In the pages of the most recent issue of Eternals, new details from Skrulls. While not a Skrull himself, the Mad Titan has always been connected with their race through one key visual signifier. Both Thanos and the Skulls have ridged chins. This is a small detail, but it is specific enough that fans have long speculated about what connection Thanos and the Skrulls could have.
There has been little to no evidence to this connection textually, as Thanos is a genetic offshoot of Titan's clan of the Eternals. While the Skrulls have also been established to have Celestial connections of their own, they do not have a history of intermarrying or genetically experimenting on the inhabitants of Earth or Titan. Other than just an artistic fluke, what then could explain this visual connection between the Mad Titan and the Skrulls?
The clearest answer yet comes from Eternals #12 by Kieron Gillen, Esad Ribic, Matthew Wilson, and VC's Clayton Cowles. Exploring his Eternal heritage in ways he never has before, Thanos learns that he is not merely a faulty Eternal. Eternals are unable to procreate on their own, and so an added ingredient was required to conceive the Mad Titan. Because of this, Thanos was made of both Deviant and Eternal material; a unique hybrid with a very specific tie to the Skrulls.
The secret of Thanos' ancestry holds the key to unraveling his connection with the Skrulls. As a result of Celestial meddling on prehistoric Skrullos, the Deviant line of the Skrull species became the dominant intelligent life of their planet, and they are the ancestors of the contemporary race of Skrulls. Thanos and the Skrulls are both descended from Deviant lines, suggesting that their physical similarities are due to shared DNA.
While fans had speculated to this effect in the past - as Thanos was previously believed to be an Eternal suffering from Deviant Syndrome - his new origin offers a far more concrete reason his own physiology would so closely match that of the Skrulls, given he is not in fact a mutated Eternal, but a true hybrid. It's even possible that the Deviant DNA used in his creation came from Skrullos, given the genetic material was chosen to make him more adaptable - the shapechanging race's specialty.
If Thanos does share a direct genetic link to the Skrulls, it could spell huge trouble in the future. Thanos was just ejected from his position as prime Eternal, and will be looking for another society to turn into his personal domain. While the former Young Avenger Hulkling recently united the Kree and Skrull races, it's a tense alliance that Thanos would have little trouble tearing to pieces. Hopefully, the connections between Thanos and the Skrulls don't run deep enough that he'll begin to feel he has a special claim on their society, but either way his new origin confirms a far stronger link between the two than fans knew.
