Plot Holes and Unanswered Questions in Avengers: Infinity War
STOP IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT. SPOILERS AHEAD
First and foremost, I absolutely loved this film. It was the accumulation of a decade’s worth of work. And we have finally got what we’ve been waiting for… THANOS. Now this film was overall constructed greatly and carefully, so I would give it a 92% overall. With that out of the way, because I did love the film… I did have some issues with it. I’ll walk you through the issues one by one in the order the story is told.
Heimdall
In the opening of the film we see the death of Heimdall, Thor’s “best friend” (RIP Warriors 3… where’s Lady Sif?). In the ruins of the Asguardian refuge ship from Thor Ragnorak, we see what’s left of Thanos’s first on screen purge as all the members aboard are dead. All except for Thor, Loki, Hulk, and Heimdall, whom dies shortly in the first minutes of the film. Issue #1 comes straight from Heimdall. Not only with his own death, but the death of everyone he served to protect. Heimdall has exclaimed in multiple films that he can see the souls and lives of every living person in all of the realms. So my first question to this… How did Heimdall not see this attack coming?
Another thing we see is Heimdall summon the bifrost bridge, seconds before death, that was destroyed (Assumably) with Asguard. Until this point, we were lead to believe it was a machine that transported people; but now we are to believe it was just magic? And if Heimdall had the means of summoning the bifrost, why not summon it and transport everyone from the ship somewhere safe before it was destroyed? He can see all the souls everywhere, so ideally he could’ve picked a place with a good society (Or just their original destination, Earth).
While we’re on the subject of Heimdall, we can assume he saw Loki stealing the Tesseract. So why not just use the space stone to escape?
So if Heimdall can see all the souls, he would’ve known Thanos was coming and would have alerted the Thor to evacuate as soon as possible with the means of Bifrost or Space Stone. And given the fact he can see all souls, he also would’ve seen and known of Thanos’s homicidal crusade; including, the issue I bring up with a line Thor speaks.
Thor Knows About the Fate of Xandar
After meeting the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor explains that Thanos just killed everyone he knew and loved. And we are lead to believe Loki is actually dead this time (Who knows, he has come back from the dead before). Whilst discussing Thanos’s mission to end half the life in the Universe, he casually exclaims “He (Thanos) obtained the power stone when he decimated Xandar a week ago.” This is issue #2 for me. So not only did Heimdall see the decimation of Xandar, but Thor was aware of it as well and did nothing about it. Now arguably, one can say he was dealing with the destruction of Asguard with his family drama and all.. Ok. But the timeline does bring up questions.
Assuming it’s only hours after they have escaped Asguard, Heimdall would have seen the destruction of it during Ragnorak. So why not bring it up then with someone who could have helped? Someone like… Steven Strange? I mean he sent Hulk to him (Assuming intentionally). So why not give him another protector of realms the heads up? Given the casual context at the end of Ragnorak, we can assume Thor did not know during that timeframe; which would mean he found out and did nothing either immediately following the events of Ragnorak.
Before raising the argument, “Perhaps Thanos told him after boarding the ship,” it’s notable that regardless, Heimdall would have known.
Dr. Strange Never Uses Time To His Advantage
YES. Strange has finally met up with the team once he summons Tony Stark, after Hulk crashes into his New York sanction building. The city gets attacked and he fights with another wizard who stops him from using the time stone. But not long after does Iron Man and Spiderman kill the wizard. When the battle is taken to outer space. This is where issue #3 lies for me. After that moment, Strange had (Arguably) the most powerful stone of them all. So from that point forward, why not freeze time or rewind it to your advantage? Eventually we get to the point where Strange and team are face-to-face with Thanos. We never see him use time to his advantage though. For the sake of Strange not being overpowered, I believe this is why we don’t see him use it. Because let’s be honest. When they are trying to pull the gauntlet off of Thanos’s hand, he could have just froze time and pulled it off him with ease. But, this doesn’t happen.
We also see Strange use the stone to look into the multitude of future possibilities to see which they would win against Thanos. It’s safe to assume that these issues are covered in the 1.4 million possible scenarios he sees… but if that were the case, I wish Marvel would’ve at least shown us he why he can’t freeze Thanos.
