In Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange tells Tony Stark there’s only one way to defeat Thanos right before he hands over the Time Stone. We assumed this was the only way to stop the Mad Titan in Avengers: Endgame, but maybe Strange’s focus wasn’t on Thanos at all. Maybe he was focused on an even greater threat: the Mind Stone.
An interesting new theory suggests that, while there may have been more than one way to defeat Thanos, Doctor Strange gave the Time Stone away knowing Thanos would destroy all five because that’s exactly what he wanted to happen.
Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame ahead.
License avast premier 2018. Redditor u/cmcraes posits that, knowing the Mind Stone corrupts whoever wields it, Doctor Strange had to make sure the Snap happened so that Thanos would then destroy the Infinity Stones (which he does at the start of Endgame).
The stones each have immense power. We saw what their power did to Hulk’s arm and how it killed Iron Man. Doctor Strange needed to ensure that the stones wouldn’t fall into anyone else’s hands, and Thanos was the only one powerful enough to demolish them.
“Dr. Strange saw the future, 14,000,605 futures, and in them all he realized a pattern,” u/cmcraes writes. “Stopping Thanos is not enough: the Mind Stone continues to corrupt those near it and genocide reigns.”
Endgame made it clear that defeating Thanos is something the Avengers were capable of all along. After all, the Mad Titan was defeated not once, but twice over the course of the film. Ever the magician, Doctor Strange knew exactly what he was doing, though he maintained the cover that Thanos was the ultimate big bad. The destruction of the Mind Stone in the present (and Captain America returning it to the past) means it really is gone for good in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This theory makes a lot of sense, especially if we stop to consider the Sorcerer Supreme’s reaction to Strange willingly handing off the Time Stone. She knew it had to have been for a good reason and trusted Strange’s judgement. After all, the Mind Stone has the power to warp minds, and every time someone’s taken hold of it, it’s only led to violence and chaos. The Mind Stone has influenced several characters over the course of 22 films, including Loki, who Marvel confirmed was corrupted by the scepter that used to house it.
Redditor u/cmcraes believes that, without the power of the Mind Stone, Loki’s actions in The Avengers wouldn’t have been so extreme. He’s always sought to cause mischief, but that doesn’t make him evil (though that’s up for fan debate). Then there’s Tony, who built Ultron after seeing the vision from Scarlet Witch. How did Scarlet Witch get her powers? You guessed it: from the Mind Stone.
In addition, Ultron, influenced by the powerful stone, wanted to wreak havoc on Earth without a second thought. It could even be argued that Hydra, already a dangerous organization, wanted to cause even more destruction while briefly under the scepter’s influence in Captain America: Winter Soldier.
The Mind Stone was also the first stone in Thanos’ possession before he lost it. Interestingly, it was also the last stone to be collected in Endgame. He “had the mind stone for a long while,” u/cmcraes continues. “And when Titan was on the brink of collapse, he asked it for a solution and it led him to genocide.”
Prior to Endgame, one leak hinted that the movie would reveal a bigger threat than Thanos. What if that bigger threat was never another powerful alien entity? What if, instead, it was the Mind Stone all along? Its influence helped shape many of the major events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the other Infinity Stones are powerful, too, none of them corrupted anyone like the Mind Stone did, officially making it even more dangerous than Thanos.
Thankfully, the Avengers can rest easy now that it’s gone for good, though we’re sure Marvel will come up with another reason to assemble Earth’s mightiest heroes before too long.
Avengers: Endgame is currently playing in theaters.
Doctor Strange and Loki were both dead by the end of Avengers: Infinity War, but is it possible that the two Marvel magicians could be working together to beat Thanos? After noticing a few shocking similarities between how these characters act in the previous movie, we have a feeling that they might be using time travel to trick everybody.
My theory? Doctor Strange and Loki have already hatched a plan at some point in the MCU timeline. We just haven’t seen it yet.
This is just one Inverse String Theory, but it could be true. So consider yourself warned about potentialAvengers: Endgamespoilers.
