As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led to this moment—the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
April 27, 2018 |
Running time |
149 minutes |
Genre |
Action Adventure Sci-Fi |
Budget |
$325,000,000 |
Box Office |
$2,052,415,039 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Anthony Russo Joe Russo |
Produced by |
Kevin Feige |
Written by |
Christopher Markus Stephen McFeely |
Music by |
Alan Silvestri |
Cinematography |
Trent Opaloch |
Edited by |
Jeffrey Ford Matthew Schmidt |
Production Co. |
Marvel Studios |
Distributed by |
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #03 in Avengers Collection
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The Plot
The Fall of the Statesman
Deep in space, the Asgardian refugee ship, the Statesman, has been besieged by the Sanctuary II, the massive flagship of the warlord Thanos. The interior is a scene of devastation; half of the passengers have already been slaughtered by the Black Order, the fearsome children of Thanos. Amidst the bodies of the fallen, Ebony Maw, the Black Order’s eloquent herald, steps over the dead, announcing that the survivors should rejoice, for they have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan. With Heimdall and Thor beaten into submission and unable to stand, Loki is dragged before Thanos himself. The three Asgardians quickly realize the gravity of their situation: Thanos, wielding the Infinity Gauntlet which already houses the purple Power Stone, has begun his personal crusade to hunt down the remaining Infinity Stones.
Thanos issues a chilling ultimatum to Loki: hand over the Tesseract or watch his brother die. To emphasize his threat, Thanos presses the Power Stone against Thor's temple, torturing him with agonizing energy. Loki initially hesitates, but ultimately, he cannot bear to watch his brother suffer any longer. Much to Thor's disappointment, Loki reveals the Tesseract, which he had secretly retrieved from Odin's Vault prior to Asgard's destruction. However, Loki does not hand it over immediately; he stalls, buying just enough time for the Hulk to burst forth and attack Thanos, freeing Thor from the Titan's grasp.
The hope of a quick victory is shattered as Thanos engages the Hulk in hand-to-hand combat. The Titan displays terrifying strength and skill, quickly overpowering and subduing the green giant. Thor attempts to join the fray, but is swiftly defeated and immobilized in pieces of metallic wreckage by Ebony Maw's telekinesis. With the Statesman’s defenders helpless, a battered Heimdall summons the dark magic of the Bifrost Bridge one last time, teleporting the unconscious Hulk away to Earth to warn humanity. In retaliation for this act of defiance, Thanos kills Heimdall with a glaive, leaving Thor to scream in anguish. Ebony Maw picks up the Tesseract from the floor and presents it to his father. Thanos crushes the cube, revealing the blue Space Stone, and inserts it into his gauntlet. Now possessing two stones, he orders his children to invade Earth to retrieve the Mind and Time Stones. Before leaving, Loki interrupts, feigning loyalty to Thanos and offering his services as a guide to Earth. It is a ruse; Loki attempts to assassinate Thanos with a dagger, but the Titan sees through the trick, halting the blade with the Space Stone. Thor watches helplessly as Thanos seizes Loki by the throat and effortlessly breaks his neck, dropping his lifeless body to the floor with the mocking sentiment, "No resurrections this time." Thanos uses the Power Stone to destroy the Statesman and the Space Stone to teleport himself and the Black Order away, leaving Thor to mourn over his brother's body as the ship explodes.
Warning the Masters of the Mystic Arts
The Bifrost carries the Hulk across the galaxy, crashing him through the roof of the New York Sanctum. He reverts into a traumatized Bruce Banner, frantically warning Doctor Strange and Wong that "Thanos is coming." Strange and Banner quickly locate Tony Stark, who is on a walk with Pepper Potts, and bring him to the Sanctum. There, Strange, Wong, Banner, and Stark discuss the existential threat facing them. They surmise that Thanos is seeking the Time Stone, which is housed inside the Eye of Agamotto hanging around Strange's neck, and the Mind Stone, which grants life to Vision. Both are currently on Earth.
