Why is Thanos called the Mad Titan?

Thanos has made a mark in both the comics and the MCU with his powers, strength and motivations as well as his sinister and cold personality.

He, however, came across as a villainous carricature in the comics compared to his cinematic portrayal, which was more grounded thanks to the efforts of the directors, The Russo brothers and the writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

One question which would have definitely crossed fans' minds is why is Thanos called the "Mad Titan"? and How did he get such an impressionable nickname?

Thanos' origins and "The Mad Titan" alias

Thanos was created by Jim Starlin and first appeared in the Invincible Iron Man #55. Starlin had drawn inspiration from the New Gods line of comics from DC, particularly the character of Darkseid, to create the Mad Titan.

In the comics, Thanos was born to A'lars and Sui-San on the planet Titan and is a Deviant-Eternal hybrid, which was responsible for his purple pigmentation and deformed look. His mother, disgusted by the his appearance tried to kill him only to be stopped by his father. In childhood, he was a pacifist and also very withdrawn only playing with his brother Eros, better known as Eternal, Starfox, and his pets.

The character's appearance in an Iron Man comic, interestingly translated his relationship to Tony Stark (Iron Man) in the MCU and makes their first on-screen interaction in Avengers: Infinity War all the more interesting.

"Iron Man: You throw a moon at me and I'm gonna lose it."

"Thanos: Stark!"

"Iron Man: You know me?"

"Thanos: I do. You're not the only one cursed with knowledge."

His goals also differ in the comics and in the MCU. In the comics, he sought to assemble the Infinity Gems in his gauntlet to erase half of all life in the universe to impress and gain the favour of Mistress Death or Lady Death, who is the living embodiment or personification of death. Also in the comics, the mercenary with a mouth, Deadpool was involved in a love triangle between himself, Thanos and Lady Death.

Thanos garnered the nickname "Mad Titan", because he was from Titan and he developed a "mad" or blind love for Lady Death, willing to do anything to get her approval. For her, he even betrayed his own people, ordering the nuclear bombing of his parents. Because of this portrayal, the purple villain was reduced to the status of a caricature, and comic book fans thought foolishly and dangerously absurd of him and his objectives.

In the MCU, however, his motivations to obtain the stones are much more believable thanks to the logic behind it. Overpopulation and its negative impact on the availability of resources. Overpopulation is a serious problem and if one looks at the statistics of some countries of the world, such as India, the growth rate is far more, compared to the resources available to sustain life.

As Thanos conversed with Doctor Strange about his past, Titan was originally a flourishing and prosperous planet. He, however noted over time that Titan had very little resources and that the population was growing exponentially in comparison to the resources, an issue that could doom his people.

Thanos then proposed the idea of exterminating half of his bretheren to the scientists of his planet to solve the problem. They, however, rejected his idea and called him a "madman" for his genocidal tendencies and made him an outcast. Only for him to be proven correct after they all died thanks to overpopulation and the problems associated with it.

It is from this that Thanos got the nickname "The Mad Titan" in the films and his relentless quest to pursue the Infinity Stones for his goal only helped lend credence to that nickname.