Avengers: Infinity War offers a few very distinct visual parallels between Doctor Strange and Loki. Both magicians use a similar spell to hide the Infinity Stones from Thanos, for example. When Loki materializes the Tesseract, he does so with what looks like a specific hand gesture, and it becomes visible almost as if from some kind of wipe transition.
Much later, when Doctor Strange summons the Time Stone, he also raises his hand palm-down before twisting it upwards with a very specific gesture with his fingers. Here, it looks like he’s plucking the Stone out of the sky, almost like he hid it as a star.
Doctor Strange Endgame Sees Future
Is that just because they both use magic? Or is it meant to hint at something more?
Yet another striking visual similarity between Doctor Strange and Loki is that at the end of their encounters with Thanos, the Mad Titan chokes each of them with his left hand, the Infinity Gauntlet hand.
Granted, Thanos also chokes Vision with his Gauntlet hand when taking the Mind Stone. Maybe he also chokes The Collector when taking the Reality Stone? Either way, the guy’s really into choking.
Still the similarities are hard to ignore, but what do they mean for Avengers: Endgame?
In some sense, this entire theory could involve a new and popular assumption that when Doctor Strange used the Time Stone to peer into various timelines, he was actually sending an astral projection of himself into the future, or even into the past.
Doctor Strange could have used the power of the Time Stone to contact anyone in the past or future. Which is ironic considering that during their battle Thanos references the Time Stone, saying, “You never once used your greatest weapon.”
Doctor Strange probably did, but Thanos (and the viewer) don’t know it yet.
![Future Future](/uploads/1/2/3/7/123717426/518784430.jpg)
So what if Doctor Strange’s astral projection went back to the events of Thor: Ragnarok to ensure that Loki took the Tesseract from the Asgardian vault? Or a different point in time between then and the start of Infinity War?
This could sync up nicely with another recent theory from redditor u/fishgrey that Doctor Strange used the combined powers of the Time and Space Stones to send both Stones into the future where Tony Stark can study them and build his own version of the Infinity Gauntlet. When each Stone materializes in Loki’s and Strange’s hand, that’s the Stone returning to the point in time where they have to be.
This would also help explain why keeping Tony Stark alive was so important. In the future presented in Avengers: Endgame, he plays a majorly important role in undoing Thanos’ Decimation, but for that to happen, Doctor Strange and Loki needed to work together to make sure Tony had time figure out a plan.
Inverseis posing a few theories of its own with Inverse String Theory, ahead of the premiere ofAvengers: Endgame.
Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26, 2019.
Warning: the following contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.
Avengers: Endgame explains Doctor Strange's plan from Avengers: Infinity War. The only reassurance from the enormously downbeat ending to Avengers: Infinity War of Thanos completing his mission was Doctor Strange telling Tony Stark that him giving up the Time Stone was the only way to possibly defeat the Mad Titan. It was a moment that, while also supplying the title for Avengers: Endgame, fueled enormous speculation as to what Strange meant, and what the future held for Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
With the power to see possible futures, Doctor Strange had viewed 14,000,605 futures from the moment he, Spider-Man and Iron Man ran into the Guardians of the Galaxy and were awaiting Thanos' arrival. Of all those feasible outcomes, only one had ended in their victory, the rest ending in some version or other of defeat that was impossible to come back from.
Continue scrolling to keep readingClick the button below to start this article in quick view.
advertising
RELATED: No More Time Stone In The MCU Is Dangerous News For Doctor Strange 2
Strange was setting up a seriously long play, as evident by the five-year gap between the central plot of Avengers: Endgame and the ending of Infinity War. But it was one that ultimately worked, allowing the Avengers to reverse the snap and defeat Thanos, though it came at great sacrifice.
Doctor Strange Gave up The Time Stone In Infinity War
After both Iron Man and Doctor Strange went one-on-one with Thanos and lost, Strange makes a left-field move and gives up the Time Stone. He just hands the Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Titan the green gem, which Strange had sworn to protect as part of becoming a sorcerer, essentially guaranteeing Thanos' success.
advertising
Moments previously, Strange had confessed that out of millions of variable timelines, he had only found one single sequence of events that allowed the heroes any kind of chance for ultimate victory. Him giving away the Time Stone, an object central to Strange's entire role as a Sorcerer Supreme, was confirmation that whatever he saw was non-negotiable. It had to happen if there was to be a second round with Thanos, no matter how far-fetched or precise the path to that round two was going to be.
