Avengers: Infinity War, the penultimate movie in Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will finally feature Thanos. The supervillain is finally taking matters in to his own hands as he tries to obtain all six Infinity Stones. These rare artifacts are linked to six fundamental forces that control the universe. Thanos' quest for the Infinity Stones has been the unifying theme of the entire MCU, and it is scheduled to end with the release of the yet untitled Avengers 4, in May of 2019.
When Thanos steps out of the shadows, as he promised in the end credits scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron, he does so with only one goal in mind - collecting the six stones from those currently holding them. Thanos' journey across the Marvel Universe in his desire for unlimited power ends on Earth, where the last three of the Infinity Stones - the Time Stone, the Mind Stone, and the Soul Stone - are located.
The Infinity War trailer appears to show the Mad Titan on the brink of achieving his goal, with only the Avengers and the forces of Wakanda standing in his way.
Here are the 16 Fan Theories About Thanos (That Might Actually Be True).
Thanos’ Gauntlet Manipulates The Infinity Stones
In the comics, Thanos created the Gauntlet as an incidentally convenient way to hold the Infinity Stones. However, in the MCU, the Gauntlet appears to have special powers of its own, and it was not made by Thanos himself.
According to a popular fan theory, the Gauntlet in the MCU isn't merely a cool-looking glove to hold the Infinity Stones. The Gauntlet itself can harness, control, and unleash the awesome synergic powers of the complete set of Infinity Stones.
The history of the Gauntlet in the MCU remains undisclosed, and we may yet learn more about its origins and how it came into the possession of a dangerously power-hungry villain like Thanos. Fans have also suggested that the Gauntlet might have originally belonged to Odin.
Thanos Has The Real Gauntlet
What looked like Thanos’ Gauntlet first appeared in Thor as one of the artifacts in Odin's treasure vault. The Gauntlet in Odin's vault is shown adorned with all of the six stones. However, Avengers: Age of Ultron appeared to disprove earlier theories that Thanos might have stolen Odin's Infinity Gauntlet.
Unlike the Gauntlet in Odin’s vault, Thanos' Gauntlet, shown in the end credits scene of Age of Ultron, did not have any of the Infinity Stones. This would explains why the supervillain has been trying to collect them.
This led some fans to suggest that there are two Gauntlets, Odin’s and Thanos’. However, in Thor: Ragnarok, we learn that the Gauntlet in Odin's vault is merely a non-functional replica of the real thing.
Thanos Doesn't Have The Soul Stone Already
The persisting mystery about the location of the sixth Infinity Stone, the Soul Stone, spawned widespread speculation that Thanos already has it.
However, after the release of the Avengers: Infinity War trailer, some fans pointed to the scene where Thanos is shown wearing the Gauntlet adorned with only the purple Power Stone. This means that he doesn’t have the Soul Stone, contrary to current speculation.
Thanos is later shown adding the blue Space Stone to his Gauntlet. Similarly, in the end credits scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thanos is shown slipping on the Gauntlet with all the stones missing, suggesting he did not have any at the time. It is also possible that Marvel wants to leave the topic open for discussion, and purposefully held information back from the marketing material.
Thanos Will Attack The Nova Corps
Once fans learned that Thanos had decided to take matters into his own hands, speculation erupted about the location of the six Infinity Stones and the manner in which Thanos would claim each one of them.
Several theories were put forward, but those that suggested Thanos would first claim the Power Stone from the Nova Corps appear to be supported by the recently released trailer for Avengers: Infinity War.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed the Mad Titan adding the blue Space Stone to his Gauntlet, which already had the purple Power Stone. The fan theory, based on the comics, proposes that Thanos destroys the Nova Corps on planet Xandar, and takes the Power Stone. A soldier manages to escape to Earth to warn the Avengers. This could potentially be John C. Reilly's Nova character introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Thanos Takes The Space Stone From Loki
Following the release of the Avengers: Infinity War trailer, fans began speculating that after obtaining the Power Stone from the defeated Nova Corps, Thanos will attack the Asgardian refugees.
Remember the destruction of Asgard by Surtur in Thor: Rognarok? Fan theories state that Thanos will claim the Tesseract containing the Space Stone from Loki, who apparently stole it from Odin's vault where it was kept after Thor brought it to Asgard following the defeat of the Chitauri in The Avengers.
