“Thanus,” or the theory that Ant-Man could have defeated Thanos by flying up his butt and growing to massive size, exploding the villain from within, became popular among MCU fans in the lead-up to the release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019 – but as it turned out, Marvel had already settled just how feasible this plan was several years earlier.
Thunderbolts #137 – written by Rick Remender, with art by Mahmud Asrar, ink by Rebecca Buchman, color by Bruno Hang, and lettering by Albert Deschesne – featured an encounter between Eric O’Grady, Marvel’s irredeemable third Ant-Man, and Luke Cage.
O’Grady attempted to “Thanus” Cage, but as it turned out, this was a poorly thought-out strategy to use against this particular hero and law enforcement officer. Given Cage’s steel skin, he was able to contain Ant-Man’s rapid growth, suggesting that the tactic is as ill-advised as it might seem.
Thanos’ Very First Marvel Appearance Wasn’t When You Think
It’s widely believed that Thanos made his Marvel Comics debut in an Iron Man comic, but that may not actually be the case (and that’s a good thing).
Marvel Disproved The Internet’s Theory About Ant-Man & Thanos Years Before Avengers: Endgame
The incident in Thunderbolts #137 stemmed from an attempt by Norman Osborn’s black ops team of supervillains, the eponymous Thunderbolts, to gain control over Luke Cage. Eric O’Grady, as Ant-Man, initially attempted to coerce Cage into cooperating, by entering his digestive tract and threatening to enlarge. The hero for hire brushed this off, suggesting that it wouldn’t work. O’Grady attempted to follow through on the threat, only to be thwarted by Cage’s superhuman biology, as the hero demeaned him, claiming: “I’ve eaten steaks tougher than you.”
The “Thanus” theory began to spread virally among online communities of Marvel Cinematic Universe fans even prior to Avengers: Infinity War, but it became truly popular during the seemingly-endless wait between the movie’s release in 2018, and the story’s epic conclusion a year later in Avengers: Endgame. While the purile humor of the theory is obvious, the idea was in fact born from a realistic assessment of what options the MCU’s remaining heroes had to defeat the Mad Titan, in the wake of Infinity War. Thunderbolts #137, from 2009, proved this to be a less-than-effective maneuver.
Luke Cage Is One Of Marvel’s Toughest Heroes, Inside And Out
The “Thanus” theory garnered enough attention among even casual MCU fans that Disney had the live-action Scott Lang address it directly in a short, in the lead up to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Admittedly, Ant-Man’s attempt to do this to Luke Cage in Thunderbolts #137 fails because of Cage’s superpower, meaning it is possible this still could have worked against Thanos. Given the villain’s own superpowered biology, however, it is possible the end result of an MCU attempt could have been similar.
Ultimately, O’Grady remained stuck inside Luke Cage’s system for a time, before eventually being passed naturally, with Cage noting: “For a second, I thought I heard my butt screaming.” Admittedly, the science behind the hero’s survival is suspect, at best, but as with any fantastic – in multiple sense of the word – comic book moment, it must be looked at for what its intention is. In this case, to prove that inside and out, Luke Cage is one of Marvel’s toughest heroes.