RELATED: Why Superhero Movies Like Endgame Are Key To Hollywood Staying Ahead Of Netflix
What's more, giving up the stone allowed everyone on that planet – Strange, Stark, Spider-Man and half the Guardians of the Galaxy – to escape being murdered in cold blood. Many of them were killed in the Snap, but could, and would, return when the Snap is reversed, whereas there's no way to revive the conventionally killed. Strange's sacrifice is a clever character beat that served a wider narrative and immediate circumstances.
advertising
Doctor Strange Knew Iron Man Had To Die For Victory In Endgame
Strange and Stark are too busy during the final act of Avengers: Endgame to deliver an exposition dump of what exactly Strange's plan was and whether it lined up with what the Avengers did, but we can presume it was probably pretty close. Tuneskit audible aa/aax converter cracked. A lot of factors line-up to put Endgame in motion, such as Scott Lang being freed from the Quantum Realm by a rat and the presence of Captain Marvel. There's a lot of circumstances that couldn't be predicted unless you had some ability through time.
Towards the end, as the massive blow-out battle between every hero and good army in the MCU against Thanos and his Chitauri fleet rages on, several protagonists center their efforts on preventing Thanos from getting their new homemade Infinity Gauntlet. Captain Marvel, Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man all take various shots at him, all landing blows but none quite taking him out, the Purple Titan getting closer and closer to perpetrating another Snap and rending all efforts mute. Stark makes eye-contact with Strange, who raises his finger to tell him that there's one way this works out – and it's up to Tony.
advertising
RELATED: Avengers: Endgame's Ending & Marvel Movie Future Explained In Detail
Stark makes a go for Thanos' glove, but instead of trying to take the glove, he takes the stones off it. By the time Thanos realizes, it's too late, and Tony has lodged the stones into his suit to absorb their power. Defiantly proclaiming that he is Iron Man, Tony makes the Snap, and Thanos and the Chitauri are erased from existence just as half the universe's population had done previously, and a badly burned Tony dies on the battlefield after.
Strange knew it had to be Tony. He was the only one who could steal the stones and wield them himself with his suit. Every time they'd tried to remove the glove from Thanos it failed, but taking the stones off? That was unexpected. And so, the man who started the MCU was the one who saved it, just as he'd done during the invasion of the New York and Sokovia, except this time, he wasn't coming back.
advertising
Even The Ancient One Realized Doctor Strange's Idea Was Next Level
When the team travel back in time to 2012 New York to retrieve the three stones there, Bruce Banner has the unenviable task of trying to convince the Ancient One to give him the Time Stone. Though kind and receptive to his presence, the Ancient One refuses at first, not only because she swore to protect the stone, but because him taking it would splinter her timeline into a new, darker reality. Banner promises they will be returning the stones to their exact locations in their timeline after, but more importantly, tells her of Strange's decision to give Thanos the stone, and that it was all part of a masterplan.
advertising
The Ancient One yields, with the foreknowledge that Strange was to become the new Sorcerer Supreme and the keeper of the stone and that if this is all part of something he put in motion, his insight is to be trusted.
RELATED: Avengers: Endgame - Every Character In [SPOILER]
Strange's plan is massive, with a lot of moving parts. Even carried out by Earth's Mightiest Heroes, it's a long-shot to say the least, yet he had faith in them that they were capable enough to pull-through. Faith enough to hand over one of the most coveted treasures in the universe to a genocidal maniac safe in the knowledge that this defeat will only be temporary.
advertising
The Ancient One can't see past her own death, so she has a limited view of who Doctor Strange becomes. Even in what she has though, she has enough to understand his incredible abilities and precise nature. He is not a man to gamble and take risks or operate out of heightened emotions. He makes moves because they make sense, protect the Sanctum Sanctorum and serve the greater good that he has sworn an allegiance to. His plan might be completely wild, but the circumstances are calling for something that shakes the very foundations of existence, and he was always sure they'd pull through. This is universe-wide genocide they're dealing with, the time for playing safe or coy is through.