The official Infinity War trailer shows Loki raising up the Tesseract and offering it to someone. He might have been forced to hand over the stone after Thanos attacked the Asgardians. The trailer appears to show dead Asgardians lying on the ground.
Thanos Snatches The Reality Stone From The Collector
There is a fan theory that proposes that Thanos will try to collect all of the Infinity Stones across the galaxy, before coming to Earth to claim the remaining stones. This means that he will try to obtain the Reality Stone after obtaining the Space Stone from Loki.
As far as we know, the Reality Stone, also referred to as the Aether, is in the possession of The Collector. He obtained the stone from Asgard's Lady Sif and Volstagg after Thor defeated Malekith in Thor: The Dark World.
Sif and Volstagg brought the Reality Stone to The Collector for safe keeping because they thought it wouldn't be a good idea to keep it with the Space Stone in Odin's vault. Although The Collector's facility was destroyed in Guardians of the Galaxy, the stone very likely remains in his hands.
Thanos Steals The Time Stone From Kamar-Taj
After obtaining the Reality Stone from the Collector, Thanos will come to Earth to obtain the remaining stones. A fan theory suggests that he first goes to Kamar-Taj. Located near Tibet and Nepal, this is where Doctor Strange left the Time Stone after using it to outsmart Dormammu.
This is a departure from Doctor Strange's comic book habit of wearing the Time Stone around his neck in the form of The Eye of Agamotto. However, this might prove convenient for Thanos, who could break in and steal the stone while Doctor Strange is away.
Since it is presumed that a Nova soldier will come to warn Earth's superheroes that Thanos is coming, Doctor Strange and Wong would likely be at Kamar-Taj to stop Thanos. Unfortunately, Thanos will prevail and escape with the Time Stone.
Thanos Takes The Mind Stone From Vision
Thanos takes on another Avenger after stealing the Time Stone. The Avengers: Infinity War trailer shows someone, presumed to be Thanos, pinning Vision to the ground and ripping out the yellow Mind Stone embedded in his forehead.
Since the Mind Stone is the essence of the hero’s existence, ripping it out would surely kill him. Thanos originally had the Mind Stone, but he took the risk of giving it to Loki when he worked with the God of Mischief in The Avengers.
However, Loki ended up leaving the scepter holding the Mind Stone on Earth. It then came into the possession of HYDRA's Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, who yielded it to the Avengers. The Mind Stone was eventually used to create Vision from Tony Stark's AI friend, JARVIS.
Thanos Invades Wakanda For The Soul Stone
Thanos’ confrontation with Vision builds up to the climactic battle of Avengers: Infinity War. The trailer suggests that the Avengers’ battle against Thanos and his Black Order forces will take place in the legendary African kingdom of Wakanda.
Since Thor: Ragnarok appears to have dispelled previous speculation that Heimdall might have the orange Soul Stone, fan theories have focused on Wakanda as the location of the artifact.
The Soul Stone, according to a current fan theory, is linked with Wakanda's power and security. It is the secret source of the Black Panther’s power and the African nation's advanced technology - maybe it will be linked with their vast amounts of Vibranium. Perhaps we will find out more in the solo Black Panther movie.
Thanos Collects All Six Infinity Stones
If Thanos obtains the complete set of Infinity Stones, as he did in the Infinity Gauntlet story arc, he will become omnipotent. His godlike invulnerability is presumably derived from the power of the six Infinity Stones acting in synergy, according to a fan theory.
Undoubtedly, Thanos acquiring the Infinity Stones, which control the fundamental forces upholding the entire universe, will pit the Avengers against a practically unbeatable foe. The loss of a main character, perhaps Iron Man or Captain America, will probably happen at the hands of Thanos.
Kevin Feige appeared to confirm the fan theory that Thanos will dominate the Avengers in Infinity War when he admitted in an interview last year that the supervillain will be the "main character" in the upcoming movie.
Thanos Doesn't Obtain The Soul Stone
A relatively unpopular fan theory suggests that Thanos’ bid to obtain the complete set of Infinity Stones could be thwarted in Wakanda. The Mad Titan may not be able to overcome the combined forces of the Avengers and the Wakandan army.
