Thanatos (BattleMech)

The Thanatos is a BattleMech in the BattleTech universe. Introduced in the PC video game MechWarrior 4: Vengeance, the Thanatos is a 75-ton Inner Sphere BattleMech equipped mostly for close-range combat. It first appeared in MechWarrior 4: Vengeance and persisted through its official sequels, Black Knight and Mercenaries.

The original Thanatos came with an array of four Inner Sphere pulse lasers, an Inner Sphere LRM20, and an LBX 20 autocannon. Its high speed for a heavy 'Mech, jump jet ability, electronic countermeasures, and extremely good agility (coupled with a very effective torso twist) make the Thanatos a very efficient in-close brawler. It is also a reasonably modifiable 'Mech, possessing a fair number of available slots, mostly geared towards ballistics. However, its sluggish movement performance (especially in the later sequels) and wide targeting profile occasionally become a hindrance. In Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries, this mech' was often used by the Capellan Marauders against the Styk Commonality, along with the Bushwacker and Argus mechs.

The Thanatos also appeared in the Classic BattleTech: Technical readout 3067 in a largely laser-based configuration.