Like millions of others this weekend I went and saw Avengers: Infinity War and it was an ordeal. Ten years after Iron Man first came out I watched all of the characters I’d seen struggle with their own inner demons now struggle for survival.
This movie was also the first time we as an audience got a really good look at what makes Thanos tick.
By the end of the movie, I was convinced this wasn’t about Iron Man or Cap or any of the other Avengers
.
This was Thanos’s story. Before I get into it, though, a quick warning: mild spoilers ahead.
In a movie with something like 30 superheroes
, you’d think any number of them would be a contender as the main protagonist.
Even if one of them couldn’t hold the title a collective of them would fit the bill. How could they not? It’s an Avengers movie
after all. The protagonist ought to be a hero.
Why not Iron Man? He’s been the face of Marvel since, well, the Iron Man movie that got this whole thing started.
After ten years of playing the character, it would be fitting for Robert Downey, Jr. to close off this phase of the MCU and the story of the Avengers.
He’s there early on in the movie, has had a bone
to pick with Thanos since 2012, and is the only one of the Avengers to draw blood from Thanos (even if it is just one drop).
To be perfectly honest, he has a great case to be the central protagonist.
Before I prematurely seal the deal here, though, his story is only tied to one minor portion of this movie. This is the war over the infinity stones, not the war against Thanos.
Tony is only actively defending one of those stones alongside Dr. Strange and Spiderman
.
It’d be a stretch to call him the protagonist of the entire movie when he’s trying to stop Thanos from getting one of six stones.
Maybe it’s Thor. He’s present in the first scene of the movie when Thanos kills Loki. Maybe this is a revenge story, then. Thor is ultimately the one who finds a way to kill Thanos, even though he’s unsuccessful. He even has a great character arc blooming from his rage and hate.
Let’s take a step back and look at that, though. He’s also only present for one infinity stone
(maybe two if you count the Mind Stone at the very end).
His side of the plot is about him, his rabbit friend, a tree, and Mega Peter Dinklage helping him to become the literal deus ex machina of Wakanda.
Nobody would call the Eagles of The Lord of the Rings or the bacteria that kills the aliens in War of the Worlds the protagonists. Thor, likewise, doesn’t stand the test.
Who do we have left? Cap? Star-Lord? Vision? Gamora? Although the entire roster of the MCU is present, not one of them fits the bill for the main protagonist. Not even sharing the load between a collection of characters would meet the criteria. None of them are present to defend all six of the infinity stones, none of them gets the gauntlet, and none of them defeats Thanos.
This movie isn’t about defeating Thanos, though. This story is about getting the infinity stones. This is the infinity war! The protagonist would have to face serious trials at the hands of enemies and at great cost to their friends.
The protagonist would need to sacrifice everything, even who they are, in pursuit of the infinity stones. The protagonist would need to change and be sympathetic to the audience. The protagonist would need to assemble every infinity stone and use it for their purposes.
That’s right. Thanos is the protagonist of Infinity War. This is the story of one being trying to accomplish his life’s work. Thanos is present in the first scene of the movie and sets the stage for what his goal is: get the infinity stones and end half of all life. Does he do this? Yes. At great cost? We get to see that in the final scene where he gets to speak with young Gamora.
Infinity War marketed itself as the most ambitious crossover in cinematic history. It might have also become the most ambitious adaptation of a classic novel.
If you were to ask someone what Paradise Lost by John Milton was about they might say the fall of Adam and Eve. They’d be partially right. However, Paradise Lost is about Satan’s journey from Hell to Paradise to tempt the first man and woman so that he can take over their world. He opposes God, is cast to Hell, travels through Chaos, and ultimately succeeds in tempting the first man and woman of the Bible.
I’m not saying Thanos is the hero of this movie. Thanos is literally Satan. All I’m saying is he’s the protagonist. He’s the first actor, if we want to get etymological here.
Although his goal
is sinister, his journey is that of a protagonist, traveling the universe, sacrificing the only thing he ever loved, and ultimately succeeding in wiping out half life in the universe.