Thanos only collecting five Infinity Stones seems unlikely, since it is clear that the MCU is building up to a grand unification of the stones dating back to Captain America: The First Avenger. It has become expected that Thanos will emerge as the almighty supervillain who acquires limitless power and the MCU superheroes will face him in an epic battle of apocalyptic proportions.
However, in the event that he fails to obtain the Soul Stone, it could become the supervillain’s Achilles heel. This would mean that whoever holds the Soul Stone would likely be the one to turn the tables on Thanos.
The Infinity Gauntlet Is Used to Resurrect Villains
Another fan theory suggests that after Thanos gains omnipotence, he brings back all the dead supervillains. From what we have learned about the powers of the Soul Stone, the Reality Stone, and the Mind Stone, the notion is not as crazy as it sounds.
Similarly, some fans speculate that villains like Red Skull, who were seemingly killed by the Infinity Stones, might have only been transported to other dimensions or locations in space and time.
The return of the dead villains to confront the Avengers sets the stage for the grand unification of the MCU movies. An epic battle involving villains such as Red Skull, Ultron, and Malekith effectively expresses the meaning implicit in the title Infinity War.
Every MCU Character Appears In Infinity War
More than 60 MCU characters, nearly the complete set since Iron Man (2008), will appear In Avengers: Infinity War. Scarlett Johansson confirmed the fan theory last year, during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She revealed that more than 30 superheroes will appear in a scene, and that more than 60 characters over all will appear at least once in the movie.
Johansson's comments sparked further fan speculation that part of the grand unification of the MCU saga will be when Thanos takes the central stage as the "main character” of Infinity War. Thanos could possibly resurrect old superheroes, but have them fighting on the wrong side.
However, the suggestion that previously dead superheroes will appear in Infinity War does not necessarily mean that they return physically. Thanos could use his Infinity Gauntlet to control the minds of the Avengers and make them hallucinate their dead companions.
Thanos Doesn't Kill The Hulk
The epic battle against Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War will end in the death of many of our beloved superheroes. This is mainly to facilitate the MCU’s move to reset the cast of the Avengers, as several contracts are set to expire.
However, Mark Ruffalo recently put to rest speculation that the Hulk could be killed off in Avengers: Infinity War. Following the green giant's impressive showing in Age of Ultron and Thor: Ragnarok, Ruffalo revealed that his character will return in Avengers 4.
Johansson also let the cat out of the bag when she talked in an interview with Vanity Fair about Ruffalo being in a scene with Brie Larson, who is expected to make her debut in Avengers 4. However, while we know that Thanos won't kill the Hulk in the upcoming Infinity War movie, we don't know what could happen in Avengers 4.
Thanos Kills Captain America
Fan theories that Thanos will kill Captain America fall in line with the Infinity Gauntlet comic story. When killed, Cap is later brought back to life with the Infinity Stones. However, as in the Hulk’s case, it remains to be seen whether Cap’s demise, if it happens, occurs in Avengers: Infinity War or in Avengers 4.
Chris Evans’ contract with the MCU will soon expire and there are no indications it will be renewed after Avengers 4. Evans’ recent comments suggest he is considering new opportunities and that Avengers 4 could be his last MCU movie.
The confrontation with Thanos could thus be the last battle of Evans' Captain America in the MCU, and fans could soon see Bucky or Sam Wilson stepping up to the plate.
Thanos Kills All Of The Avengers
The fan theories we’ve considered so far have been about guessing who dies and who lives in Infinity War. However, a shocking fan theory suggests that a befitting culmination to Thanos' arc would be see him successfully killing the Avengers.
Thanos is obsessed with death. It is also possible that his love interest, Lady Death, who is a physical embodiment of extinction, is summoned by Thanos once he completes the Infinity Gauntlet. To clarify, Thanos’ obsession with nihilism and death climaxes in a terrifying cliffhanger where everyone lies dead or dying.
An interesting plot twist could arise if, as a fan theory suggests, Thanos fails to obtain the sixth Infinity Stone - the Soul Stone. Whoever holds the stone (Black Panther?) could use it to bring everyone back to life in the fight against Thanos. Plus, there was Iron Man's vision in Age of Ultron where he sees the entire team defeated.
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