Banner stresses that Thanos is the most formidable enemy they have ever faced, revealing his own past connection to the Titan as Loki's sponsor during the Battle of New York. He warns that if Thanos completes the Infinity Gauntlet, he will have the power to wipe out half the universe with a snap of his fingers. Stark suggests destroying the Time Stone immediately to deny Thanos the prize, but Strange refuses, citing his oath to protect it with his life. When the conversation turns to Vision, Stark admits he has lost track of the android, noting that Steve Rogers might know his location. Stark fills Banner in on the Avengers' disbandment following the Civil War and his estrangement from Rogers. Banner implores Stark to set aside his ego and call Rogers, insisting that their past conflict is irrelevant compared to the approaching doom. Convinced, Stark produces the flip phone Rogers sent him and prepares to make the call.
Invasion of New York
Before Stark can dial, an ominous hum vibrates through the air, accompanied by a shift in the wind. Debris begins to fly as a massive, ring-shaped Q-Ship descends over New York City, sparking panic in the streets. Strange uses a spell to shut down the ship's engines as Ebony Maw and the hulking Cull Obsidian descend to confront them. While the four heroes stand their ground, the Q-Ship catches the attention of Peter Parker, who is on a school bus headed to the Museum of Modern Art. Sensing the danger, Parker utilizes his web-shooters to exit the bus and rushes toward the scene. A turbulent battle erupts in the streets of New York. Banner attempts to transform into the Hulk to assist, but finds himself unable to bring the beast out, leaving him on the sidelines.
As the battle rages, Wong manages to trap Cull Obsidian in the Arctic using a portal from his Sling Ring, severing the beast's arm in the process. However, Ebony Maw, a master of telekinesis, proves too powerful for Doctor Strange. Maw successfully incapacitates the sorcerer and abducts him, taking the Time Stone along with him up to the Q-Ship. Unbeknownst to Maw, Iron Man and Spider-Man—who has just been equipped with the high-tech Iron Spider armor deployed by Stark—manage to stow away on the ship as it ascends into the atmosphere. Back on the ground, Wong decides to return to the Sanctum to guard it, while Banner picks up Stark’s dropped phone and decides to make the call to Steve Rogers himself.
A Distress Call
Deep in the cosmos, the Guardians of the Galaxy respond to a distress signal from the Asgardian vessel. Arriving at the debris field of the destroyed Statesman, they are shocked when a body hits their windshield—it is Thor, who has miraculously survived the vacuum of space and the ship's explosion. They bring him aboard the Benatar, where Mantis wakes him. Thor explains the tragedy that befell his people: Thanos decimated Xandar to acquire the Power Stone before killing half the Asgardians for the Space Stone. Gamora adds grim context, recounting how Thanos travels from planet to planet, slaughtering half of the populations to achieve "balance," a fate he now intends for the entire universe.
Deducing that Thanos’s next target is Knowhere to seize the Reality Stone from the Collector, the group decides to split up. Thor, seeking a weapon powerful enough to kill Thanos, takes a pod with Rocket Raccoon and Groot to Nidavellir, the legendary forge of the Dwarves. Meanwhile, Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, and Mantis set a course for Knowhere to intercept the Titan.
Hunted in Scotland
In Edinburgh, Scotland, Vision and Wanda Maximoff are attempting to live a quiet, normal life together. Their peace is shattered when they are ambushed by Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, two lethal members of the Black Order. Vision is stabbed through the chest with Glaive's weapon in the opening seconds, disrupting his phasing ability and leaving him deeply weakened. Wanda struggles to hold off both assailants while trying to protect Vision.
Just as the couple is cornered, reinforcements arrive from the shadows. Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson (Falcon), and Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow)—having been contacted by Banner—join the fight. Demonstrating superior teamwork and combat prowess, they force Proxima Midnight and a severely wounded Corvus Glaive to retreat into their drop ship. With the immediate threat gone, the group helps the wounded Vision and returns to the Avengers Compound in upstate New York.
