Why Did Thanos Want the Infinity Stones in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’?

In “Avengers: Infinity War,” the villainous Thanos sets out to collect all six Infinity Stones – powerful artifacts that, when combined, give the wielder god-like abilities. But what exactly does Thanos want to do with these stones, and why is he willing to go to such lengths to obtain them? As fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe know, Thanos’ quest for ultimate power has far-reaching consequences for the fate of the Universe and its inhabitants. In this article, we’ll explore the motivations behind Thanos’ obsession with the Infinity Stones and examine how his actions in “Infinity War” set the stage for the epic conclusion to the Avengers saga.

Thanos wanted Infinity Stones to decimate half of all life in the Universe to bring balance to it due to diminishing resources. At first, Thanos was conquering planets and committing genocides the old fashion way using nothing but his own powers and force but eventually figured out that the process was taking too long. Infinity Stones were a way for him to speed up the process significantly and cause mass destruction, and this is why he sought them.

Now that we’ve covered Thanos’ motivations in short, it’s time to analyze this in a bit more depth. If you want to know what significance Infinity Stones held to Thanos, stay with us and keep reading!

Thanos declared war on the Universe to save it

Before we explain why Thanos needed Infinity Stones, we must explain exactly what he tried to accomplish during the Infinity Saga. In the MCU, Thanos is a Titan that hails from the planet of the same name. His backstory is somewhat tragic, and one could say that it might have been avoided with proper planning and strategizing.

Titan was a flourishing planet with highly developed technology, science, and society in general. Like most highly advanced civilizations, Titan suffered from overpopulation and a lack of resources. Thanos proposed a plan to cull 50 % of the population of Titan to save it. The leaders of this planet called him a madman and mocked him. Thanos’ plan was rejected, but to be honest, nothing else was done to avoid what followed.

Due to the rapidly diminishing resources on the planet, the fights began, and the planet was soon struck by the catastrophe that turned it into a barren wasteland. All of this cemented in Thanos thoughts that he was ultimately right. He recognized that this problem was not limited to Titan alone, and soon, the whole Universe would deal with the same problem. He needed to do something about it.

We’re not going to get into why Thanos decided that HE needs to be the one to deal with it. It’s probably partly due to his god complex and partly because he considered that he was the only one strong enough to do it. In the end, it doesn’t matter. He set out on a voyage to eliminate at least 50 % of the Universe’s biological life to prevent resource exhaustion.

Thanos started conquering planets but realized it was taking to much time

Before Thanos set his sights on Infinity Stones, he started conquering planets, genociding entire races and populations of planets. This is how he acquired both of his daughters. Thanos had enough power to brutally conquer the planets he visited and was successful for a time. All the places where he culled half of the population were thriving after he left and left them to their own devices.

At one point, he realized that he couldn’t do this alone. There were far too many biological lifeforms in the Universe to cull, and he was running out of time. No matter how powerful he was and what size of armies he commanded, he would never make it in time. And there you have it. Thanos started searching for Infinity Stones because he realized that destroying half of the life in the Universe would take too much time, and he will never manage to do it in time to balance the Universe and save it.

Why did Thanos need Infinity Stones?

Thanos is considered among the smartest characters in the comics, and due to this, he is likewise considered among the greatest strategist there is. As a great strategist, he realized that he would need immense amounts of power in order to achieve his goal efficiently and in a reasonable amount of time. This is where Infinity Stones come in.

Infinity Stones are artifacts of immense power, there are six of them, and each one controls a unique aspect of reality. The wielder of all six Infinity Stones gets to control reality itself. The Infinity Stones would provide Thanos to cull half of life in the Universe in a record amount of time, efficiently and without too much hassle.

He sought the Power Stone on planet Xandar. With this stone, he could unleash incredible energy blasts capable of decimating entire planets. The Space Stone, which he got from Loki, allowed him to manipulate space itself and manifest himself at any point in the Universe. Reality Stone waited for Thanos at Knowhere. When Thanos acquired the Reality Stone, he gained subjective influence over the Universe.

To acquire Soul Stone and acquire mastery over living essence, Thanos had to sacrifice Gamora, his adoptive daughter, at Vormir. Time Stone was provided to Thanos by Doctor Strange, who used it as a bargaining chip for Iron Man’s life. With Time Stone, Thanos was able to manipulate time. Mind Stone was acquired when Thanos killed Vision for the second time. With Mind Stone, Thanos was able to increase his mental capabilities.

With All six Infinity Stones, Thanos was unstoppable, and he was able to annihilate half of all life in the Universe with a mere snap of his fingers, which resulted in one of the most devastating feats we’ve ever seen in superhero movies. Luckily, the Avengers managed to reverse the snap, but in order to do that, they, too, needed the Infinity Stones. So as you see, Infinity Stones were one of the most important aspects of the Infinity Sagae in general.