Avengers: Infinity War established the biggest villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the best way possible. Thanos came in, fought all the big heroes one by one and collectively, took down the likes of Thor, Doctor Strange, Captain America, Iron Man, and others with ease and was able to fulfil his life’s ultimate goal which was bringing balance to the Universe by taking out half of the entire population. But the one thing that the movie teased that he really was the dark mirror image of Iron Man.
A Reddit user that goes by @Iamre came up with his theory that fills in the gap of the backstory which was cut out of Avengers: Infinity War. His theory explains the true origin of the Mad Titan and it also ties into the aspect of how Thanos actually knew Tony and thought that the two were actually alike. This theory talks about Thanos being the villain to Tony’s hero. It also talks about how knowledge really became a curse for Thanos, driving him to become who he is now. It says:
“I came up with a theory of Thanos’ origins and what lead him on his path. When he was on Titan he was a scientist like Stark, someone who was curious and a man of science (and why I think he respects Tony because tony is also very logical person with the will to act). His research led him to the conclusion that his planet was on the brink of collapse and the only way to save it was to kill half the population. He proposed it and his people dismissed him and called him mad. This both angered and saddened him when his prediction came true.”
The Redditor’s theory continues explaining how he became the cosmic warlord we saw him as. It gives a good reasoning that ties in the Mind Stone answering how the Infinity Stone actually drove his motivations before he gave it to Loki within a sceptre. The theory continues:
“I don’t think he immediately became a warlord though… I think something else happened. He began searching for the meaning life and death and somehow (maybe through some cosmic entities or someone) he came across the Mind Stone which opened his mind to all the mysteries of the universe and inspired him to do what he needed to do. At first he started proposing his solutions to other planet, but like Titan they dismissed him. So feeling like he had no other choice he started conquering planets and became a warlord, which having an infinity stone to start out with certainly helps.”
His theory then ties into the previous two prevailing theories which suggested that Thanos waited for the right time to make his move when the protectors of the Universe (the likes of Odin, Hela and Ego) were finally out of the picture and until then, he worked in the shadows and built his arsenal. And also the fact that Odin was the one who first got a gauntlet designed from Eitri but he stopped his crusade to collect Infinity Stones.
“He began going from planet to planet both to complete his mission of killing half and growing his empire, but also to find more information on the infinity stones: their locations (which is why he knows how to easily find them and knows where they are, perhaps he has a device to locate the stones), how to use them (which is why he’s so good at using them right away), etc… this could even tie in to the Odin Infinity Gauntlet theory of how he knew Odin was a competitor which is why he stayed in the shadows for a while, then after Odin’s death (plus Ego / Ancient One) and the fall of Asgard the opportunity came to not only take the gauntlet that Odin designed but also go after all the stones.
I know the Russo brothers said that he waited so long to do it himself because he was waiting for the Soul Stone, but he has also been working in the shadows for a long-long time, gaining knowledge, power, creating alliances, etc… And that’s my theory of Thanos’ origin.”
This elaborate theory does fill the blanks that the movies could not due to limited screen time and not feeling for revealing in just one movie, but it does go to a far stretch at certain places. Perhaps Tony and Thanos will be portrayed as two sides of the same coin in a similar way in Avengers 4 but we will have to wait for all that until the movie hits the theatres on May 3, 2019. All in all, this is a good theory and does solve quite a lot of queries!
