avengers after they recast him to fill the role previously played by Edward Norton. Despite never having his own solo movie, fans have seen a lot of Hulk throughout the Infinity Saga. In Avengers: Infinity War, Banner is part of the final battle in Wakanda against Thanos and his army, which ends with Thanos successfully getting all the stones and killing off half of the Earth. Banner then returns, this time as Smart Hulk, in Avengers: Endgame to help orchestrate the time heist and snap everybody back into existence.

Related: Why The MCU Needs To Kill Off Smart Hulk

Although Thanos believes that what he is doing is for the greater good – citing scarcity and overpopulation as the source of suffering – he still commits genocide against billions of people. Not to mention he murdered many in pursuit of the stones – making him undoubtedly what one would consider a criminal. Perhaps that set Thanos up as the perfect punchline for the meme currently circulating the internet about former President Trump pardoning various fictional characters. These memes were inspired by the fact that Trump spent the last few weeks in office granting last minute pardons to a number of his affiliates. On Wednesday, Ruffalo took to Twitter to joke that Trump pardoned Thanos, as well.

Seeing as Marvel Studios is a huge cultural touchstone, it's not surprising that MCU memes are abound, even when discussing politics. After the most recent election, one user created a viral video that reimagined the final battle in Avengers: Endgame, but Tony Stark and Captain America were replaced with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and Thanos was replaced with Trump. Additionally, Ruffalo himself is both an outspoken Trump critic and avid Twitter user, again making it unsurprising that he would post this tweet on the last official day of Trump's presidency.

Unfortunately for Ruffalo's fans, it does not appear that the character will get a solo movie anytime soon. That said, he will be making major reappearances as he is confirmed to star in both What If...? and She-Hulk, two new small screen MCU projects that will be released on Disney+ within the next few years. Until then, fans can follow Ruffalo on Twitter, where he will hopefully continue sharing his favorite MCU memes.

Next: Marvel's Original Plans For Thanos Would Have Improved His Character Journey

Source: Mark Ruffalo