“The universe is finite. Its resources, finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correction.” The lines from Avengers: Infinity War clearly defined the intentions of Thanos, the mad Titan. After nearly a decade of cameos and hints, Marvel’s big bad finally arrived on-screen with Josh Brolin doing absolute justice to the plot demands. However, something went amiss- the character’s moral compass.
The Russo Brothers’ movie did an oddly good job of painting Thanos as a rather considerable antagonist. Unlike other MCU villains, he did not come across as a clear bad guy. Regardless, his actions of wiping out half the universe eventually put him on the dark side. Yet, a minor change to the movie’s plot could not only fit better with his MCU intentions but also make him a good guy, a perfect story for one What If…? episode.
Fan gives Marvel a possible What If…? Thanos storyline
In its two seasons, Marvel’s What If…? has played around with hypothetical scenarios in the multiverse, several of which included Thanos as well. However, none bothered to answer one burning plot hole from Avengers: Infinity War. It begs to question what if the purple Titan had simply snapped his fingers and granted infinite resources instead of sacrificing half of the universe?
The debate found renewed vigor when a fan replied with this very proposal to an X (formerly Twitter) post questioning “Do you think Thanos was right?”
In this particular reply, however, the social media user rightly pointed out that Avengers: Infinity War should have taken a more comic-accurate route. In print pages, the killing motivation that drove the purple alien came from his desire to woo Mistress Death, an actual cosmic entity.
Instead, in the movie, Thanos’ interactions with characters like Doctor Strange made his plan for decimation simply appear as a balancing act and not a personal desire, a theory that has found repeated dismissals from the makers.
Avengers: Infinity War filmmakers cleared the air surrounding Thanos’ motivations
Admittedly, while the fan may have hinted at Marvel Studios to reply with their answer to the debate in a What If…? episode, others have already pulled out a plausible justification. Incidentally, the home video digital release version of Avengers: Infinity War included extras that featured its directors and writers answering why Thanos chose genocide instead of simply extending the resources.
Regardless of the film giving a sympathetic angle to the big bad, the Russo Brothers clarified that Thanos is no more than a “sociopath with a messiah complex”. If his intentions were pure, he would have never sought military action on several planets. Rather, his ‘fondness’ for wiping away half of a planet’s population came long before his possession of the Infinity Gauntlet, as shown in the Gamora backstory sequence.
People have asked us why Thanos didn’t just use the stones to double the resources in the universe, and clearly he is not interested.
In the same featurette, writer Steve McFeely joined in with his answer of “free will”. Thanos did not choose the good path because he always believed in wiping away people, something he also proposed for his home planet, Titan. Furthermore, the character also said “I am the only one who knows that,” when Gamora questioned his motivation in the 2018 flick, proving that he indeed was the prophetic Mad Titan.
Avengers: Infinity War is streaming on Disney+.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fan-proposed What If…? episode based on Avengers: Infinity War?
The article reports that a social media commenter proposed a What If…? premise asking what would happen if Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to increase universal resources instead of wiping out half of all life. The commenter wrote that “with the infinite power of the Gauntlet, he could have created unlimited resources with ZERO need to kill anyone,” reframing Thanos sympathetically rather than as a genocidal villain.
Why did the Russo Brothers say Thanos chose to wipe out life instead of creating more resources?
On the Infinity War home-video audio commentary, the filmmakers characterized Thanos as “a sociopath with a messiah complex,” explaining that his fondness for wiping out half a planet’s population predated his acquisition of the Infinity Gauntlet. They pointed to the Gamora backstory sequence, noting Thanos had always believed in decimation as the answer rather than abundance, which is why he was never interested in simply doubling resources.
What did writer Steve McFeely say about Thanos’s motivation in Infinity War?
On the same commentary track, screenwriter Steve McFeely said the answer was “free will” — that simply doubling resources would not solve the problem, since the universe would “just get there millions of years from now,” so Thanos instead saw it as a chance for survivors to get it right. The directors added that Thanos had earlier proposed the same solution for his own homeworld, Titan, and felt vindicated after it was rejected.
