Thanos attacked planets on his quest for the Infinity Stones, but why didn’t he attack Asgard for the Space Stone? The Infinity Saga was all about Thanos’ destructive plans and his mission to acquire all the Infinity Stones as well as the Infinity Gauntlet, and he went to lengths to get them. After spending years looking for them, it was revealed in Avengers: Infinity War that Thanos had already gotten the Power Stone, which was guarded in Xandar. The Mad Titan decimated Xandar in order to get the Stone, showing how cruel and unstoppable he truly was.

The first Infinity Stone to appear in the MCU was the Space Stone, which was kept inside the Tesseract, which played an important role in Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers, in which Loki (Tom Hiddleston) used it to open a wormhole so the Chitauri could invade New York City. The Tesseract was later brought to Asgard, and Thanos eventually got the Space Stone at the beginning of Infinity War thanks to Loki, but he never set foot on Asgard to get the Stone himself – and here’s why he chose not to attack Thor’s home realm.

Related: Why Thanos Is So Strong In Endgame Without The Infinity Stones

Odin Is Likely Why Thanos Never Attacked Asgard

Thor and Odin at the end of Thor 2011

The Space Stone was used by various ancient civilizations before falling into Asgardian hands, after which it was kept in Odin’s Vault along with many other relics. The Tesseract was later brought to Earth, and in the 1940s, it was used by HYDRA’s leader Johann Schmidt. After that, it was kept at Camp Lehigh, used in Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., and was guarded by S.H.I.E.L.D. before being stolen by Loki. Following the Battle of New York, the Tesseract was brought back to Asgard and kept in Odin’s Vault again, and with Odin still around, keeping Asgard and its people safe, the Allfather is most likely why Thanos never dared to attack Asgard, as he knew well how powerful Odin was.

Odin was said to be the most powerful being in the Nine Realms, and along with the extraordinary abilities that come as a result of being an Asgardian, he had Odinforce (the manipulation of his own life force’s magical and cosmic energy), access to dark magic, enchantments, and cosmic awareness, which made him aware of what was happening in his surroundings and across the Nine Realms. Odin, then, was a big opponent even for Thanos, so attacking Asgard would have been a huge risk and the Mad Titan could have been defeated, and he knew there would be other ways to get the Space Stone without risking his bigger plan.

Odin's Death Seemingly Made Thanos' Infinity War Plan More Doable

Thanos Avengers infinity war Infinity stones

Thanos actually waited after Odin’s death in Thor: Ragnarok to make a move to get the Space Stone back and get the rest of the Infinity Stones, proving that Odin was among the most powerful MCU characters and that he could have stopped Thanos’ plan. Thanos got the Space Stone quite easily as he attacked the ship carrying the Asgardians that survived Asgard’s destruction and took the Tesseract from Loki’s hands, killing the God of Mischief in the process. With Odin and other powerful beings like the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who guarded the Time Stone, out of the picture, Thanos’ Infinity War plan was a lot more doable and ran a lot smoother, as there wasn’t a truly powerful being that could stop him anymore. Thanos wasn’t the most powerful being in the MCU, but he was definitely an extraordinary strategist.

Next: Kang Creates A Huge Villain Problem For The MCU (That Thanos Never Had)

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