Honestly, if you haven’t seen the TikTok edits of a guy with purple hair screaming "I’m a legend, Thanos!" while trying to take a selfie with a masked guard, have you even been on the internet lately?
Legend Thanos Squid Game isn't just a weird crossover meme. It’s the breakout—and arguably most divisive—storyline from Squid Game Season 2.
When Netflix first announced that T.O.P (Choi Seung-hyun), the former rapper from the legendary K-pop group BIGBANG, was joining the cast, the Korean internet basically imploded. People were furious. There were boycott threats. Why? Because the guy had a major marijuana scandal years ago, and in South Korea, that’s often a career death sentence. But then the show actually dropped, and we met Choi Su-bong, aka Player 230, aka Thanos.
He wasn't just a background character. He was a chaotic, drug-snorting, English-mumbling rapper who genuinely believed he was the main character of a Marvel movie.
Who is the Legend Thanos Squid Game Character?
Let’s get the facts straight because there’s a lot of fan fiction floating around Reddit. The character’s real name in the show is Choi Su-bong. He’s a washed-up rapper who lost everything after dumping his money into a garbage cryptocurrency called MG Coin.
He didn't just stumble into the games. He was recruited during a incredibly dark moment—a suicide attempt. That’s a detail a lot of people miss because they’re too busy laughing at his "No problem!" catchphrase.
Why the name Thanos?
Director Hwang Dong-hyuk wasn't trying to get sued by Disney. He explicitly stated in interviews that he named the character Thanos to give him "worldwide appeal." It’s supposed to be edgy and a little bit pathetic. It represents that specific type of "try-hard" energy you see in people who are desperate to stay relevant.
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- The Hair: Bright purple, a direct nod to the Mad Titan.
- The Nails: He literally painted his fingernails to look like the Infinity Stones.
- The Persona: He refers to his small alliance as "Thanos World" or "The Thanos Team."
It’s meta. It’s cringey. And that’s exactly why it works.
The Viral Moments That Broke the Internet
You've probably seen the clips. There’s one where he’s in the middle of the Red Light, Green Light massacre and decides that’s the perfect time to do a line of drugs he smuggled in a crucifix necklace.
It’s unhinged.
While everyone else is screaming and dying, Thanos is suddenly "carefree." He starts treating the deadliest game on earth like a music video set. This is where the legend thanos squid game meme really took off. He’s not a hero. He’s barely even a villain. He’s just... a riot.
The Team Thanos Dynamic
Thanos eventually recruits a group of four other players: Nam-gyu, Se-mi, Park Min-su, and Gyeong-su. He calls them his "loyal apostles."
But don't get it twisted. He wasn't a good leader. In the "Mingle" game—which was basically a high-stakes version of musical chairs or grouping—he showed his true colors. He forced his own teammates, Min-su and Se-mi, to play rock-paper-scissors for a spot in a "safe" zone.
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He didn't care about "family." He cared about the Thanos World brand.
The T.O.P Controversy: Why People Hated the Casting
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. In 2017, T.O.P was convicted of using marijuana while serving his mandatory military service. In the US, that’s a Tuesday. In Korea, it led to a 10-month suspended jail sentence and him being effectively blacklisted for years.
When he was cast as a drug-using character in Squid Game, many saw it as "too close to home."
Director Hwang defended the choice, saying he needed someone who understood what it felt like to be a pariah. T.O.P reportedly worked incredibly hard on the role, even adding those weird little English errors—like saying "No Ploblem"—to make the character feel like a rapper who was trying too hard to sound international.
Some fans think he was the best part of the season. Others think he was a "comedic relief parody" that ruined the tension.
Was He Actually a Legend?
Whether you loved him or hated him, you can't deny the impact. Thanos represented a different kind of desperation than Seong Gi-hun. Gi-hun is the Everyman. Thanos is the "Has-been."
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He represents the ego that won't die, even when you're wearing a green tracksuit and being hunted by a giant doll.
The most "legend" thing about him? His death. Most characters in the show die begging or crying. Thanos went out being completely unpredictable. Even in his final moments, he was still playing a part, still convinced that the world was watching him.
What You Can Learn from the Legend Thanos Storyline
If you're looking for the "meta" takeaway here, it's about the cult of personality. We live in an era where being "infamous" is often better than being ignored. Thanos would rather be a dead "legend" than a living, broke Choi Su-bong.
- Check the subtext: Watch the scenes where he interacts with the YouTuber Lee Myung-gi. It’s a brutal commentary on how crypto and social media fame destroy lives.
- Look at the English lines: They aren't just for fun. They show his disconnect from his own culture and his desperate grab for "global" status.
- Don't ignore the crucifix: The fact that he keeps his drugs in a religious symbol is a pretty loud statement about his character's warped morality.
If you want to understand the full scope of the legend thanos squid game phenomenon, go back and re-watch the scene in the bathroom where he’s arguing with Myung-gi. It’s the one moment where the "Thanos" mask slips and you see the terrified, broke man underneath.
The next time you're scrolling through TikTok and see a "Thanos" edit, remember that he’s more than just a meme with purple hair. He’s a warning about what happens when your ego becomes bigger than your survival instinct.
Keep an eye out for more behind-the-scenes interviews from T.O.P; he’s finally started breaking his silence on the role after years of staying out of the spotlight.