Thanatos was a B.O.W. researched and developed by the rogue Greg Mueller, a former research director of the Umbrella Corporation. It is officially classified as a subspecies of the Tyrant (T-103 Type).
History
Dr. Mueller strongly opposed the mass production of the Tyrant B.O.W. and as a result, left Umbrella with the Tyrant data to develop his own model, viewing the Tyrant Project as a "total disaster". Thanatos was a weapon developed to near perfection by the Mueller with the goal of making a single Tyrant "unique" and "God-like". The Tyrant was developed in the basement of Raccoon University by Mueller, who used the Tyrant's blood to aid Peter Jenkins in developing a t-virus vaccine known as "Daylight".
Thanatos was released on October 1, 1998, where it displayed exemplary combat ability by decimating a U.B.C.S. team under the command of Nicholai Zinoviev. Mueller also used a group of survivors in an attempt to gather combat data from Thanatos. Zinoviev attempted to retrieve a blood sample from the Tyrant, but failed and it escaped. He later blew up the university after assassinating Mueller. Thanatos was caught in the destruction and died, but revived and mutated into a new form.
Thanatos was killed by a group of survivors shortly before the destruction of Raccoon City.
Attributes
Thanatos was extremely durable and resistant to firearms, being impervious to 9mm rounds. It had an exposed heart similar to the T-001 and T-002 models, which was remedied by enclosing it in a protective metal casing. This eliminated its only weakness. It possessed unmatched speed and agility, with two enlarged hands on each arm which it could use to stab or strike, with smaller claws than previous Tyrants.
Thanatos Type-R
After the destruction of Raccoon University, Thanatos officially died. However, a mutation allowed it to revive into an even more powerful state similar to the "Super Tyrant" form of the T-103 series. Thanatos lost its left arm in the destruction and in exchange, the right arm became more flexible, making it similar in appearance to the Bandersnatch B.O.W. This form was officially called "Thanatos Type-R", "Thanatos Reborn" or simply "Thanatos R". In this form, Thanatos doubled in size and mass andits abilities were enhanced. Its agility remained unchanged, and it was able to jump extreme heights. Its strength was improved and its remaining arm grew to a huge size with an extremely large claw, making it a very effective weapon.
Etymology
Thanatos earns its name from the Greek God of Death.