Gamora’s Logic
Shortly after the beginning, and in between the stories interlocking, Gamora reveals to Star Lord that she has a secret she has been hiding. She then asks Peter (Starlord) to kill her is Thanos captures her… this is because she is the only one who knows the whereabouts of the soul stone. Her logic of asking Peter to end her life if need be makes no sense in the protection of the stone (And the Universe for that matter). And this is why I made it issue #4. And not to mention, if she knew where the stone was and how to obtain it, she would’ve known that acquiring the stone meant trading a soul for soul (Figuratively & literally). Not to mention she had
But think about it… She has been hiding from Thanos for years without him being able to track her down. She is the only person who knows where to find the time that would be vital to him completing the Infinity Gaunlet… so instead of going with Thor to build his new axe, she goes straight to the madman himself; knowing she’ll most likely be captured. No plot twist there when that happens. Not to mention the team is made aware that he is going for, and most likely obtained, the reality stone; which unfortunately, until that scene where she is captured, we really have no understand of what it actually does. I was going to make issue 5 that exact reason with the reality stone, but that’s more of a Thor: The Dark World type of issue.
Thanos Spares Tony Stark’s Life
This is issue #5 for me. I love Iron Man as a character in the MCU; but it is highly unlikely Thanos would spare him for no reason. Arguably, he said it himself, he “Respects” Tony. But I don’t think that respect would be enough to stop a mad titan (On a genocidal mission mind you) from sparing one life. And we’re lead to believe that Dr. Strange exchanging the stone for Tony’s life is what he saw in his vision of the future. Once again, would’ve at least liked a viusal tease like Thor has in Avengers: Age of Ultron, while under Wanda’s (Scarlett Witch) mind spell.
But regardless, Thanos spares Tony’s life. Why? We haven’t the slightest clue. One could argue he is a man of his word… but then why did he kill Eitri the Dwarf’s (Peter Dinklage’s character) people, after he offered to build the gauntlet in exchange for their lives? Or at least that’s how he explained it to Thor. …Doesn’t make much sense to me why he’d spare Tony’s life based off an exchange for the time stone.
Scarlett Witch
First and foremost, I love her character (Even though she randomly dropped the Sokovian accent in the series). But her powers have either grown ridiculously or we just haven’t seen them to scale yet. But that’s not where my issue lies with this character. For starters, she’s pretty much in a relationship with a robot (Vision). But primarily, issue #6 lies in how she uses her powers in the film. Apparently, she has become (Or was) strong enough to destroy the mind stone; and that’s exactly what she ends up doing towards the end of the film. While destroying the stone, she is holding back Thanos (Barely), so we can assume her power has been understated in previous films. But if she was able to destroy the mind stone (In theory before actually doing it), why not take out the gauntlet?
Ok. Maybe that “issue” is a stretch. But riddle me this.. why didn’t we see her reuse her mind trick on Thanos or any of the children of Thanos as well? If she was strong enough to warp Thor’s mind, in theory, she should have been strong enough to do the same to Thanos. This would have lead to time bought and successfully either removing the gauntlet off Thanos’s hand; or, would have bought enough time to get vision (Or the stone) to a safer place.
Or perhaps, did she actually use this trick on Thanos? It may a bit of a stretch, but assume she did for one second… That would mean no one really died and Thanos retreated believing he was wounded by axe, and actually killed off half the universe. Meaning, the final minutes of the film were all in Thanos’s mind.
Unanswered Questions from Infinity War
Who Appointed Red Skull As The Soul Stone’s Guardian?
I waited SO long for the return of Red Skull as I debated with friends over the years on how he was transported, and not killed, by the space stone. He reveals that his curse is “To know all who travel here” (meaning to the stone), after taking the form of a grim reaper. And says he is the guardian of the stone. I love the fact that Marvel tied up this loose end, but now I raise the question… If he was there in solitude, who appointed him guardian of the soul stone? It’s assumed that if you get sucked through a giant vortex and stranded on a planet, just to become the guardian of a mystical stone, that someone would have at least appointed him the guardian of the stone. Not to mention, who gave him the powers to transform into a reaper?
Regardless, this was AWESOME. But the tying up of a loose end does only untie it more. And, does this mean we’ll see a Red Skull return to Earth now that the stone is in Thanos’s possession? No stone to guard means no being bound to confinement there. Just a thought.
Did Peter Dinklage Really Reference Game Of Thrones While Playing The Role Of Eitri?
We FINALLY found out who Dinklage is… Eitri the Dwarf (More like Giant considering he’s 15 times the size of Thor).
