Avengers: Infinity War
Just how did Thanos recognize Tony Stark inAvengers : Infinity War , and does it actually prepare up a plot for the as - yet - untitledAvengers 4 ? There ’s a sense in which this was the strangest scene inInfinity War . Thanos , the Mad Titan , caught a glimpse of Tony Stark ’s look , and recognized him at once . " Stark , " he snarl . When Stark expressed surprisal at being recognized , Thanos respond that he is n’t " the only one beshrew with knowledge . "
Tony Stark has lived in fear of Thanos for the last six year . InThe Avengers , Stark get a glimpse of an alien armada when he fly through a wormhole , and although that fleet was put down , he ’s always been convinced another alien intrusion is inevitable . Thanos seems to know this , recognizing that Stark is " anathemise with cognition " of the Mad Titan ’s eventual return . But Thanos ' Holy Writ inculpate a potent parallel between the two of them , as though each carries specific cognition touch on to the other - knowledge that is a curse .
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eternity Wargoes to great lengths to create some elusive parallels between Thanos and Tony Stark , but this is where they get expressed . No doubt the design of this scene was really to emphasize the personal fight between Thanos and Stark . As Joe Russo explained , Thanos has " the most specific connection to Tonybecause Tony is a futurist , and he has foretell a threat like Thanos . " In exactly the same way , Thanos fancies himself a fantast , and he has forecast a catastrophe that would destroy all life-time in the universe of discourse . Stark created Ultron out of his fear , and Thanos launched his mad seeking to erase half the liveliness in the universe so as to save the residuum .
But this scene get going beyond that , and suggests a very personal enmity between the two . Just what is really going on ?
Does Thanos Recognize Tony Stark From The Battle of New York?
The first possibility is just that Thanos is a passe-partout of the Art of War . As Sun Tzu noted on Earth , " Know your foeman and know yourself , observe null in fear for 100 battles . " Thanos has no doubt triumphed in far more than a hundred battles , and that ’s probably not just because he believes in overwhelming military unit . Rather , as a master tactician , he ’s probable a firm worshipper in researching his enemies for vote out them .
Humanity try itself unexpected resilient back in 2012 , when the Avengers successfully defeated the invading legions of the Chitauri . And Tony Stark render the critical nuclear load in person , destroy the Chitauri mothership before return to Earth through the wormhole . If Thanos has researched anybody on Earth , it ’s Tony Stark , the man who caused so much damage to his army .
On the face of it , this seems like a satisfying account . But there are two major problems with the theory . The first is the fact that Thanos only recognizes Stark when the distinctive Iron Man helmet is damage , and he sees Stark ’s face . Had this simply been an model of Thanos ’s research , he would no doubt have recognise an Iron Man armor . What ’s more , this does n’t explain why Thanos would view this kind of noesis as a " curse . " The scene really does feel as though something else is plump on .
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Does This Knowledge Come From The Soul Stone?
A second possibility is that Thanos get it on Stark because ofthe Soul Stone . In theory , the Soul Stone could give the huffy Titan the power to canvass the soul of anyone he encounter - to peer into their meat and minds and examine their motif . This would explain why he seems aware of the deepness of Stark ’s " cursed knowledge . " Some lover have intimate an filename extension of this theory , in guild to explicate why Thanos believes the Soul Stone to be , in part , a curse . They suggest that the Soul Stone actually grants Thanos the ability to see into the hearts of people he kills , grant him an empathy that - up until acquiring the Soul Stone - he lack . That would be a neat account of why Thanos seemed more hesitant to kill during his engagement with the Avengers on Earth ; he in reality experience their thoughts and emotions , their despair and pain .
This is a gripping concept , but it ’s not really alluded to in the film itself . The rest of the Infinity Stones shine at the moment Thanos uses them , but there ’s no telltale glowing around the Soul Stone at the instant Thanos allege this . So , if Thanos ' knowledge of Tony Stark does n’t come from the Soul Stone , where else could it fare from ?
Page 2:Are We Seeing the Ripples of Time-Travel?
Are We Seeing the Ripples of Time-Travel?
Neither of these theory really feels satisfactory . The first does n’t excuse Thanos ’s specific dialog , in which he suggests he is " excommunicate with noesis . " The second , while more complex , does n’t really have any indorse grounds - not even a glow around the Soul Stone . So neither of these explanation quite fits the facts .
There is another possibility , though . What if Thanos has really met Tony Stark before ? There ’s strong evidence thatAvengers 4explores the idea oftime - travel , with the live Avengers move back to the past times . As such , it ’s entirely possible that Thanos could have met a future Tony Stark . That would fit with the snarl of furiousness in Thanos ’s interpreter when he recognizes Stark ’s side . Meanwhile , it would also explicate why Thanos did n’t recognise Tony in his armor ; none of the set photos suggesting prison term - traveling have really featured Tony in the Iron Man suit . Going one whole step further , this may well explain why Thanos snarls , " I hope they recollect you . " Perhaps he already knows when Stark will finally die - because he ’s see it happen ?
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The central trouble with this theory , though , is it does n’t quite match up withthe MCU ’s model of temporal cathartic . So far , all grounds seems to suggest that traveling to the past create a new timeline . So , for example , rent ’s say that Ant - Man travels to the Battle of New York , and accept the Mind Stone - that would create a new timeline , one in which the Mind Stone disappears , Wanda and Pietro Maximoff are never allot their powers , and neither Ultron nor Vision is ever created . If the MCU stays true to the comics , though , there ’s strong grounds the time - traveller could still return to their own timeline ; that was testify in the classic ten - Men storyDays of Future Past . adopt Marvel train to use a logical model of temporal physics , any confrontation between Stark and Thanos should create another limb in the timeline .
But it ’s important to remember that the MCU - like the comics - does n’t exactly handle its pseudo - science in a uniform manner . Just see atthe Pym Particles : does a mortal retain their mass when they shrink , or not ? Some vista suggest they do , with Ant - Man cracking a pave stone when he drop to the ground . Others hint they do n’t , with Hank Pym carrying a tank on his key - range of mountains or pedal a shrunken construction away . The MCU is scientifically consistent , mightily up until the second it is n’t . There ’s no reason to wear Marvel would take a different approach with meter - travelling .
Ultimately , we still do n’t know how Thanos knew Tony Stark . avenger : Infinity Wardoesn’t explain that single melodic line of talks , and frankly every single theory has major issues . The sentence - travel theory at least accommodate with the little we have it away ofAvengers 4 , but it still heighten some disturbing paradoxes . Whatever the truth may be , hopefully it will be revealed in next year ’s subsequence .
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