Thanos’ Role Backfired In Guardians Of The Galaxy, Here’s How
MCU took their first big step into the broader Marvel Universe with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, where only the starting scenes taking place on Earth. The movie introduces the viewers to the unimaginable struggles happening out in space and the powers behind them. The prime of these struggles is the war between the Nova Corps of Xandar and the Kree Empire which is going on since 1,000 years. Just before the movie starts, the two sides agree to a peace treaty that antagonizes Ronan and he goes to Thanos for his help to destroy Xandar.
In the movie, Ronan is the main antagonist. But Thanos’ character backfires and steals the role of the main antagonist from Ronan, showing him more like a chore boy than the main villain. Many viewers felt the result to be a lack of portrayal of Ronan the Accuser as the main antagonist in the Guardians of the Galaxy. Thanos not only sends Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana), his adopted daughters to help Ronan to secure the orb, but also to supervise Ronan and make sure that he is successful at the task, which shows how the villain is required to be babysat in some capacity. Thanos also calls Ronan a “pouty child” and a “boy“, making fun of him after Ronan kills The Other, making it clear that Ronan is the one to be amused at, not get afraid of. Even though Thanos isn’t shown using his strength and skills, the few lines he does have demean Ronan. They make him seem more like a pawn in Thanos’ search for the Infinity Stones than a proper villain.
Even when Ronan tells Thanos that he is no longer in need of Thanos’ help to destroy Xandar after he gets his hand on the orb which contains an Infinity Stone, it is more prominently showing the threat level that Thanos poses. Rona is warned by Korath (Djimon Hounsou) that he is not able to wield an Infinity Stone properly, also saying that Thanos is the “most powerful being in the universe.” – said warning getting proved as true when the Power Stone is placed into his hammer by Ronan as he is not able to tolerate the power of the stone by his individual self. The instance was intended to show that to achieve his aims, Ronan does not need the help of Thanos – which later establishes that Thanos is much stronger than Ronan.
With respect to Ronan’s character in the movie as the prime antagonist, Thanos’ role backfired pretty badly on him. It did not give depth and context to Ronan’s story and it diminish the importance of Ronan’s character as the main villain. By not focusing on Ronan, who he is, what drives him and why he acts the way he does, it feels like the film is solely trying to set up Thanos’ future in the MCU. Ronan deserved to be a stronger villain, not merely Thanos’ errand boy as audiences got instead.
