This is a support group meeting for those traumatized by the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Hang in there, we’ll get through this together. We’re here for you.
Spoilers ahead, of course. Go away if you haven’t seen it yet.Still with me? Cool.
An essential part of recovery is acceptance. So let’s admit what happened: Thanos killed everybody. Ok, half of everybody. But it sure felt like all was lost when the credits rolled. Not only did we lose beloved characters Heimdall, Loki, Gamora, and Vision in the course of the story. But then, the Mad Titan’s insane plan to “save” the universe by killing half its population actually came to fruition. He acquired the six Infinity Stones necessary to control time, space, and reality itself, among other things. Then, with a snap of his fingers, poof. Many of our favorite heroes simply turned to ash and blew away in the wind.
I WASN’T READY. I WILL NEVER BE READY.
But the brothers Russo consulted none of us before breaking our collective hearts with two minutes of film. In that time, we lost Black Panther, Spider-Man, Bucky Barnes, Falcon, Doctor Strange, Groot, Drax, Star-Lord, Mantis, and Scarlet Witch; and in the post-credits scene, Maria Hill and Nick Fury.
No. Nononononononononono. I refuse. And now, we have to wait an entire YEAR to find out what happens next. It’s barbaric. But I am here to offer you a bit of hope.
You see, death is rarely permanent in comic books. Loved characters are killed off to further a storyline. Then, their super friends find a way to bring them back. In fact, this is exactly what happened in the Infinity War comics. Events are reversed, negated, undone entirely, to restore our beloved heroes to life. With the Time, Soul, and Reality stones, literally anything is possible.
Time could be used to go back to the moments before Thanos’ victory, once a way is found to defeat him. Soul could restore their souls to their physical bodies, thus resurrecting them. Or Reality could simply create a new existence in which none of them ever died at all. It’s pretty mind-bending stuff, but it’s all on the table.
But how will they overcome an enemy as formidable as Thanos? Is it even possible? According to Stephen Strange, it is – albeit with approximately a 0.0000000714% chance of success. Great odds, right?
But it may be all they need. In observing more than 14 million possible outcomes, the Sorcerer Supreme saw exactly one in which the Avengers were victorious. He then proceeded to surrender the Time stone to Thanos – after telling Tony Stark in no uncertain terms that he would let both Stark himself, and even young Peter Parker, die in order to protect the gem. Nothing was more important than keeping it from the Titan. So what gives? Why hand it over?
The only logical explanation is that his actions coincided with the one possible outcome in which the Avengers are successful. Tony must be absolutely essential to their victory, for Strange to go back on his word so easily. So will he find a way to destroy Thanos, acquire the Gauntlet, then use the gem to reverse events to the point that they can kill him before anyone else is harmed?
It’s an ideal scenario, but there are other possibilities. Let’s look next to the Soul stone. Remember, when so many perished, they didn’t just drop dead. They ceased to exist entirely. Their physical bodies were gone, along with their life force. Which leads me to believe that they’re not dead at all – they are simply being imprisoned in an alternate dimension. Perhaps one that actually exists inside the gem itself. Therefore, control of that stone would be the key to releasing them.
Finally, there’s the Reality gem. Its wielder could simply construct a new reality. One in which our heroes never died at all. They defeated Thanos and lived to tell the tale, and no one else would be the wiser. It would be as it always should have been – the good guys emerge victorious and unscathed.
I don’t know about you, but this thought process makes me feel SO MUCH BETTER. We just have to wait a bit, and everything will be set right. Patience, Grasshopper. Avengers 4 will be here sooner than you think.
Do you think it’s possible? Will our favorite heroes be resurrected? Which scenario seems most likely to you? Tell us in the comments!