Spoiler Alert: 'Avengers: Infinity War' has left me with a lot of theories

Zoë Eitel
May 1, 2018
5 min read

It's been a while since you've heard from me, but I have some Thoughts™️ about the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since screaming into the void has not helped me cope with the aftermath of "Avengers: Infinity War," now I'm going to scream at you instead.

I saw "Infinity War" two days ago and since then the pain of the final 20 minutes of the film has subsided enough for me to be able to think about it without bursting into tears or wanting to punch someone (aka Peter Quill). I've read plenty of hot takes on what people think the future of the MCU will look like, what the worst part of the film was, and who the saddest death was, and while some of my thoughts also echo those, I think I've got some pretty hot takes of my own.

Obviously, spoilers abound, go no further lest ye be spoilt.

1. I'm tired of Peter Quill.

There have been plenty of articles breaking down why everyone needs to be mad at Peter Quill aka Starlord, but it just needs to be said that the hyper-masculine display of anger that was punching Thanos in the face was the most idiotic thing he's ever done. In the moment when Tony Stark and Peter Parker have almost pried the infinity gauntlet off of Thanos' big dumb fist, Quill proves that he really is the most impulsive and stupid member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Not only is he not helping Tony and Parker remove the titan's fancy glove, but he's making the situation more stressful and harrowing by mocking Thanos, and then he makes the decision that punching Thanos for killing Gamora is a better option than helping to stop him once and for all. His personal vendetta is more important to him than the fate of the galaxy and I will forever blame him for the disintegration of better and more dependable characters. At this point, I don't care if Quill gets un-dusted.

2. Doctor Strange knew more than he was saying.

It's hard to tell whether Doctor Strange was telling the truth when he said there was only one course of action in which the good guys win. It could have been a strategy to make sure the heroes didn't give up right away, or it could have been accurate. While Strange and half of the galaxy were turned to dust due to Thanos getting his hands on all of the infinity stones, that doesn't mean there isn't an outcome in

which the good guys come out ahead. Despite Tony growing on him, Strange started out his journey to Titan by stating that he wouldn't choose to save Tony or Parker over protecting the Time stone, but that's exactly what he did. When Thanos was a second away from killing Tony, Strange gave up the stone on the condition that Tony be spared. With how logical Strange is, he wouldn't have done so if that wasn't part of the winning path. My theory is that Strange saw that half the galaxy would be disintegrated no matter what they did to stop Thanos, but that there was one path in which everything would end up OK, and Tony surviving was pivotal to its success. There's no other reason Strange would give up the stone and allow himself to turn to dust.

3. Why were all of the original Avengers safe?

This isn't as much of a theory as it is a question. Nearly all of the new Avengers and all but one Guardian of the Galaxy were victim to the dust-pocalypse, but the original Avengers—Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, and maybe Hawkeye—were all spared. This is no coincidence because Marvel doesn't do anything on accident. But it is interesting that almost none of the other heroes were spared. It seems like whatever final showdown Marvel has in store to wrap up the MCU, the original Avengers have specific skills that will be needed, or Marvel is just playing off the nostalgia fans will feel seeing their original heroes run into battle together again.

4. "Ant-Man and The Wasp" could be redeemed.

Who isn't mad at Marvel for scheduling "Ant-Man and The Wasp" for just a couple months after the

painful release of "Infinity War"? The original "Ant-Man" was more light-hearted and fun than these movies tend to be—outside of "Guardians" and "Thor: Ragnarok" at least. So why would Marvel try to make us care about these bug-themed shenanigans when all of our favorite characters are floating through the atmosphere waiting to be saved? My theory is that "Ant-Man and The Wasp" takes place either before or concurrently with "Infinity War." Think about it. What are the odds that none of the principal characters in "Ant-Man" were victim to Thanos' disintegration? Why does everything in the "Ant-Man and The Wasp" trailers seem normal—or at least par for the course for MCU heroes? I think that "Ant-Man and The Wasp" is going to go on as normal but will end with half of the population blowing away in the wind.

5. Marvel makes some bad marketing decisions.

Everyone knows some major plot points that are going to be included in "Avengers 4" due to Marvel's need to announce and market movies so far in advance. Sequels to "Black Panther" and "Spider-Man: Homecoming" have been announced and expected for a while now as well as a volume three for "Guardians of the Galaxy." These films can't exist with their stars—T'Challa, Parker, Quill, Groot, Gamora, Drax and Mantis—dead or turned to dust. Sure, "Guardians" could go on without a couple of those characters, but fans can basically be sure the majority of those characters will be brought back. Since there's no clear way to bring some disintegrated characters back and not others, it's clear that the Avengers are going to pull through and save all of the dust people.

6. All these people are going to die for real while saving the dust people.

However, while the Avengers are guaranteed to save their dusty friends, it's highly doubtful that any of them will survive. It's been a clear fact in my mind for a few films now that Steve Rogers and Tony are not going to survive the series. I didn't have any concrete reasons why they weren't going to survive, but rather it was a feeling that I couldn't shake. After the end of "Infinity War," it's even stronger of a feeling. I know I asked the question why all of the original Avengers were safe earlier in this post, but in my core, I know what the main reason is. They are the ones who would be willing to sacrifice themselves for someone who was killed. Steve for Bucky, Rocket for Groot, Tony for Peter Parker, and Black Widow and Bruce Banner for everyone else since those two are self-sacrificers in any situation. The only Avenger I'm confident will survive until the end is Thor, but if the MCU has taught me anything, it's to not let myself love anyone or hope for any happy ending because it will all end in tears and disappointment.