<Li> Plasma energy projection </Li> <P> Thanos (UK: / ˈθænɒs /, US: / - oʊ s /) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by writer / artist Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in The Invincible Iron Man #55 (cover dated February 1973). </P> <P> The character appears in various Marvel Cinematic Universe films, portrayed by Damion Poitier in The Avengers (2012), and by Josh Brolin in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and the fourth Avengers film (2019) through voice and motion capture . The character has appeared in various comic adaptations, including animated television series, arcade, and video games . </P> <P> Writer - artist Jim Starlin originally conceived of Thanos of Titan during college psychology classes . As Starlin described: </P>

When does thanos first appear in the mcu