Ten years ago, Iron Man released to critical acclaim and ushered in a new age of cinematic fervor. Since then, we have gotten twenty films in the franchise all building up to a climactic showdown with the overarching antagonist, Thanos. While his story isn’t over quite yet, we did finally get to see what the MCU was building up to in Infinity War. Almoಌst every single major character played a role in the film as Thanos utterly dominated our heroes, ultimately coming out the victor and Snapping away half of existence. It was a morbid end to a film that we all believed would bring Thanos’ story to a close.

Although we still have The Avengers 4 to look forward to, it’s hard to imagine that any single film in the franchise will be met with the same event-like status and acclaim as Infinity War. A movie so bombastic, Infinity War may very well change the landscape of blockbuster cinema. As a result of its popularity, people tend to write it off quite a bit as a shallow superhero movie. While it does have its shallow moments, Infinity War is far more nuanced than the masses give it credit 🐬📖for.

25 Thanos Couldn’t Just “Make More Resources” ไ

If you’re the kind of person who considers it a plot hole that Thanos didn’t create more resour✤ces with the Infinity Stones, you’ve missed the point of his character. Thanos could never just “make more resources,” because that’s not what’s motivating him. In his eyes, the world doesn’t have a lack of resources; it has an overabundance of people.

Character motivations don't work like that. 

The fact the film never addresses this alternative point of view is a good thing, too, as this isn’t an idea worth humoring or justifying. Thanos is a💦 villain and his motivations to do not need to be justified. Even then, the MCU is telling a story. It isn’t compelling if the main antagonist wants to🐼 create more resources instead of wiping out half of humanity.

24 🐭 Thanos Expecting Gamora On Knowhere Isn’t A Plot Hol𒉰e

It’s not unusual to see fans claim that Thanos expecting Gamora on Knowhere is a plot hole. On a purely surface level, it does make some degree of sense. After all, how would Thanos know she would go to him? More importanᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚtly, why would he bother ꧑waiting if his goal is to collect the stones as fast as possible?

When it comes down to it, though, there are multiple ways to answer this “plot hole.” The clearest answer is that Thanos knew Gamora would eventually go to Knowhere because Nebula told him. Another alternative answer is that Thanos just seized the opportunity to nab Gamora while she was🃏 around.

23 ♋ Infinity War Is A Complete Story

There is this idea that Infinity War is just one half of a larger two-part movie and, while the films did begin that way, it is quite clear that the script is over and done ༒by the last scene. By the time credits roll, the story of Infinity War is over. Mind you, this is not to say the story of the MCU is over, but just this one individual film.

The MCU could have realistically ended here. 

This is a movie following Thanos’ goal to wipe out half of humanity. At the end of the film, he succeeds 💞and peacefully retires. There༺’s really nothing more to the story. Is it a morbid ending? Of course it is, but all the major arcs come to a close and the story is thematically and narratively resolved.

22 💛 💃 Tony Isn’t The Main Character

Since the MCU is inherently an ensemble franchise, it can be difficult to pinpoint one singular “main character.” Most fans agree that the overarching protagonist is either Tony Stark or Steve Rogers with logic dictating that it may very well be the former. Coming into Infinity War, though, Tony isn’t the main character.

The movie does try to pass off the illusion he is, granted. Of all the heroes, Tony has the most screen time and the clearest character arc. He’s the one who fights Thanos last and he’s the character who drives the “h♓ero” side of the plot. At the end of the day, thoཧugh, he’s just a supporting player in another character’s story.

21 Th♋anos Is The Main Character 𒁃

It shouldn’t come as no surprise, but Thanos is indeed Infinity War’s main character. This doesn’t mean he isn't’ th🍷e villain or the MCU’s overarching antagonist, but the film is🍸 very much about Thanos. Thanos drives the plot, Thanos has the most screen time, and Thanos has the most definable arc.

They could have called the movie "Thanos: Infinity War."

Thanos has his ideᩚᩚ𒈔ᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚals challenged halfway through the movie, requiring him to sacrifice the person he loves most to stay true to his resolve. Thanos fights for a cause he genuinely believes in, and it’s morally grey enough to sway audiences. Thanos bookends the movie, capping us off with a scene of him watching the sunset. Thanos is the main character.

20 📖 The Hulk Wasn’t Cut From The Movie

Marketing is often misleading. Given the cynical nature of the movie industry, it can be easy to claim that marketing is often intentionally misleading, and sometimes it done for cynical purposes, but this is far from the case with Infinity War. Despite the Hulk appearing in multipleꦿ trailers, he was never actually a part of the film.

He's there in spirit. 

Rather, the Hulk was alluded to in trailers specif♔ically to make fans question Bruce’s arc going into the movie. He can’t trigger Hulk, but the trailers show Hulk! Naturally, he’ll transform. Bru💝ce doesn’t, though, he doesn’t have it in him. It’s a gem of marketing that helped mold a unique and powerful character arc for Bruce.

19 𝐆 There’s A Reason𝔍 We Don’t See Thanos On Xandar

“Show, don’t tell” is 💦a golden rule of writing, and as it should be. It is far more effective to show the audience something than to tell them it occurred. At the same time, not every rule is meant to be followed with such a stiff rigidness. In some cases, it can be beneficial to simply allude to events off-screen.

Skipping over Thanos’ conquering of Xandar is incredibly important as it immediately establishes him as a threat we cannot realistically comprehend. When we later see how much damage we can do, the impact is all the mor💖e powerful. Showing Xandar early would have robbed Thanos of his en🔜dgame weight.

18 Marvel Was Always 🎉Going To Spoil The Reversal Of The Snap

Look, Disney is running a business, and Marvel Studios is part of said business. There was no realistic outcome where we didn’t know that Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Dr. Stange were going to come back after the Snap. When it comes down to it, movies needed𒉰 to be marketed and advertised. Not even the MCU can get away with a weak marketing campaign.

Spider-Man: Far From Home needs its marketing campaign. 

The Snap’s reversal was always going to be spoiled, because it logically always needed to be from a business perspective. Is that good storytelling? Not really, but the impact of uncertainty really only lasts until new movies are made so it’s ultimately ꧑better to spoil it early and ensure the continuati♔on of the series.

17 Thor Getting A New Weapon Doesn’t Reverse His Ar♕c 𒁏

Phase 3 has been far kinder to Thor than Phases 1 and 2.ꦆ Not only is his movie arguably the best one in the Phase, he actually has a character arc that develops him instead of s🌊imply circling around the concept of “development.” Having lost his eye and hammer, Thor has become a new man.

Which brings into question: does giving him a new weapon invalidate his arc? No, not really. Thor still has to work for his new weapon. He suffers for it. He needs to earn that strength back. It does not reverse his arc at all. What does reverse it is giving him a new eye- gone is the remainder of pain and gro🧸wth.

16 The Black Order Was Always Going To Be Windo𒆙w Dressing

The onlဣy thing more surprising than the Black Order basically amounting to fodder is the MCU fanbase assuming they would be anything but fodder. Who was built up for ten years? Thanos or the Black Order? I’ll give you a hint, it’s the one that’s the name of an actual person and not an organization.

Not everyone has to be important. 

The Black Order doesn’t need to be more than what it is. They work as a group of baddies meant to be taken out before the final showdown with Thanos. They all lose by the end of the film, but why shouldn’t they? This is not their story. If this were The Avengers: Black Order, maybe it’d be more egওregious, but that isn’t the case.