Here is the comic book origin of the Thanos-Copter, the notorious vehicle of the Mad Titan that may be spotted in Loki episode 5 as a blink-and-you-miss-it easter egg. Although Thanos has been a significant part of the MCU for a long time, the Mad Titan didn’t really take on the role of the universe’s puppet master villain until he made an appearance in The Avengers’ post-credit stinger.
Thanos was properly introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy, but it wasn’t until Avengers: Infinity War that he truly asserted his power. He swiftly rose to the rank of the most lethal antagonist in the entire series and one of the few bad guys to actually beat the Avengers. One of his more embarrassing comic book appearances occurred in Spidey Super Stories #39 from 1979, where he attempted to steal the Cosmic Cube, also known as the Tesseract, with his little Thanos-Copter. It took an entire army of superheroes to beat him in Avengers: Endgame.
The Mad Titan drove this now-famous car in the tale “The Cat And The Cosmic Cube.” In it, Thanos attempts to seize the cube using the bright yellow helicopter bearing his name, but Hellcat manages to knock it out of his grasp. A child discovers it in an alley and utilises the cube’s magic to create an ice cream. The search for the cube also involves Spider-Man, and the entire plot culminates in an even more humiliating arrest of Thanos by regular police. The Thanos-Copter was probably developed as a humorous way to introduce Thanos because the plot is only a simple adventure that Spider-Man and Hellcat are expected to win in one issue. The tone of the story would have probably changed if the Mad Titan had descended upon the Sanctuary II with a vast army of Outriders, and Spidey and Hellcat would not have survived to tell the tale.
Since then, the Thanos Copter has hardly ever been spotted. Although it made an appearance in a Deadpool issue and was given a Mattel Hot Wheels toy in 2018, its notoriety has largely come from the innumerable memes that make fun of it. But because to the oddball nature of the Loki Disney+ series, the possibility to bring some of Marvel’s wackiest ideas to life in live-action finally presented itself, giving characters like Alligator Loki and Throg, as well as things like the Thanos Copter, a chance to be taken seriously. Even though the destroyed Thanos-Copter is only visible for a brief while, the fact that it can be seen in the Void at the end of eternity shows that at least one Mad Titan version once used it before being eliminated.
After the Loki season 1 finale, the MCU’s universe will be introduced, adding even more bizarre elements to Marvel’s films and television programmes. Although the Thanos-live-action Copter’s premiere is merely a tribute to the fans, a future appearance in a multiversal title can’t yet be ruled out. Perhaps Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or Loki season 2 could explain its MCU origin.
