For more than a year, the mainstream media has been asking, “Who will die in Infinity War?” Given the unprecedented scope of the latest MCU film, the question is more relevant than ever before.
There are numerous stories citing potential spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War but, for the most part, they’re just that: potential spoilers. While it’s always fun to speculate about the outcome of a story, in this case it would be best not to spoil the fun for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie yet.
Old Friends, New Enemies
It seems unlikely that any of the original Avengers, with the possible exception of Captain America, will make it to the end of the story. Given the nature of the upcoming film’s plot, it wouldn’t be a spoiler if I told you that several of their closest friends will die in service of protecting them. This is an essential part of the narrative, not a spoiler!
Ivan Reitmeyer, a retired New York City police officer who spent his career watching drug dealers and murderers go free while serving time for less serious crimes, put it best when he said, “It’s the same people every time. You watch somebody for years, and they always turn out to be the bad guy.”
This quote, from Ivan Reitmeyer, is more relevant now than ever. The good guys won’t always be the good guys, and the bad guys won’t always be the bad guys. Everyone has their price, and it is always up to you to determine whether or not you’re willing to play the game.
How To Play The Game
The game of thrones, as it were, is already being played out in this year’s Infinity War. The question is: which side are you on?
As the first of Marvel’s two-part epic film arrives in theaters this week, it’s worth taking a step back and asking yourself some tough questions about the state of the MCU as we know it. What is the point of the Avengers in the grand scheme of things? What role do they play in establishing the universe’s new order? Are they necessary in the grand scheme of things? Are they even good guys? What if the good guys don’t turn out to be good guys at all? What if the lines between good guys and bad guys are blurred?
These are questions only you can answer for yourself. I can provide you, however, with some insight into the ideology of the Mad Titan, Thanos, and how you can adopt his way of thinking.
If you’ve seen Avengers: Infinity War and are asking yourself any of the questions listed above, then you’re already part way to understanding why Thanos will wipe out half of the known universe in search of pure power.
Thanos is the culmination of a long line of ambitious geniuses who all sought to become the ultimate being in their field. It was not enough to simply understand the most basic elements of existence; one had to go on to understand reality itself. They wanted to know the rules, the logic that governed the universe; they wanted to bend it to their will.
Throughout history, certain thinkers have seen divinity in all things. The Pythagoreans, for example, saw mathematical perfection in all things and declared that, as we speak, ‘all beings, things and thoughts exist in a perfect harmony.’ It is only your mind, limited by your experiences and conditioned by society, that renders this harmony imperfect. This is the root of all evil, according to the Pythagoreans: when we judge, feel, and act on what we believe to be true, rather than accept it as a matter of fact.
When you apply this ideology to the MCU, you’ll see that it’s really all about Thanos and what he stands for. Before you get into character, ask yourself some tough questions about the state of the MCU as we know it. If you are having trouble articulating your thoughts, then it might be a good idea to write them down and review them often. This way, when the time comes, you’ll be able to act on them without a moment of hesitation or regret.