Avengers 3 Directors Explain How Thanos Used the Infinity Stones

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Avengers 3 Directors Confirm How Thanos Used (& Comboed) the Infinity Stones

By Cooper Hood

Published Aug 7, 2018

Avengers: Infinity War directors Joe and Anthony Russo confirm how and when intergalactic villain Thanos used and combined the Infinity Stones.

The Russo brothers confirm how and when Thanos uses certain Infinity Stones in Avengers: Infinity War. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been building towards Thanos' arrival for ten years. Along the way, Marvel slowly but surely planted the seeds for what he ultimately wanted: all six Infinity Stones. There were some surprises along the way (like holding the Soul Stone's reveal until the film itself), but as Thanos filled out the Infinity Gauntlet, his power continued to grow.

There's several huge moments in Infinity War that center on Thanos' use of an Infinity Stone. Between tricking the heroes, easily dispatching them, or manipulating the immediate area, they were instrumental in his victory. However, some of the uses and combos may have been overlooked, so the directors broke it down.

During the audio commentary for Avengers: Infinity War, the Russos highlighted two different moments of Thanos using the stones. The first came with one of Thanos' only combos. In order to throw a moon at the heroes on Titan, the Russos explained the Mad Titan first used the Power Stone to destroy it and then the Space Stone to hurl it towards the surface. Not long after, he uses both the Power Stone and the Soul Stone to eliminate Doctor Strange's clones and locate the true Sorcerer Supreme.

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Although some may have already caught on to both of these uses, it's another example of the Russos clarifying their ambitious film. They may not specifically address this, but it likely isn't a coincidence that both of these examples come near the end of the film. By this point, Thanos has been using the Infinity Stones on multiple occasions. He shows the ability to quickly learn how to use each of them, but by this point he's becoming a master of the Infinity Gauntlet and the powers it possesses.

As Thanos became more skilled with the Infinity Stones, the harder it was for the Avengers to stop him. That would be a dangerous precedent to have headed into Avengers 4, but it may already have been partially solved. One of the emerge from the commentary is that Thanos' snap permanently damaged him and the Gauntlet. This could make it both difficult for this gauntlet to properly use the Stones and him to control them. If Thanos is at full power again when Avengers 4 rolls around, his expanding use of the Infinity Stones that was on display here will only make him a tougher opponent.