Go back and watch this scene if you find yourself in the thirst to view it again. I know I will be. But how dare his in the midst of the multitudes of deaths, bring up one of the saddest Game of Thrones deaths…. Hodor. Yes that’s right. There was an ode to Hodor from GOT if you didn’t catch it. In this screenshot displayed below,
Thor opens the heart of a Star to forge his new weapon; that is presumably strong enough to defeat and kill Thanos. As he opens the flood gates (So-to-speak) we see Dinklage shout twice (Maybe three times. I’d have to rewatch),
HOLD THE DOOR! HOLD THE DOOR!
And if that didn’t make you sad in the midst of a hopeful moment, I don’t know what would make you sad.
Was it a homage to Hodor? Probably not. But being it was Dinklage shouting it (Just like Hodor did), definitely make you think it may have been for a cool easter egg.
UPDATE: This was not the case at all. The line is “Hold it Thor.” Not, “Hold the door.” Would’ve been a cool easter egg though…
Why Didn’t Hulk Want To Fight?
Yeah… Marvel misleads us in the trailer again. We see from the beginning of the film that Bruce Banner is having performance issues with turning into Hulk. In which, at one point he tells Banner, “No!” So, why didn’t Hulk want to fight?
That’s a great question for the film, but the answer is obvious. Hulk is afraid. The film opens with Loki and Thor facing execution by Thanos; until Loki says “We have a Hulk.” But in the midst of the fight, one of the members of the Black Order exclaims, “Let him have his fun.” And ultimately, Thanos ends up beating the Hulk in the fight. Shortly after, Heimdall sends Hulk to Dr. Strange via summoning the Bifrost magically.
Until now, we have seen the Hulk decimate everyone he has fought. And even when it came close to losing a fight, against Thor or Tony (In the Hulk Buster Suit), he never faced an opponent that won’t potentially kill him. Well, not one that would win at least. Thanos was the first villian to beat Hulk and have Hulk face the possibility of death; and for that, Hulk is afraid to fight due to a fear of death.
What Does The Soul Stone Actually Do?
I would like to question the vagueness behind the soul stone. For years fans have wondered it’s whereabouts. And, we have finally seen it… but what exactly does it do? We see Thanos, in the conclusion of the film, snap his fingers with the gauntlet (Complete with the infinity stones) and purge the universe of 50 % of it’s life. But immediately after, he sees the ghost of Gamora as a child. Which in itself is a HUGE QUESTION…
What was that all about? The scene had a whole Black Panther-esque, travel to the “other side” type of feeling. Now, was that meant to simply humanize Thanos? Or, was it the stone being activated? Is Thanos actually seeing the ghost of Gamora? Things we are left on a cliffhanger with… Needless to say, I hope they dive deeper as to what the stone does in its power (Separated from the gaunlet).
How Does Thanos Know Who Tony Stark Is?
In the midst of one of the most epic fights we’ve scene Iron Man engage in to date, Thanos flat out says “Stark.” To Tony in the middle of the fight. To which Tony responds, “You know who I am?” Followed by Thanos’s reponses, “You’re not the only one cursed with knowledge.”
Wow. This line alone was so meaningful because it means one of two things.. One, Tony and Thanos are definitely connected in some way shape or form. Tony even says that he’s been cursed by Thanos ever since the New York attack (And the PTSD can be seen in Iron Man 3). Or two, Tony dropping a nuke on the Chitauri army at the end of the first Avengers film, actually left a notable mark to Thanos’s perspective on humans as a whole. Regardless, the two are somehow connected as Stark has enough rapport to be on Thanos’s need-to-know list, so to speak.
For fan theorists, we can speculate that perhaps Ultron somehow escaped the Battle of Sokovia and somehow found refuge or made contact with Thanos. Thus, prepping him for the fight against the Avengers. Unlikely, sure. But would totally be a cool plot twist for the finale of part 2.
Did Thanos Go Home?
The final question I raise has to do with the end of the film. After accomplishing his purge with the gaunlet, the film ends with Thanos sitting and watching the sunset; as he said he was going to do after he finished his mission. But the planet Titan is a desolate and dead planet for starters. And in that final shot we see him surrounded by green trees and blue skies. Easily assumed he used the reality stone to change the planet’s appearance. But then why doesn’t it change while Tony and Nebula are still there? And if Thanos did return home to Titan, will he acknowledge the fact that (According to his knowledge) he left the Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man, Spiderman, and Nebula on Titan.
