I have been holding onto a Guardians Of The Galaxy hot take for nine years, and it suddenly struck me this morning that if I don’t get it out now, it’s probably never coming out. So, with the Guardians franchise officially ending, at least in its current form (for one thing, Star-Lord will be back), it’s time for me to risk the MCU fan blowback and blurt it out Drax-style to see if anyone agrees.
I think Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 1 had an opportunity to properly establish Thanos as the terrifying, all-powerful villain the MCU desperately wanted, but instead, James Gunn and company elected to have a dance-off, which unintentionally made Thanos look weak and mistakenly laid the groundwork for him to become a mediocre, underwhelming villain who never reached his full potential.
That felt good to get out.
Now, let’s back up for a second and talk about Guardians Vol 1, which, for me, is top tier MCU. I love how vibrant and funny all of the characters are. I love the chemistry between the makeshift team members and how flawed they all are. They’re great, and so is Thanos, at least in moments. He’s a supervillain who radiates an intimidating and powerful energy. He gives off all kinds of 'fuck around and you’ll find out vibes', which is why, during my first viewing, I sat up in my seat and got all kinds of nervous and excited when Ronan The Accuser crossed him. I couldn't wait to see how Thanos responded.
But then a funny thing happened. Thanos just took it. Ronan sassed him over video chat and said after he destroyed Xandar, he was going to hunt him down and destroy him. He just straight up threatened Thanos, who we were told is the most powerful being in the galaxy, and Thanos elected to just… do nothing. Instead of tearing Ronan’s arms off to establish his place at the top of the villain food chain, he just stayed out of it for unclear reasons. Maybe he had an open table reservation he didn't want to cancel? Maybe he was playing Clue with some friends?
As I watched Guardians of the Galaxy, I kept thinking Thanos is about to show up and do evil things, and Ronan is about to find out why you keep your mouth shut around this purple badass. But Thanos never came. Peter Quill and company won a dance off and killed Ronan on their own. Everyone else in the theater seemed pleased as punch with this amusing outcome. Not me. I was pissed at what could have been and frankly, kind of pissed at Thanos for just eating that level of disrespect.
James Gunn (who I really like, to be clear) created the perfect conditions to give fans a truly subversive and weird ending that would have worked perfectly with the tone of his movie, his lovable and bumbling heroes and the long-term trajectory of the MCU. It was all right there! But Thanos was busy doing other things apparently.
Guardians Vol. 1 should have ended with Thanos, out of nowhere, appearing and beating Ronan to death while everyone else watched with their mouths open. He should have straight up murdered him in front of everyone and then just left. It would have been a terrifying sign to everyone, heroes and villains alike, that the world revolves around Thanos and he would kill anyone if he felt like it. It also would have been an unnerving juxtaposition from the dance-off going on, and it would have fit perfectly with our ragtag heroes who need some luck to win.
It also would have been a really subversive and fascinating way to end a superhero movie and maybe similar in tone to what was originally planned for Guardians Vol. 1. The heroes only won because another bigger, badder villain handed them the victory. It would have been a moment of celebration and also a sobering reality for the team and for the audience. Would they have even won without Thanos? Should they be thankful? Where do they even go from here? It’s my number one 'what could have been' from the MCU.
I love the Guardians franchise. It’s my favorite trilogy Marvel has done, and I was very happy with round three (and I wasn't alone; for example, our own Sarah El-Mahmoud gave Guardians Vol. 3 4 out of 5 stars in her review). Whenever I think about the first movie, though, I think about the ending that got away. I think about what I think should have been.
Maybe other people would have loved it, maybe they would have hated it. I have no idea. But with Guardians taking its final bow and James Gunn moving onto DC, I wish there was an alternate world where all involved would have gone down another path. The MCU eventually figured out Thanos and he was fine enough, but in this alternate reality, he could have been an all-time great.
