Thanos Did Nothing Wrong

Editor's Note: This entry contains spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War; read at your own caution.

About

Thanos Did Nothing Wrong is a phrase used in memes and online discussion about the actions of Thanos in the film Avengers: Infinity War, specifically absolving him of any ethical violations. The phrase is based on the popular phrasal template Hitler Did Nothing Wrong.

Origin

While the phrase was likely used in online discussion in the past, due to the popularity of the "Hitler Did Nothing Wrong" meme, "Thanos Did Nothing Wrong" began to amass a following when Redditor whitebandit launched the /r/thanosdidnothingwrong^[1] subreddit on March 13th, 2018. Within four months, the subreddit has gained more than 188,000 subscribers.

The subreddit focuses on jokes and memes about Thanos, specifically those that reference his plan to wipe out half of humanity.

Spread

Following the release of Infinity War, jokes about Thanos being right continued to grow in popularity. On April 27th, the day of its relief Imgur ^[2] user Thebeerbringeracomin posted an image of television personality Mr. Rogers with the quote "Real strength has to do with helping others." They captioned the post (shown below), "Thanos did nothing wrong / He had just misinterpreted mr Rogers." Within two months, the post received more than 730 views.

Days later, on April 30th, Redditor^[3] DesignGhost posted a variation of the Steven Crowder's "Change My Mind" Campus Sign. However, the image is "photoshopped" to show Thanos sitting at the desk and the sign reads "Thanos Did Nothing Wrong / Change My Mind." The post (shown below, left) received more than 560 points (95% upvoted) and 40 comments in two months.

Less than one week later, the website The Chive^[4] published a list of "Thanos Did Nothing Wrong" memes (example below, center), which received more than 200 upvotes).

Many jokes surrounding Thanos follow a similar logic: Wiping out half of humanity leaves more for those who remain. Redditor^[5] the_javier_files posted a meme with this subtext on May 16th. The post (shown below) explains how Thanos could wipe out enough people so that there is enough pizza for everyone. The post (shown below, right) received more than 18,000 points (93% upvoted) and 225 comments in two months.

Subreddit Ban

On July 2nd, 2018, /r/thanosdidnothingwrong moderator The-Jedi-Apprentice posted,^[6] "I am working on ways to ban half of the sub, that is, if you guys really want to. Get this to 60K(aka half the sub) upvotes that way I know this is what you all want." The thread received more than 177,000 points (89% upvoted) and 6,900 comments in one week.

The following day, The-Jedi-Apprentice^[7] received approval from Reddit admins to ban half of the subreddit, receiving more than 18,000 points (85% upvotes) and 2,500 comments. They wrote:

"As you all know, I was in talks with one of the admins of Reddit. He told me that doing a massive ban the day before July 4 was a terrible idea, because many of Reddit’s engineers would be out with their families. Also, the engineers would not be prepared for a mass ban so close to it.

However, I presented a solution to these two problems, and I now have their permission to ban half of the sub!

The random 50% ban will take place on July 9. The admins are designing a bot for me that will allow me to do the job in a quick and easy manner. So, be patient, and thank you all for your support.

EDIT: Wow everyone, 9 Reddit gold both here and on r/thanosdidnothingwrong just for this post. Thank you guys so much. So, we have six days until the ban so let’s make the most of that time (I’d personally like to see some more memes). Each day we are one infinity stone closer."

On July 5th, Redditor^[8] mohaxorigins posted a picture of actor Josh Brolin, who portrays Thanos in the film Avengers: Infinity War, suggesting to "let Josh Brolin (Thanos) press the button that will balance the Sub." The post received more than 100,000 points (88% upvoted) and 4,000 comments.

Three days later, Redditor^[9] Joe-Russo, one of the co-directors of Infinity War, posted a video of actor Josh Brolin snapping his fingers. The post (shown below) received more than 200,000 points (91% upvoted) and 33,000 comments in two days.

On July 9th, The-Jedi-Apprentice^[10] posted "*SNAP* THE BAN HAS BEGUN." The post received more than 87,000 points (88% upvoted) and 57,000 comments in 24 hours.

On Twitch, more than 2.5 million people watched the banning as the Reddit Twitch account streamed the execution.^[14]

That day, Redditor^[11] katievsbubbles explained the ban in the /r/OutOfTheLoop subreddit. They wrote, "If you were subbed/active on r/thanosdidnothingwrong last night was a history making moment for Reddit as half of the 700 000 sub count were banned and sent (guided) to r/inthesoulstone. As this is part of the storyline for Avengers: infinity war." The post received more than 550 points in less than 12 hours.

Additionally, Marvel Studios tweeted^[12] a gif of Thanos and quoted the character, writing "Perfectly balanced." The post (shown below) received more than 3,200 retweets and 14,000 likes in 24 hours.

Several media outlets covered the subreddit ban, including Newsweek,^[13] Mashable, ^[14] Complex,^[15] The Daily Dot ^[16] and more.

The Unsnappening

On February 10th, 2021, Redditor TDNWgauntlet, a moderator of /r/thanosdidnothingwrong, posted the thread "THE UNSNAPPENING IS HAPPENING." In the thread, the mod began welcoming users banned in the Snap, which saw a random 50% of the subreddit's members banned, back to the subreddit. The post received more than 18,000 points (91% upvoted) and 24,000 comments in less than two days.

That day, members of the subreddit began posting memes about the event. Redditor^[19] nochilltown shared a a Woah. This is worthless! meme about the event. The post received more than 6,500 points (99% upvoted) and 175 comments in less than 24 hours (shown below, left).

Redditor^[20] Alyon shared a meme from Avengers: Endgame about not understanding the current conversation on the subreddit (shown below, center). The post received more than 3,100 points (9% upvoted) and 85 comments in less than 24 hours.

Redditor^[21] HybridMechanic posted a Dragon Ball that featured the text, "When you realize that being back means our lord failed." The post received more than 2,100 points (98% upvoted) in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

On February 11th, Redditor^[22] pallib567 asked the /r/OutOfTheLoop subreddit about the "Unsnappening." They wrote, "What is the unsnappening? Is it the blip from WandaVision and FFH? Why does that subreddit seem so happy about it, if it is that? Wouldn't they not like the unsnappening?"

Redditor bradyhero-cgpzero responded, "So several years back r/thanosdidnothingwrong did a sub-wide snap wherein half of the members were permanently and banished to r/InsideTheSoulStone, and given a 'snapped' badge. Now, in line with the blip, they're unbanning the snapees so they may rejoin the group. Both subs became meme communities so they're both interested to see what the other side came up with during that time."

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References