Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Captain America: Brave New World
The question of who was to blame for Thanos’ victory over the Avengers in Avengers: Infinity War is a surprisingly complex one, and it’s just got more complicated. For a long time, Star-Lord was the scapegoat, but dig a little deeper than the surface and there are multiple potential claims. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers broke apart the Avengers, Loki weakened the defences of the Nine Realms by taking out Odin, Scarlet Witch implanted a vision of doom in Stark that led to all of his destructive decision making, the Eternals sat everything out… it all played a part.
That’s the fascinating thing about Thanos’ campaign against all existence: it was never as straightforward as a megalomaniac seeking power or death or both. That’s why the Snap has been such a significant influence on the MCU timeline even years after his death, and may well still be in future MCU movies. Even recently, Secret Invasion added to the lore of the Snap, and now a revelation from Captain America: Brave New World‘s ending has potentially shaken things up even more.
Thanos May Never Have Won Without The Avengers’ Break-Up
Earth’s Mightiest Defenders Simply Weren’t That When Thanos Arrived
Thanos’ motivation to attack Earth was obviously tied to his need to acquire the Infinity Stones – itself a means to wipe out half of existence and bring “balance” to the universe. In that respect, it’s hard to argue that anything would have stalled his plan for long: but the MCU firmly established that Thanos was aware of the Avengers (including surprisingly intimate knowledge of Tony Stark in particular) and that to “challenge them is to court death“.
And let’s be honest, the Avengers at full power would have been an incredibly daunting defensive line, but by the time Thanos attacked, they simply weren’t. They weren’t even the Avengers, at that point. Thor was off-world, the two key strategists were torn apart by personal and ideological conflict, and two of the three most powerful heroes (Scarlet Witch and Vision) were distracted by their own personal conflicts.
One of the most compelling MCU theories ever formed suggests that Thanos only attacked Earth when he did because the Avengers were removed from the picture (and after Odin and the Ancient One both died). The Mad тιтan would still have rained terror on Earth, even with the Mightiest Defenders in play, but would he really have won quite so definitively? I’m not so sure.
Captain America: Brave New World Could Have Just Made Civil War Part Of The Leader’s Plan
The Great Puppet Master Behind General Ross Was Just Revealed
The Avengers, of course, were pulled apart at the seams thanks to the machinations of Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl), who took revenge for the death of his family in Sokovia by destroying the heroes from within. But even before Zemo’s plan came to light, the Avengers were set on a course of ideological conflict thanks to the UN’s approval of the Sokovia Accords, which were then adopted by the US government.
Crucially, while the government had pᴀssed the Accords into law, it fell to Thaddeus Ross to be the chief propagandist who approached the Avengers to encourage them to sign. He told them that public opinion was split, and presented the Avengers with reminders of their collateral damage, effectively convincing Tony Stark to accept the government position. Whether Stark and his team would have fallen in line as easily without Ross’ influence is unclear, but Civil War‘s narrative definitively places Ross as a key part of the Accords breaking apart the Avengers.
Flash forward to the events of Captain America: Brave New World, and it turned out that Ross’ rise through the ranks – which saw him become Secretary of State in Civil War – was orchestrated by Samuel Sterns. Ross effectively used Sterns’ superhuman intellect and ability to apply probability to influence outcomes to make himself more powerful, with a promise of freedom once he became President. He effectively sold his soul.
That also means that Sterns would have known exactly what Ross’ part in enacting the Sokovian Accords would have had on the Avengers. And it’s not illogical to think that they would have been deemed an obstacle to his ultimate goal. But even without that conscious element, Sterns was the hidden manipulator who took down the Avengers, and opened up the Earth to Thanos’ devastating attack.
The Leader’s Powers Make Him A Terrifying Presence Behind The MCU
Could He Have Known About Thanos?
In Captain America: Brave New World‘s post-credits scene, Sam Wilson comes face to face with Sterns and in a terrifying reveal, discovers that Sterns’ command of probability has given him near-omnipotent powers of perception. Not only does he warn Wilson of the existence of “others” who he will have to defend Earth from, he says that he has seen it in the probabilities “as clear as day”. Sterns effectively announces that he can see the future, and is unbound by the multiverse.
If Sterns is able to say with absolute certainty that “the others” are coming, then what’s to say he didn’t know Thanos wasn’t also coming? Thanos’ plan was motivated by an immutable truth – that resources are finite – and it doesn’t take a mutant genius to put together the idea that a breaking point would come. But to think that Sterns may have foreseen the Snap “in the probabilities” is in itself a terrifying – and very possible thanks to Captain America: Brave New World – probability.
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