Infinity War left audiences reeling as Thanos snapped his fingers. Half of all life was wiped out across the universe and fans have waited a year to find out how and if it could be reversed. With the sequel Endgame packing out cinemas worldwide, the truth has been revealed at last. But does it make sense? is there a major plot hole at the heart of the movie? Warning: everything beyond this point is a major spoiler.
The movie opens with the surviving heroes discovering Thanos has used the Stones again, which enables them to track him to his planet.
He reveals he used the stones, to destroy themselves so that nobody could ever reverse his actions.
This kickstarts the central part of the film where everybody goes off on a “time heist” to retrieve the Stones from various points in the past.
And yet surely this whole plotline should be completely impossible? The Ancient One herself reveals why…
The Hulk is sent to New York to get the Time Stone. After his attempt to use force on Tilda Swinton’s wonderful Sorcerer Supreme is easily dismissed, he politely asks her to give him the Stone to save the future.
She explains this will put her own present reality in peril as it diverts on a new path, which is why the Stones have to be returned to their original points of original at the end of the movie.
So far, so logical (sort of).
Except that during their conversation, the Sorcerer Supreme also reveals that all the Stones are required intact for time to keep flowing. And surely she should know?
Surely this means that destroying them would have catastrophic implications for the entire universe and all of existence. They represent the key aspects of life, time and reality, after all.
The MCU has already downplayed their potency since Scarlett Witch destroyed Vision’s Mind Stone in Infinity War, so perhaps destroying all six does not mean the end of everything.
Except, didn’t the Ancient One imply that it did?
Our heads already hurt from all the time travel paradoxes, so perhaps we are missing something important? Answers on a postcard, scroll, holographic computer console or astral projection, please.
AVENGERS ENDGAME IS OUT NOW