![End End](/uploads/1/2/3/7/123717426/903839414.jpg)
advertising
RELATED: Captain America's MCU Future After Avengers: Endgame
Strange saw how remarkable the Avengers are. Their unabashed heroism, cunning, and courage. They aren't easily beaten and they definitely don't take losing very well. If there's any team willing and able to take the plunge of bending time and space in order to do what needs to be done, it's them. The one chance Strange saw required a lot of them, and there's several moments where it nearly slips through their fingers, but they pull through because that's what the Avengers do. He saw that and he banked on it and, wouldn't you know it, he was right.
advertising
The Ancient One understood there was little to fear even if she wasn't going to be around to see it. After all, Stephen Strange was to be the best of them, and his Infinity War plan only proves it.
NEXT: Every MCU Phase 4 Movie Avengers: Endgame Sets Up, Including Doctor Strange 2
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) release date: Jul 02, 2019
What Time Stranger Things Season 3 Releases On Netflix
advertising
Leave A Comment
Avengers: Endgame featured the return of all those dusted in Avengers: Infinity War, including one Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Despite being one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most powerful heroes, the Master of the Mystic Arts ended up being a non-factor in the final fight, instead coaching Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) along the way.
After he was such a formidable opponent against Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Infinity War — who at the time, had an almost-completed Infinity Gauntlet — why would he step aside in Endgame, when it really mattered most? As one recent fan theory explains, it's because what was needed to make sure they were able to defeat Thanos.
That's an easy enough of an explanation, right? Let's dive a bit deeper into it. Strange ended up seeing more than 14 million futures and according to him, they only won one future..apparently the one where he hardly had a hand in the fight. That would bring up another point — why was there only one future in which they won that didn't have Strange putting up a fight?
Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) each had their hand in helping take on the Mad Titan in the final fight, so why not Strange? Perhaps the filmmakers thought it'd be too easy of a fight for Strange to win. After all, a decked-out Thanos was nervous about the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak on Titan. In fact, the baddie needed nearly needed several Infinity Stones to defeat just Strange's self-replicating spell.
Perhaps another situation was the fact that Strange is lying about seeing just one future in which they won. If you think back to Doctor Strange, the doctor was pretty distressed that he killed just one of Kaecilius' zealots. If he was still on-board with the Hippocratic Oath, perhaps 'the' future he saw them winning was the one where the least amount of people died. That'd certainly be a grim take on the ordeal, yet something that would completely fall in character with the sorcerer.
The Curlin 6000 CMS Ambulatory IV Pump is a technologically advanced, multi-therapy ambulatory electronic infusion pump capable of continuous, PCA, PCEA, Subcutaneous, TPN, in. How to use iv pump. MOOG Medical Devices Group Curlin 6000 Series ™ Ambulatory Infusion Pump CLINICIAN INSTRUCTIONS. NOTE: To remove air from IV bag, turn bag upside down after attaching the set and gently squeeze bag. Curlin 6000 Series ™ Ambulatory Infusion Pump CLINICIAN INSTRUCTIONS. MOOG Medical Devices Group. Related products. Olympus KV-5 Suction Pump Endoscopy.USED. $ 1,097.99 $ 950.00 Read more Jobst Extremity Pump Intermittent Compression Unit Home Model II 2.USED. $ 174.95 Add to cart Baxter Ipump I-Pump IV Infusion Therapy System Ambulatory Pain Pump.USED. Rent the Moog Curlin 6000 CMS Ambulatory Infusion Pump or other Ambulatory Infusion Pumps from the KWIPPED equipment rental marketplace.
0commentsWhat was your favorite shot of Avengers: Endgame? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or by tweeting me at @AdamBarnhardt to chat all things MCU!
Avengers: Endgame is now in theaters and will be followed by Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 2nd. Captain Marvel is now available digitally ahead of a digital media release on June 11th.
-----
Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.
In this latest episode we go all-in on Spider-Man: Far From Home with a spoiler-free review, big changes coming to WWE with the return of Eric Bischoff, a bit of Henry Cavill news and more! Make sure to subscribe now to never miss an episode!