Choi Su-Bong, also known as Thanos and Player 230, is a major antagonist in Season 2 of the Netflix drama series Squid Game (2024-), and is portrayed by South-Korean actor, rapper, singer and songwriter Choi Seung-hyun, better known by his stage name "T.O.P."
While a antagonist, Thanos is arguably one of the stand-out characters of season 2. Player 230 is quickly noticeable by his purple hair and exuberant personality. While the deadly competition tends to make players more fearful and serious, Thanos continues to be boisterous and entertaining even while his life is on the line.
Prior to Choi Su-bong's entry in the Squid Game in 2024, he gained fame as a rapper under the stage name "Thanos." At some point, he would go on to win second place in Rap Battlegrounds, a rap battle tournament, missing first place after forgetting his lyrics. He was also an avid fan of YouTuber Lee Myung-gi, and claims to have watched every video posted under his channel "MG Coin."
When Myung-gi began promoting a new cryptocurrency called "Dalmatian," Thanos decided to invest all the money he had made from rapping (which was around ₩500 million) into the coin. Unfortunately, the cryptocurrency turned out to be a scam, and he would fall into a debt totaling ₩1.19 billion.
Feeling like his life was over, Thanos went to a bridge to kill himself before being stopped by a recruiter who offered him a chance to win all his money back after a game of ddakji. Thinking that the opportunity was some sort of divine intervention, Thanos entered the Squid Games in a last-ditch effort to start a new life and make his mother proud.
