The Thanos Copter made a surprise appearance during an episode of Loki and odd as it is, there are stranger vehicles in Marvel Comics history.
Spoiler Warning for Disney+'s Loki
One of the many great Easter eggs in episode 5 of Loki was the infamous Thanos Copter from the comics. While the yellow helicopter spoils some of the myth about the all-powerful Mad Titan, it also opens a door to the zany history of strange vehicles in Marvel Comics. There are actually much stranger things than the Thanos Copter out there.
Vehicles are a huge part of superhero mythology - look no further than the best versions of the Batmobile - but not every superhero is meant to have one. Nor does every super vehicle make sense in the moment, leading to some strange transport for some key characters in the comic books.
Thanos is one of the biggest bads in the comics and in the MCU, but his early adventures were characterized by a sillier tone. That's embodied in the Thanos Copter, the gyro-copter that was his mode of transportation in Super Stories #39 from 1979.
In this issue, Thanos still has cosmic ambitions, searching for the Cosmic Cube, but fights against Spider-Man and Hellcat for it in New York City. The comic never explains why he wrote his name on the tail of the helicopter, but the Thanos Copter remains a legendary moment for the character.
Some non-superpowered characters like Batman need some extra help. It makes sense Hawkeye would, too, seeing how Clint Barton has no powers. But the Sky Cycle he rode never really made sense. For one, it's a motorcycle, but it flies. It also offers no protection besides a windscreen.
Various versions of it appeared over the years, all following the same basic design. Comic book fans known Hawkeye is one of the most important Avengers, but outside of the Quinjet, he could never make a vehicle work on the team.
Time machines are an essential part of Marvel Comics' lore - the best time travelers in the comics have them - but Rosebud II, the Fantastic Four time sled, is a little strange. Though it's part of one of the best story arcs from the late '80s, in which the team explores a mysterious time bubble in the future with Iron Man and Thor, the sled is just that: a sled.
It's not enclosed and is barely big enough to support all of the people on it, including the Thing. The sled's name seems to be a nod to another famous sled, Rosebud, from Citizen Kane.
Squirrel Girl is inherently a goofy character, but the Squirrel-A-Gig rivals the Thanos Copter for sheer silliness. The squirrel-themed mini-copter serves as the personal transport of the character and was gifted to her from a secret Santa (Big Bertha) in GLX-Mas Special #1 in February 2006.
Doreen Green later got an upgraded version of the Squirrel-A-Gig when the Great Lakes Avengers morphed into the expanding Fifty State Initiative that spun out of the Civil War comic book storyline.
She-Hulk is not a character who springs to mind as a superhero who needs a vehicle, but she got one of the stranger ones in comics. She-Hulk got a flying car that could travel through space when she tried to rescue a stranded astronaut and became lost in space herself.
The car, which debuted in Sensational She-Hulk #7 back in November 1989, was a souped-up '59 Dodge that was augmented by US Archer. While this She-Hulk comic book storyline isn't likely to appear in her series, the car might get a shoutout like the Thanos Copter.
The Moon Copter has a decent shot at appearing in the upcoming Moon Knight Disney+ series. Marc Spector is a former mercenary mostly without superpowers, and with his wealth, has some similarities with Batman. It makes sense he'd have a special ride but the Moon Copter is a little obvious. The crescent-shaped vehicle is less a helicopter than VTOL aircraft. A number of variations of the craft exist in the comics, reflecting advances in technology and the needs of the character through the years.
There are several amazing versions of the Fantast-Car in the comics, animated series, and movies, but the first in the comics is perhaps the strangest. It's essentially a bathtub with fans on the bottom of it.
It also has an exposed cockpit and very simple controls. Despite being designed by legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby, responsible for some of the most astounding technological vistas in comics like in The Eternals, the first Fantasti-Car is just a bit bland.
The Black Knight, Dane Whitman, has a strong connection to the Medieval past. But his signature vehicle in the comics, the Atomic Steed, seems out of place with him because of how futuristic it tries to be. Essentially a rocket with a seat on it, he rides it in place of a horse.
The Atomic Steeds were actually made by the Knights of Wundagore, and Black Knight took to using it while the Avengers were at Wundagore Mountain fighting Chton, the Lord of Chaos Magic in the comics, and the source of the Scarlet Witch's immense power.
The Big Wheel is one of Spider-Man's silliest villains and that's primarily because of the gigantic armored wheel he uses. An invention of The Tinkerer, the wheel is a heavily armored and armed contraption that allows criminal Jackson Weele to rob banks.
The size and weight of the vehicle proved impractical, though, and ultimately deadly. When trying to escape Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man #183, the strange vehicle falls from building into the river and Weele drowns inside it.
Spider-Man isn't immune to his own vehicle woes. In Amazing Spider-Man #130 back in March 1974, Spider-Man gets the Spider-Mobile from a company looking to make some advertising dollars.
The dune buggy-like vehicle makes absolutely no sense for Peter Parker, especially given the fact that his primary advantage with his powers is being able to move faster and through more difficult spaces than any vehicle would allow. Though the vehicle didn't last long, there have been more modern versions in later comics.
