Supervillain Thanos was transformed into the pope, thanks to some very creative cosplay at Anime Expo 2019. Long before he became one of the biggest cinematic villains of all time, Thanos debuted in the pages of Marvel Comics with The Invincible Iron Man #55 in 1973. After warring with various Marvel Comics characters over the years, including The X-Men and the Fantastic Four as well as The Avengers, Thanos arrived on movie screens for the first time in the end credits sequence of the original 2012 Avengers.
As the MCU played out over the years after The Avengers, Thanos remained at first a looming threat off in the distance, receiving menacing cameos in Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Then in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos finally arrived full force, and in a shocking twist, not only defeated the earth’s greatest superheroes but also snapped his fingers and made half the life in the universe disappear. But Thanos’ victory would be temporary at best, as the remaining Avengers re-assembled for 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and not only defeated the Mad Titan but also reversed the snap, bringing Spider-Man, Black Panther and all the other departed heroes back to life. Though Thanos may be dead, the effects of his snap are still being felt in the MCU, as the new Spider-Man: Far From Home introduces a group of elemental supervillains who look to have came to earth as a result of Thanos’ actions.
Thanks to his appearances in the massive blockbusters Infinity War and Endgame, Thanos has now gone from comic book supervillain to full-on pop culture phenomenon. And now, Thanos may be taking on a new role as the head of the Catholic Church, at least according to one cosplayer who showed up at this week’s Anime Expo 2019 in Los Angeles. Twitter user @beat_shobon shared video of the cosplayer giving the world Pope Thanos, as can be seen in the space below.
Cosplay fanatics are of course well known for their creativity and attention to detail, and the individual above is certainly no exception, as they did an amazing job crafting their Pope Thanos costume. As hilarious as the costume is by itself, it's possible there's also a bit of commentary intended, as not everyone on earth is a huge fan of the church (though the current pope is certainly more popular than many previous ones).
Indeed, Thanos may be gone from the MCU - though perhaps there's a way he could come back, albeit in a younger form - but clearly his fans haven't forgotten him. Like Darth Vader, Thanos has now passed on into general pop culture, and become a touchstone figure for people wanting to make political comments, or even just for people who want to dress up in a cool, crazy costume and head to a convention.
Source: @beat_shobon/Twitter