His is the story of seeking paradise even when the price is everything he has.
This movie was also the first time we as an audience got a really good look at what makes Thanos tick.
By the end of the movie, I was convinced this wasn’t about Iron Man or Cap or any of the other Avengers
. This was Thanos’s story. Before I get into it, though, a quick warning: mild spoilers ahead.
In a movie with something like 30 superheroes
, you’d think any number of them would be a contender as the main protagonist. Even if one of them couldn’t hold the title a collective of them would fit the bill. How could they not? It’s an Avengers movie
after all. The protagonist ought to be a hero.Why not Iron Man? He’s been the face of Marvel since, well, the Iron Man movie that got this whole thing started.
After ten years of playing the character, it would be fitting for Robert Downey, Jr. to close off this phase of the MCU and the story of the Avengers.
He’s there early on in the movie, has had a bone
to pick with Thanos since 2012, and is the only one of the Avengers to draw blood from Thanos (even if it is just one drop). To be perfectly honest, he has a great case to be the central protagonist.
Before I prematurely seal the deal here, though, his story is only tied to one minor portion of this movie. This is the war over the infinity stones, not the war against Thanos.
Tony is only actively defending one of those stones alongside Dr. Strange and Spiderman
.It’d be a stretch to call him the protagonist of the entire movie when he’s trying to stop Thanos from getting one of six stones.
Maybe it’s Thor. He’s present in the first scene of the movie when Thanos kills Loki. Maybe this is a revenge story, then. Thor is ultimately the one who finds a way to kill Thanos, even though he’s unsuccessful. He even has a great character arc blooming from his rage and hate.
Let’s take a step back and look at that, though. He’s also only present for one infinity stone
(maybe two if you count the Mind Stone at the very end). His side of the plot is about him, his rabbit friend, a tree, and Mega Peter Dinklage helping him to become the literal deus ex machina of Wakanda.
Nobody would call the Eagles of The Lord of the Rings or the bacteria that kills the aliens in War of the Worlds the protagonists. Thor, likewise, doesn’t stand the test.
Who do we have left? Cap? Star-Lord? Vision? Gamora? Although the entire roster of the MCU is present, not one of them fits the bill for the main protagonist. Not even sharing the load between a collection of characters would meet the criteria. None of them are present to defend all six of the infinity stones, none of them gets the gauntlet, and none of them defeats Thanos.
This movie isn’t about defeating Thanos, though. This story is about getting the infinity stones. This is the infinity war! The protagonist would have to face serious trials at the hands of enemies and at great cost to their friends.
The protagonist would need to sacrifice everything, even who they are, in pursuit of the infinity stones. The protagonist would need to change and be sympathetic to the audience. The protagonist would need to assemble every infinity stone and use it for their purposes.
That’s right. Thanos is the protagonist of Infinity War. This is the story of one being trying to accomplish his life’s work. Thanos is present in the first scene of the movie and sets the stage for what his goal is: get the infinity stones and end half of all life. Does he do this? Yes. At great cost? We get to see that in the final scene where he gets to speak with young Gamora.
Infinity War marketed itself as the most ambitious crossover in cinematic history. It might have also become the most ambitious adaptation of a classic novel.
If you were to ask someone what Paradise Lost by John Milton was about they might say the fall of Adam and Eve. They’d be partially right. However, Paradise Lost is about Satan’s journey from Hell to Paradise to tempt the first man and woman so that he can take over their world. He opposes God, is cast to Hell, travels through Chaos, and ultimately succeeds in tempting the first man and woman of the Bible.
I’m not saying Thanos is the hero of this movie. Thanos is literally Satan. All I’m saying is he’s the protagonist. He’s the first actor, if we want to get etymological here.
Although his goal
is sinister, his journey is that of a protagonist, traveling the universe, sacrificing the only thing he ever loved, and ultimately succeeding in wiping out half life in the universe. His is the story of seeking paradise even when the price is everything he has.
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