The One Question Avengers: Infinity War NEEDS To Answer

Mar 25, 2018 March 25th, 2018

1. What If Thanos Intended The Avengers To Exist?

There's a theory out there that suggests that HYDRA consciously inspired the Avengers to come together in the belief that they could be dealt with as a unit. What if Thanos had the same idea and knew that several heroes trying to work together would ultimately destabilise them while also allowing him to analyse them in close quarters?

To make that happen, he helped Loki invade Earth and he helped Ronan seek vengeance against Xandar. He knew that both the Avengers and the Nova Corps would stand in his way, so he sent underlings to deal with them before he made his own play. At that point, he didn't know where every Stone was and he still needed to focus his attentions on uncovering that, while still closely monitoring the heroes - hence him watching the rise of Ultron with such interest.

It was simply a happy accident that the Avengers - and the Guardians Of The Galaxy - ended up uncovering the locations of several of the Stones for him. And none of that would have happened without them coming together, which wouldn't have happened without Thanos facilitating Loki's invasion. Even uncovering Doctor Strange and the location of the Time Stone was tied to that, as Loki came the Sorcerors' attention as a universal threat because of it. Without that, Strange wouldn't have met Thor and become a potential ally for the Avengers when Infinity War kicks off.

In a round-about way this would all explain why he gave up the Mind Stone as a short-term loss to help get his hands on the other Stones. And even with it in Loki's possession (or on Earth), Thanos KNEW exactly where it was. It was only when the Avengers took the unprecedented step of actually using the Stone to power Vision that Thanos decided to roll up his sleeves and get involved himself. At that stage, he had no other choice as it was something he simply couldn't account for in advance.

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In short, even if that theory proves to be wrong, Infinity War has to have a convincing reason for the gift that goes beyond Thanos simply being idiotic, because as it stands, this is the biggest plot hole in the MCU. And without addressing it, the Russos will be courting even more criticism for it.

How do you think Thanos will explain his mistake? Share your reactions in the comments thread.