In most realities within the Marvel Multiverse, Thanos is one of the greatest villains ever, and he's more than capable of murdering countless scores of heroes and villains who stand in his way as part of his pursuit of Lady Death. But across the various realities that exist, there's one Thanos who actually dedicated himself to a noble purpose.
The Captain Marvel storyline "Dark Origins" from 2017's Captain Marvel #125-129, by Margaret Stohl, Michele Bandini, Erick Arciniega, and VC's Joe Caramagna, introduced a world where the morality of multiple cosmic Marvel figures were flipped. And instead of being the galaxy's greatest villain, Thanos was instead a major hero and protector of the galaxy in this world.
In the reality designated Earth-TRN837, the Mad Titan instead became known as Thanos the Just, a benevolent figure who abhors death and does his best to preserve the sanctity of life. This Thanos made it his mission to spread peace and order through the universe, even creating a peace-keeping force known as the Gauntlet that could serve the innocents all across the universe. He was even able to help achieve a peaceful union between the Skrull and Kree Empires, helping spread peace further through the universe.
Thanos finds his peace threatened by various space pirates and rogues. This includes Corporal Carol Danvers' Zeta Flight, the Black Widower, and the Ravagers, a Guardians of the Galaxy-esque team led by Star-Killer and consisting of the carrot-like Root, the Squirrel Girl/Rocket Raccoon fusion Rockette, a murderous Drax, and Gamora. In an inverse of her MCU counterpart, this Gamora was the adopted daughter of Thanos who broke bad and left the altruistic goals of her father behind. However, Thanos still has a strong relationship with his other adopted daughter, Nebula, who serves under him as a Captain of the Gauntlet. Gamora's hatred for her family does nothing but break Thanos' heart, However, he still cares for her, even keeping Gamora from severely hurting her during a brief fist-fight when they run into each other.
When the Reality Stone of Earth-616 is brought to his universe, Thanos sees the chance to harness that power and further spread peace across creation. Thanos reluctantly hires Peter Quill, aka Star-Killer, to procure the Stone for him. However, things are only complicated by the arrival of Captain Marvel from Earth-616, who briefly changes places in the multiverse with her main Marvel Universe incarnation. Star-Killer and his allies capture the Black Widower and Zeta Flight, intending to trade them to Thanos for additional reward. Given the Reality Stone, Thanos reveals his true intentions to use the Stone to create a pocket reality of darkness, where he can trap the pirates and criminals of this world -- including the Ravagers and Zeta Flight -- to bring peace to the galaxy.
Ultimately, Captain Marvel and the chaotic villains are able to escape with the Stone before Thanos can carry out this plan. But notably, Thanos doesn't swear revenge. Instead, he keeps Nebula from chasing after Gamora, arguing that they mustn't let themselves fall to their level -- that a moral victory is victory enough. He's still ambitious like the main Marvel Thanos, but he knows when it's time to back away. While a more noble Thanos would be a boon for the universe as a whole, the core-Marvel Universe Thanos could learn from embracing the sense of adaptability and graciousness that this version utilizes. It would make him a more resilient figure, and it could have given the main Thanos the follow-through he would need to wipe out the heroes.
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