Avengers: Infinity War was one of the most eagerly awaited movies of the 2018 Summer, and it definitely didn’t disappoint in the box office. Over its opening weekend, it brought in $257 million, and as if the writing of these shownotes, it has grossed a mind-boggling $1.9 billion dollars globally. It certainly drew in Eve and me! With such a powerful global stage and voice, what does Avengers: Infinity War have to say? Is it all about mind-numbing entertainment, or are there any 
deeper messages here? What does the story of Thanos vs. the Avengers reveal about us?
Avengers: Infinity War is the third installment of Marvel’s Avengers, the 19th movie in the celebrated Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the final movie of the Phase Three stage of Marvel’s grand plan of storytelling. It stars EVERYONE. Ok, maybe not literally everyone, but there are a LOT of big names in the credits. All of the major names from the MCU are back (with the exception of Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson), and are joined by the villainous newcomer (to the MCU) Josh Brolin as Thanos. The score is by the prodigious Alan Silvestri, who is no stranger to the MCU, either, with this being the third credit to his name in the francise.
The secrecy in the buildup and release of Avengers: Infinity War was impressive in and of itself. Since it draws on a well known comic book source, there was a great deal of speculation about how the movie might address the events of the source material. The studio went through a great deal of trouble to keep the specifics under wraps; for the most part, they succeeded. Weeks after opening, there are still many who have (somehow) managed to avoid spoilers and be shocked by the ending of the movie.
There was very little not to like about Avengers: Infinity War. It delivered on the hype and was the massive tour de force that everyone expected. It did a remarkably good job letting every major character have a respectable amount of screen time without it feeling forced or mechanical. Still, it is a PG-13 film in and of the world, which means it have some objectionable material. As always, Eve and I recommend checking out the Avengers: Infinity War review over at Plugged In for details on the spiritual elements, violent content, and other pros and cons of the presentation.
For the show notes this time, I’ve decided to try something a little different and present to you what are essentially a slightly cleaned up copy of the notes that Eve and I use when we make our recording. In them, you’ll see a little bit of the questions, answers, and brainstorming that leads up to the final audio product. I hope it helps provide a little back-door insight into the workings of our minds…and hope that doesn’t scare you too much!
Cram it!
Thanos’s Logic
- “The villain is the hero of his own story.”
- Thanos sought to save the universe from itself by eliminating half of all “life”, to prevent the over extension of resources that lead to the death of Titan
- Thanos: When we faced extinction I offered a solution
Dr. Stephen Strange: Genocide?
Thanos: But random, dispassion is fair for rich and poor alike. They called me a mad man. What I predict came unannounced.
Dr. Stephen Strange: Congratulations, you’re a prophet
Thanos: I’m a survivor
Dr. Stephen Strange: Who wants to murder trillions
Thanos: With all the six stones I can simply snap my fingers, they will all cease to exist. I call that… mercy.
Dr. Stephen Strange: Then what?
Thanos: Finally rest, watch the sunrise on an ungrateful universe. The hardest choices require the strongest will.
- Thanos: When we faced extinction I offered a solution
- Thanos: Little one, it’s a simple calculus. This universe has finite resources, finite… if life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correcting.
- “Perfectly balanced as all things should be”
- Not possible in atheism (entropy) or Christianity (God’s sovereign nature)
- Possibly a target or goal simply because it just isn’t achievable?
- Ancient Chinese philosophy of Yin/Yang: equal opposites, universal balance
- Zealots
- Any relation (beyond the obvious) between the zealots of Dormammu and those of Thanos?
- Half will live, half will die: correlation to how predestination is seen by some?
- As the avengers fought to prevent Thanos’s action, so too should we fight to keep people from perishing?
The anti-Gospel (If God was not good)
- Sacrifice of a child
- The selection of the chosen (or the discarded in this case)
- copied from someone’s post in Popcorn Theology:
- Some were chosen to live, while others were not
- He had to sacrifice his child to accomplish his plan of salvation
- His cronies were akin to old testament prophets, preaching the will of Thanos
- Before he accomplished his plan of salvation (getting all the stones), the way Thanos operated was similar to how some might view the way God operated in the Old Testament
- Getting all the stones is viewed as a once-for-all solution of his plan of salvation, compared to how what he did previously was not a final solution.
- We’re viewing this from a perspective of the Gnostics and thus the Avengers are the heroes because they’re fighting back at Thanos (God).
After the Snap
- Comparison to Rapture ideal? (Not very familiar with different eschatologies)
- A world in which half the population simply dies would lose about ¾ of its population
Levels of the MCU’s Gods
- Thor & Loki are “gods”
- Note the change from the first film to the later films
- Loki’s line of “we have a hulk” mirrors Stark’s line from the first avengers movie. It speaks to how overwhelming the physical superiority of the Hulk was to Loki that he turns around and uses the same like on Thanos…only to be contradicted by the line, “Let [Thanos] have his fun.”
- Thanos kills Loki
- “No resurrections this time”
- Loki’s final words to Thanos “You will never be a god”
- Thor as a possible savior?
- Groot’s divinity?
Theories
- Gamora is in the soul stone, her “soul” can be traded for so she can return
- Everyone dusted at the end could be in an altered reality from the Reality Stone. Take the stone away from Thanos, and everyone could return as if they never left (like when Guardians were fighting Thanos on Knowhere
- Already pretty much a given, but Dr. Strange’s comment about the one future where they win dictated that Thanos get all the stones. Strange was playing it all toward that one future, hence his comment at the end. “We’re in the endgame now”
Random Thoughts
- “Somebody get this man a shield!”
For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. (Ephesians 6:13)
- Hulk faces defeat (for the first time?) and refuses to reemerge
- “What master do I serve? What am I supposed to say, Jesus?” I wish I could remember the specifics about this one. I recall Cap making a blatant reference to his faith in the movie, but don’t recall specifics.
- Vision and Scarlet Witch are pulling their own “Romeo & Juliet”
- Quote Commentary:
- Dr. Stephen Strange: [realizing both teams are against Thanos] Ok, let me ask you this, one time: What master do you serve?
Peter Quill: Oh, what master do I serve? What am I supposed to say, Jesus?- Thinking about this from the standpoint that Quill was a 10 year old when taken from Earth and has had no interaction with anyone from the planet since.
- Dr. Stephen Strange: [realizing both teams are against Thanos] Ok, let me ask you this, one time: What master do you serve?
- Thor: You know, I’m 1500 years old. I’ve killed twice as many enemies as that. And every one of them would have rather killed me than not succeeded. I’m only alive because fate wants me alive. Thanos is just the latest of a long line of bastards, and he’ll be the latest to feel my vengeance – fate wills it so.
- Uniting against a common enemy:
- “Thor is gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn’t matter who your talking to or not.”
- They are only criminals because that’s what you choose to call them
Additional Resources
Infinity War Pitch:
- Since the creators dreamed up superheroes, the common thread, woven into the fabric of their literary DNA, was the selfless act of defending the defenseless. Ole’ Spidey even learned early on that, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Your power is not yours alone. It belongs to those who need it.
- Heroes in this film do not wrestle with their destinies. They don’t brood or debate or agonize over putting themselves in harm’s way; they run into danger like stepping into their true calling. It is inspiring and beautiful.
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