Choi Su-bong (Korean: 최수봉), known by his stage name Thanos and as Player 230, is a character in the second season of the Netflix series Squid Game.

He is portrayed by Choi Seung-hyun (better known as T.O.P), a rapper who belonged to the K-pop band BigBang and was convicted of marijuana use in 2017, which led to a surge of anti-fans among South Koreans.

While the character was not created for him, director Hwang Dong-hyuk aimed to find someone who stopped working due to drugs for the role.

[8] Hwang explained that he wanted to cast someone who stopped working due to drugs, T.O.P retiring from the K-pop industry and leaving BigBang over a marijuana conviction.

[14] Responding to speculation that he was removed from promotional events over the controversy, Hwang said that they planned to not have him featured from the beginning, wanting T.O.P to be able to talk about his involvement at his own pace.

[14] Hwang argued against the claim that cartoonish characters were not limited to only season 1, comparing him to Jang Deok-su and Han Mi-nyeo, who he said both received similar commentary.

[17] David A. Tizzard, writing for The Korea Times, discussed how the K-pop industry has anti-fans so he finds the response to the casting unsurprising.

Discussing criticism of his portrayal, Tizzard appreciated that offers jokes in between the sadder elements of the show, believing he would fit into a Quentin Tarantino movie.

[20] IGN writer Shannon Miller praised T.O.P, stating that he "found a way to imbue pitch-perfect physical comedy, rage, and tragic recklessness" into Thanos, making players "hold their breath in fear and beg for more.

[8] Men's Health writer Evan Romano felt he was an "incredibly frustrating" character, praising Squid Game for creating this portrayal.

[2] Screen Rant writer Amanda Mullen believed that Thanos' death reflected the notion that season 3 would be "the show's darkest yet," arguing that the lack of the comic relief he provided will cause this.

[23] Comic Book writer Evan Valentine felt that he represented how poor conditions for the current generation can be, and how even being a celebrity does not protect them from their bad actions.

He found the idea of Thanos conceptually unbelievable, he was impressed by how the character was portrayed, particularly how he performs in the games and "poisons" contestants into joining his side.

Looper writer Mike Bedard called him the worst character in the second season, feeling he did not fit in with the rest of the cast due to how over-the-top he was portrayed.

[26] Fellow Collider writer Therese Lacson felt that Thanos, along with much of the cast lacked depth, arguing that the show does not offer an exploration of him as a person, instead caricaturizing him.

[27] The Guardian writer Rebecca Nicholson considered him one of the most irritating characters in recent TV series, finding him "cartoonishly evil.