MovieChat Forums > Avengers: Endgame (2019) Discussion > What was the point of Thanos de*spoiler*

What was the point of Thanos despoiler

posted 6 years ago by FootOfDavros (8702)
18 replies | jump to latest

Destroying the infinity stones?

I'm not what you'd call a mcu fanatic but I have seen most of these films, although only once, so maybe I'm not remembering something but...

Why did he bother going to all the trouble of getting them (and exciting everyone by turning up in those mid / post credit scenes) just to snap the world's population back to 1970s levels and then just give up? Wasn't he supposed to be some ancient creature who'd be wanting to do this for a long, long time?

What was the point if all his efforts would be undone after another 30/40 years? (like I say I'm not the biggest fan so maybe they covered this but I just missed it...)

reply

[–] AP (5295) 6 years ago

His purpose was to depopulate the universe and basically retire, which he did. At the beginning of this movie, he mentioned he felt the Stones were "devouring" him so he destroyed them once and for all.

reply

[–] FootOfDavros (8702) 6 years ago

Yeah but as I was saying halving the population just put us back to 70s levels - all his work would be undone within another 30 years or so. Or was there something more to his magic snap than that that I missed?

Otherwise he may as well not have bothered in the first place and simply cut straight to farming on his robinson crusoe in the first place...

reply

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 6 years ago

His hope, apparently, was that the culling would teach intelligent races to control their population growth in the future, once they'd experienced the abundance that the Snap would supposedly provide

Humanity might be set back, numerically, only 40 years. But it would (he believed) learn not to reproduce so quickly going forward.

reply

[–] Kingswood (1307) 6 years ago

Hmmmm, not quite. He said he was afraid they could be used to reverse what he had done.

Something about the temptation would always be there, and he wanted to assure they couldn't be used again.

reply

[–] Lord Rake (4536) 6 years ago

My question is how could the universe ever be over populated? It is the dumbest concept I have ever heard of.

reply

[–] EvilPinata (1186) 6 years ago

Because there's only a finite amount of resources to go around. China has a major problem with overpopulation so they have laws in affect that limit how many children a family can have.

reply

[–] wickerman1271 (949) 6 years ago

I agree with Lord Rake , there's no way the Universe can be over populated, Universe as we know it is infinite

reply

[–] EvilPinata (1186) 6 years ago

So then we have some mass transit the moves people to different planets and galaxies?

Thanos explained he did it because it's exactly what happened on his world.

reply

[–] wickerman1271 (949) 6 years ago

Yes it could be , you don't know what kind resources and technology other aliens races have at disposal

reply

[–] Lord Rake (4536) 6 years ago

Matter cannot be created or destroyed and it is an infinite universe.

And that old China policy was a nightmare for the population.

reply

[–] EvilPinata (1186) 6 years ago

Sure, but resources can still be diminished where there's not enough to go around.

reply

[–] wickerman1271 (949) 6 years ago

There was no point at all , they sould have gone with the comics story , just another dumb plothole , also even though Thanos destroyed them the stones are still there somehow.

reply

[–] EvilPinata (1186) 6 years ago

Kind of sounds like you didn't watch the movie to be honest. He destroyed the Infinity Stones in the present timeline, but the Avengers went back in time to retrieve the stones to reverse what Thanos did and put them back when they were done. What don't you understand?

reply

[–] wickerman1271 (949) 6 years ago

This might be shocking to you but read this entirely

https://www.slashfilm.com/infinity-stones-in-endgame/

reply

[–] EvilPinata (1186) 6 years ago

I don't see how this refutes my point or how it applies to the debate. It's really not shocking at all to be honest. Thanos himself says he reduced them to atoms. I say they're destroyed because like the article says, they can't be used in the atomic state.

reply

[–] Jehosaphet (1063) 6 years ago

That's actually a really good point. According to popular consensus, Thanos is at least 500-600 years old (likely even older than that) and must therefore be very much aware of the finite nature of his snap's affect. He wouldn't view time with the same perspective as us...thirty years to him would be like us waiting for the next Olympics...here before you know it.

Yeah, for the work involved in gathering these eternal stones from all over the universe, I imagine he'd have had the foresight to keep them around.

reply

[–] BrunoAntony (1198) 6 years ago

Thanos expected everyone to share his way of thinking and eventually realize he’d done them a favor.

He said he destroyed the Stones so he wouldn’t be tempted to keep interfering with the course of the universe. His plan was always to retire peacefully after achieving his goal, rather than constantly monitoring the population of the universe.

I’m not sure why people are saying it was to prevent anyone else from taking the Gauntlet from him. “Infinity War” proved that Thanos was impossible to defeat while at full strength and using the Gauntlet.

Younger Thanos realizes people aren’t going to be grateful for what he achieved, which is when he decides to change his plan and recreate the universe ... something older Thanos stopped himself from doing by destroying the Stones.

reply

[–] ultravioletx (10237) 6 years ago

Because his snap was a one-time thing for him to accomplish.

He sought the stones thinking it would satisfy his need for genocide by completing a final mission that would improve the universe. With the mission completed he finally had the option to rest. But then he realized there was no resting while the infinity stones still exist.

reply