The creator of Thanos, Jim Starlin, on Endgame, Phase 4, and a hero of Guardians 3

As Avengers: End of the game broken almost every The box office record this weekend, the success of Marvel Studios is based on the work of several decades of creators of comics. And for the ultimate villain of the saga, Thanos, society owes one guy: the artist writer Jim Starlin.

Polygon met Starlin, who also created Gamora and Drax the Destroyer, after having had the chance to seize End of Game at the premiere of the movie in Los Angeles. Marvel's latest blockbuster may have ended Marvel Cinematic Universe's "Infinity Saga," but the story continues with Phase 4, which is expected to feature even more Starlin characters, like the artist martial Shang-Chi, and maybe even the movie. like Adam Warlock god.

Starlin offered a window on the history of the Marvel Comics universe – as well as a window on the Marvel Studios' adaptation process, which he grazed during the turbulent pre-production of The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. He even explained why Thanos did not duplicate all the resources of the universe. It's not a plot if Jim Starlin has an answer.

[[[[Ed. Note: This interview will contain spoilers for Avengers: End of the game.]

Polygon: What do you think of Thanos in the movies? Is there anything you would have liked to see? Or vice versa, is there anything that the Russos have done with Thanos that you would like to have done first?

Jim Starlin: I had already worked with film scripts and I came to the conclusion that anyone who thinks they can get a true copy of what they wrote on paper is just stupid. These film production companies spend millions and millions of dollars and rely on their universe, which is different from that of comics. So overall, no, I was very happy with what they had done with Thanos.

In fact, they did some things that I thought were very good ideas that I would like to have in comics, such as removing his armor when he recovers some gems, as they say, – and n & rsquo; No longer needs armor. It never seemed like an idea at the time, and I thought, Oh yes, that makes sense. I know a lot of people have been upset by this but it shows up again in the armor in[[[[Avengers: End of the game]. So, everything is well balanced.

My only complaint, and it is a minor reproach, is that his yellow eyes, which turn red when he gets angry, I miss, but I see why they did it; he gives [Thanos’ actor Josh] Brolin has a better chance to move with the students and all that. I think the blue probably works better on the film than the yellow eyes and the red flair would have been too contrasted.

Jim Starlin, George Perez / Marvel Comics

But you know, I think that they remained true to the spirit of the character, if not to the exact letter. And I think Josh Brolin, [writers Stephen McFeely, Christopher Marcus,] and the Russo did a great job of shaping his story. I think it would look like, "How would Arthur Conan Doyle feel if he saw all the different film versions of Sherlock Holmes?" He would not recognize it at times. You must enter the game realizing that there will be changes.

One of the problems that people have struggled with after Infinity War is also one of the biggest changes: its motivation is different. He is not in love with Mistress Death, which left him open to questions such as "Why did not he use the Infinity Stones to create twice as many resources instead of killing half of all of life? "Both the creator of the character and someone who understands that things are changing with adaptation, do you have your own solution to this new question of Thanos motivations?

Starlin: The reason they eliminated Mistress Death from the screenplay is that Marvel Studios thinks it's a little too early to add these abstract entities to the mix. This is something they will change once two of Doctor Strange's films have been eliminated.

Jim Starlin, Ron Lim / Marvel Comics

His film motivation is actually straight out of the comics, in issue 34 of Silver surfer; it was going to be my road that I was going to take with him Infinite Glovebut I soon realized that I was going to stand aside, and I wanted to include Mistress Death because she had already played a role in the character. So, I reversed the situation and I thought it was just a scam. So, [his MCU motivation is] True to the spirit of the character and scenario, if it is exactly as expected. Things change and you follow the flow and enjoy hiking while you can.

A couple of Guardians of the Galaxy that you have created, Gamora and Drax, have some introspection to do now that a big center of his life, Thanos, has been definitively killed. As a person who knows them very well, where do you think they go next?

Starlin: Well, these multiple timelines they've created within End of Game by the time they finish, [they] takes you to a point where you have to start developing a flowchart to be able to determine where everyone is going and where they are going from here. I was able to streamline my own head for Gamora to be in the next movie because she is back. She's not in the final scene of the spaceship with the rest of the guys, but that does not mean she will not be connected with them.

Thor is not necessarily a guardian now either. I mean, he left with them […] but that does not mean that it will be in the next Guardians movie. He was not in the situation when James Gunn wrote his screenplay for this particular movie. We will have to see.

Adam Warlock, one of the greatest characters of the Infinity Gauntlet that does not appear in the film, is one of yours. He was teased at the end of The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2but The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 seems to have undergone a lot of upheavals. If Warlock appears in the next Guardians or in a later Marvel movie, what do you want to see from this character in the movies?

Starlin: Well, the problem is that he will start as a villain as he did in comics when he was him. Probably go after the Guardians, as they allude to the end of[[[[The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2]. What happens to him after that is anyone's guess.

Marvel plays these things very close to the vest and they have announced other upcoming movies in the next phase, but that does not mean there will be no more upcoming movies. I therefore very much hope that we will see Warlock after the next Guardian movie, if it is there. And I hope he meets a guy named Pip the Troll on the way, that's the one I really want to see in a movie.

Jim Starlin, George Perez / Marvel Comics

What about Pip makes you want to see him in a movie?

Starlin: [He’s a] perfect leaf. If you have a character like Warlock, you need someone to play a right man. And Pip would be perfect for that. He is only one of my favorite characters among all those I have created. I think Pip, Dreadstar and Thanos are my favorites.

You also participated in the creation of Shang-Chi at Marvel Comics, an adaptation of seems to be on the way to Marvel Studios.

Starlin: Steven Engleheart and I created it together, and I only did it for four issues, because I wanted to go back to Captain Marvel and Thanos, which I was doing at the same time. And so I had a short run on Shang-Chiand I'm really curious to see the movie, because it's a thorny problem.

I can not wait to see how they will do it so that it does not become a simple kung fu movie, with which we have hundreds of things to start with. But I'm sure the guys from Marvel will come up with a hook that will make it different.