- "It was beautiful. Titan was like most planets; too many mouths, not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution."
"Genocide."
"But random. Dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike. They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass." - ―Thanos and Doctor Strange[src]
Titan is the desolated homeworld of Thanos.
History
Destruction
Home to an eponymous race of beings, Titan was once a rich, lush world. It was plagued by overpopulation however which caused a drain on its resources and sent the Titan race hurtling towards a societal cataclysm. The outcast Thanos proposed randomly killing half the planet's population as a way to preserve their finite resources but his plan was rejected as too extreme, and Thanos was deemed a madman. The predicted catastrophe then hit Titan, causing the mass extinction of most of the planet's lifeforms, with Thanos being the only survivor.[1] The once green and blue world turned burnt orange and brown as the upper atmosphere was ravaged by electrical storms with the broken remains of Titan society littering its surface. Even its moon was not spared, taking on a similar appearance. On a planetary scale, Titan was left eight degrees off its axis with its gravitational pull being "all over the place". Convinced that his plans could have saved his homeworld, Thanos became dedicated to wiping out half the life in the universe so as to spare other planets from sharing the fate of his own people.
Arrival of Earth's Heroes
In early 2018, following his retrieval of the Space Stone, Thanos sent the Black Order to Earth with orders to bring the Time and Mind Stones to Titan. In Ebony Maw's attempt to pry the former from Doctor Strange, he was slain by Iron Man and Spider-Man. The three humans then seized control of Maw's Q-Ship which crash landed on Titan. After meeting half the Guardians of the Galaxy, the six agreed to work together to defeat Thanos.[1]
Battle of Titan
Thanos reveals the past beauty of Titan
Once Thanos arrived, he briefly explained his world's history to Strange before the heroes engaged him. After managing to effectively stand their ground against Thanos, the arrival of Nebula distracted Thanos enough that the Avengers, Guardians and Doctor Strange just barely managed to immobilize Thanos long enough for Mantis to subdue him with her powers before they attempted to pry off the Infinity Gauntlet. When Mantis felt that Thanos was in mourning however, Nebula deduced that he had killed Gamora and Peter Quill attacked the Titan in a rage breaking Mantis's concentration.
Thanos destroys Titan's moon
Using the Power and Space Stones, Thanos ripped apart Titan's moon and sent it hurtling at his foes, effectively separating his enemies. Being the only ones to dodge the debris, Doctor Strange and Iron Man engaged Thanos individually but Doctor Strange was briefly knocked out and Iron Man was mortally wounded, forcing Strange to barter the Time Stone in order to save Stark's life. His prize secured, Thanos departed to Wakanda to collect the Mind Stone.
As the heroes regrouped after the battle, Thanos completed the Infinity Gauntlet and used its powers to fulfill his goal. He snapped his fingers, to wipe out half the life in the universe. Of those on Titan, only Nebula and Iron Man were spared, leaving them stranded on the dead planet while the others disintegrated into dust.[1]
Trivia
- In the comics, Thanos' homeworld is the real-life moon of Saturn named Titan, rather than a fictional planet of the same name in another solar system.
