So far there have been plenty of theories which talk about the mysteries around what Doctor Strange set up for Avengers: Endgame. There have been shreds of evidence for multiple Time Loops, Strange having lived in those future alternatives that he claims to have seen, etc. What Strange did at the end of Infinity War was a pretty bold move as he actually gave away the Time Stone to Thanos in order to save Tony. He also claimed at the end that there was no other way.
So having seen that we believe that Tony Stark’s survival for Endgame may have been the most important, and it was also crucial for Thanos to get all the stones and finish the snap once before everything could be fixed. But there’s a new theory out there which gives us the reasoning for how & why Doctor Strange sacrificed himself in order to save Tony Stark. Here’s what the Reddit user thomascgalvin wrote:
“”We’re in the endgame now.”
At the end of Infinity War, Stephen Strange traded arguably the most important piece in the game, the Time Stone, for a single man, Tony Stark. The question is, why?
My theory is that Strange realized the Snap was a one-time-only event, one which Thanos, even with the full complement of the Infinity Stones, could never replicate.
First, the Snap damaged the Infinity Gauntlet. While it’s still a powerful weapon, in its current state it can probably not be used to perform the Snap a second time.
Second, Thanos himself destroyed any hope of creating a second Infinity Gauntlet. When Thanos mutilated Eitri’s hands, he destroyed the only craftsman capable of harnessing the true might of the Infinity Stones.
Together, these facts mean that if the Decimation can be reversed, Thanos will be well and truly thwarted.
The only issue is that Thanos could, at least in theory, use the Time Stone itself to repair the Gauntlet or Eitri’s hands. My best answer to this is that Strange foresaw that the assembled might of the Avengers would be enough to wrest the Gauntlet from Thanos before he was able to do so, though it is also possible that reversing the damage to the Gauntlet would also reverse what caused the damage, again thwarting Thanos’ plans.
Bonus theory: in a chess endgame, one of the priorities is promoting a pawn, turning it into a more powerful piece. I suspect Ant-Man of being that pawn. He’s had relatively little impact on the MCU to date, but we know he shows up at Avenger’s headquarters. My guess is that the quantum technology he has access to will be used to open a portal to the Soul Realm and “reclaim the captured pieces,” so to speak.
This would also explain why Strange sacrificed himself in order to save Stark: Stark has the kind of intelligence necessary to adapt Pym Tech to access the Soul Realm, while Strange, as smart as he is, lacks those kinds of skills.”
Well, that’s some great analysis. We will have to wait and see whether it actually comes true. But what the Redditor may be totally right about is the role of Ant-Man in Endgame. I’m not talking about the whole Soul Realm Portal thing, but we cannot deny the fact that he plays a crucial role in the plot of Endgame since he will be the one that tells all the surviving Avengers about how he traveled through time using the Quantum Realm. No one really thought that Ant-Man would save the day, but here we are, dependent upon Scott’s experiences that will bring back the Avengers that disintegrated.
Avengers: Endgame comes out on April 26. Here’s the official synopsis:
“After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.”
