Who was that guy at the end of the Avengers?

Avengers 2: Age of Ultron update: While this article is fairly dated, the same character was seen in the end of Avengers 2. The purple guy that everyone is wondering about is in fact Thanos. The rest of this article is specific to his appearance during the credits of the first Avengers movie, but it still does a good job at explaining the character.

Update: After a bit more research on the subject I have found some more information. The Other that Loki is making deals with was Thanos’ servant. He was reporting back to Thanos when we saw him turn and give that evil grin. Be sure to read the rest of the article for more “facts”.

I watched the Avengers this weekend. Loved it. Started a bit slow, but turned into a great film. But this isn’t an Avengers review (Ross already has that covered), but rather explaining a few things regarding the film.

First up: Who was that purple guy at the end of the Avengers?

You know, the dude that pulled off the slow turn in the credits? To my chagrin, it wasn’t purple hulk. I hate to admit it, but this is a question I had to ask myself. But thanks to my small circle of nerdy friends, the answer was just a text message away. The mystery man is none other than Thanos, from the Silver Surfer series.

Apparently Thanos is made of pure bad-ass with a sprinkle of awesome, and some don’t take shit from no one on the side. He was also described to me as Marvel’s super villain. This sounds like a major step up from Loki (who sounds like a complete pussy compared to Thanos).

But what was the significance of having him appear in the credits of the Avengers? Isn’t it obvious?!?!?! Avengers 2!

Who did you think the character was? Click here to leave your comment!

Second: Didn’t the alien flying machines sound familiar? They did to me. I am almost certain that they ripped off the SFX from Star Wars. Figure it out yet? That’s right, pod racers. Can I confirm this? No. But I can say for certain that the 2 sounds are definitely similar, and that’s good enough to call it confirmed in my book.

Lastly: I was disappointed that the portal back to Earth was blue, and not orange (and that there was no cake). My video game nerd friends will get that reference.

So what were your thoughts on the film? Did anything leave you with questions? Any fun observations? Sound off in the comments!