Thanos almost wielded a battle axe instead of a weird, giant sword in Avengers: Endgame, according to some recently released concept art images. The arrival and subsequent battle with Thanos, the long-awaited Mad Titan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, had been hinted at slowly among the many superhero films which took place before Avengers: Infinity War, with the villain’s desire to obtain the titular infinity stones a driving force behind many of the previous movies’ plots.
Although he was eventually defeated two separate times in Avengers: Endgame, Thanos still remains one of the toughest enemies the Avengers have ever faced, with his eventual demise requiring the might of all of Earth’s heroes combined. The final battle of Avengers: Endgame saw Thanos facing off against multiple Avengers at once, defending himself and delivering bone-shattering blows with a weird, double-bladed sword.
Now, fans know the strange weapon wasn’t the only one the filmmakers considered. According to Ian Joyner, a concept artist who has worked on multiple Marvel projects in the past including Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, one of Thanos’ earlier designs originally had him equipped with a large battle axe instead of that weird anime-sized sword. Check out the full images Joyner shared on Twitter below:
Thanos was often shown with battle armor or a helmet on during his various short cameos in the films leading up to Avengers: Infinity War, but his largest role saw the villain’s head mostly uncovered, and that movie ended with him sitting alone with nothing on but a dirty t-shirt and pair of pants. However, thanks to the time-traveling shenanigans of Avengers: Endgame, the past version of Thanos was re-introduced to the heroes, and this version was the battle-ready, not yet exhausted Thanos dressed in his full armor. In the film, Thanos wields a large, double-bladed sword which was powerful enough to stop attacks from Thor’s axe and strong enough to chip away at Captain America’s shield.
It’s not too surprising the filmmakers decided to go with something a little more unique for Thanos’ final battle in the MCU, especially since Thor’s Stormbreaker is already a pretty iconic axe-like weapon and two together could be a little much. While his sword might be a little too over-powered, it’s definitely memorable, even if it does look a little bit like something a character in a Final Fantasy video game should be using. Character designs always go through a number of different permutations before the final film version is decided on, and clearly the production team had a certain look in mind for Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. However, alternate concepts like the one above are always interesting to see.
Next: Marvel Provides More Evidence Thanos Is Alive After Endgame
Source: Twitter
