Infinity War was one of the most anticipated movies of all time. The movie coalesced over a decade of moviemaking and showcased over 40 different superheroes from all over the franchise. It was like a well-choreographed ballet performance filled with carnage and mayhem. We see the Thanos wreak destruction and havoc on the entirety of the universe and we see him tear through the Avengers to get his hands on the infinity stones. When the Titan does acquire the last infinity stone he is impaled through the chest with Thor’s new weapon known as the Stormbreaker. The damage to Thanos is substantial but also ultimately inconsequential because Thanos snaps his fingers and by harnessing all 6 infinity stones ends half of all life in creation.
This is a ballsy move by the Titan because not only is he in the middle of battle but he just damaged his only weapon against the might of the Avengers and the guardians. Yes, you read the right, the snap did damage the infinity gauntlet, but the question is does it damage the gauntlet beyond repair? A fan wondered just that, so when the time came ( the Russo brothers chose to answer some fan questions over on twitter when they released the digital print of Infinity War at the Vudu viewing party) he posed the question to the brothers over on twitter. This is what the directors had to say.
“Perhaps, but there is a cost to using the power of the Stones,” the directors said.
“See there, with his Gauntlet and the arm, the power that it takes to use all six Stones is significant, and clearly damaged the Gauntlet and damaged Thanos permanently,”
The readers were also curious if the entire scene where Thanos meets Gamora occurs inside the soul stone. The fandom had long theorized that Gamora was living on inside the soul stone and this is where Thanos goes to interact with her, but the directors clarified this scene in an interview with Comicbook.com
“The power that it took Thanos to click his fingers, he’s so dramatic that if you look closely at the film and the damage of the gauntlet,” Russo said. “You look closely at the very last scene, it damages his arm dramatically. And that moment when he clicks his fingers sends him into this ethereal plan inside of the Soul Stone where as part of his quote unquote hero’s journey in the film, he has one last moment to convey a sense of guilt about what he’s done. It illustrates what a complicated character he is. So, to clarify, it’s a spiritual representation of her and obviously that’s something that the Soul Stone has power to do. But really, it’s there to illustrate his pain and his guilt. I wouldn’t read much more into it beyond that.”
All of this coalesces into one fact, that the stones are dangerous, even for the mightiest being in all of the cosmos. They are primordial artifacts and must not be taken lightly or used as toys by the likes of amateurs. We have seen Thanos go on a crusade for the stones and we have seen him collect and destroy half the universe with them. And now we know that Thanos irreversibly damaged his arm and the gauntlet. He might be able to recoup the power he once held at its fingertips but it would cause him substantial pain or take an elongated period of time or both.
The Russos have clarified that the stones have a cost for their usage. How do you think this will affect the plot of Avengers 4? Tell us in the comments below.
Avengers 4 will hit the theaters worldwide on May 4, 2019. The cast is impeccable as some of the biggest names are part of the project including Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Chris Pratt (Starlord), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Dave Bautista (Drax), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel Jackson (Nick Fury), Cobie Smulders (Mariah Hill), Jeremy Reiner (Hawkeye), Benedict Wong (Wong), Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange), Tom Holland (Spiderman), Letitia Wright (Shuri), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlett Witch), Paul Bettany (Vision), Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon), Vin Diesel (Groot), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Josh Brolin (Thanos).
