Netflix Labels Thanos An 'Intergalactic Sociopath' in Avengers: Infinity War

Screen Rant

By Danny Salemme

Published Dec 28, 2018

The Netflix plot description for Avengers: Infinity War refers to Thanos as an "intergalactic sociopath," but his actions prove this isn't true.

Now that Avengers: Infinity War is on Netflix, the streaming service has officially labeled Thanos as an "intergalactic sociopath." Though it's more than evident in the film that the Mad Titan is unstable, referring to him as a sociopath doesn't entirely align with the character's true nature.

While Thanos is certainly the sole antagonist in Avengers: Infinity War (even though he was officially referred to as the main character in the film, according to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige), he's hardly a run-of-the-mill villain. In fact, most villains within the Marvel Cinematic Universe fall into this category. Despite the obvious gravity of his plan to wipe out half the universe, Thanos isn't without direction or purpose. Not unlike the heroes themselves, Thanos truly believes that he'd be doing a service to every living being in the universe by creating what he believes to be perfect balance. As it so happens, though, Netflix doesn't appear to see it that way.

Now that Avengers: Infinity War is streaming on Netflix, the streaming service included a brief synopsis for the film (via: Uproxx). It reads: "Superheroes amass to stop intergalactic sociopath Thanos from acquiring a full set of Infinity Stones and wiping out half of all life in the universe." While the information is true, describing Thanos as a sociopath misses the mark on his character entirely. As a result, fans have been pouring out their disapproval on Twitter. Check out some of their tweets below:

This isn't the first time that Netflix plot descriptions have been incorrect. Though, in other cases, the issue was the result of a glitch, in which a synopsis for one show or movie was included in the wrong place. For example, the synopsis for Police Academy was once included in the description for Making a Murderer, Winnie the Pooh was included in the description for Jessica Jones, and Galaxy Quest was once included as the plot description for several different movies and shows. That said, Netflix has since modified their description for the film, referring to Thanos as: "Invader. Annihilator. So-called savior."

As for Thanos, on one hand he doesn't appear to show any remorse knowing that he will wipe out half of all living things in the universe. That said, he's hardly displaying the textbook traits of a sociopath, considering the whole purpose of his finger snap (or "Decimation") was to - in its own morbid way - help people. Lacking a conscience would have prevented Thanos from reaching this motive, thus changing his overall trajectory. Seeing as audiences got to spend more time with the character in Avengers: Infinity War - and not only through the perspective of the Avengers themselves - it's clear that Thanos' intentions weren't just part of some scheme, proving that he doesn't quite fit the description that Netflix originally assigned to him.