Reality on Knowhere
Aboard the Guardians' ship, Gamora extracts a promise from Peter Quill. She makes him swear on his mother that if she is captured by Thanos, he will kill her, knowing that she possesses a secret Thanos cannot be allowed to learn. Reluctantly, Quill agrees. Upon arriving at Knowhere, they find it disturbingly silent. Inside the Collector’s museum, they witness Thanos violently interrogating the Collector about the Reality Stone. The group attempts a stealth approach, but Drax, fueled by rage, nearly blows their cover. Gamora takes the initiative, leaping into action and seemingly killing Thanos with her godslayer sword. The Titan falls, and Gamora breaks down in tears.
The victory is a sham. The voice of Thanos booms through the room as the environment shimmers and fades. He had already acquired the Reality Stone and was using it to project a massive illusion. The true Knowhere is in flames. Thanos, unharmed, reveals he expected Gamora to come for him. He easily subdues the Guardians, slicing Drax and Mantis into ribbons and blocks with the Reality Stone. He grabs Gamora, knowing she is the only one who knows the location of the Soul Stone. Quill aims his blaster at Thanos, but Gamora begs him to honor his promise. Heartbroken, Quill turns his aim to Gamora and pulls the trigger, but only harmless bubbles emerge from the barrel—another trick of the Reality Stone. Thanos smirks, telling Quill he "likes him," before teleporting away with Gamora.
The Plan for Wakanda
At the Avengers facility, James Rhodes is in a heated debate with Secretary Thaddeus Ross regarding the missing Vision and the Sokovia Accords. The argument ends when Rogers and his team arrive. Ross orders Rhodes to arrest them, but Rhodes instead terminates the call, effectively ending his military career to side with his friends. Bruce Banner emerges, reuniting with the team and updating them on the threat.
They discuss their options. Banner suggests calling Hawkeye, but Romanoff explains that Clint Barton and Scott Lang are under house arrest after making deals with the government. The team concludes that the Mind Stone must be destroyed to prevent Thanos from getting it. Wanda is the only one powerful enough to do so, but destroying the stone would kill Vision. Rogers proposes an alternative: travel to Wakanda. There, they hope to use advanced technology to safely remove the stone from Vision's head without ending his life.
In Wakanda, King T'Challa and Okoye present Bucky Barnes, now recovered from his Hydra brainwashing and known as the "White Wolf," with a new vibranium arm. They warn him that war is coming, as they prepare to offer sanctuary to the Avengers and the Mind Stone.
A One-Way Trip to Titan
Aboard Ebony Maw’s Q-Ship, Doctor Strange is being tortured with microsurgery needles as Maw attempts to force the Time Stone's protective spell open. Iron Man and Spider-Man devise a plan inspired by the film Aliens. They blow a hole in the ship's hull, sucking Maw out into the vacuum of space where he freezes and dies. They manage to rescue Strange and seal the breach.
Strange insists they return to Earth to protect the stone, but Stark counters with a different plan: let the ship continue its course to Titan, Thanos's homeworld, to ambush him on his own turf. Strange reluctantly agrees but issues a grave warning: if it comes down to saving Stark, Spider-Man, or the Time Stone, he will not hesitate to let them die to protect the stone.
The Price of Truth
On the Sanctuary II, Thanos speaks with Gamora, defending his philosophy. He claims his goal of wiping out half the universe is a mercy that will result in "perfect balance" and resource abundance, citing Gamora’s own home planet as a success story since his invasion. Gamora remains defiant, calling him insane. Needing the Soul Stone, Thanos takes Gamora to see her sister, Nebula, who is suspended in a torture field, her cybernetic parts being pulled apart painfully.
Thanos reveals he has captured Nebula and accessed her memory files, learning that Gamora found the map to the Soul Stone long ago. He proceeds to torture Nebula in front of Gamora. Unable to watch her sister suffer, Gamora breaks and reveals the truth: the Soul Stone is on Vormir.
Forging Alliances
Thor, Rocket, and Groot arrive at Nidavellir, only to find the star dark and the rings frozen. They meet Eitri, the King of the Dwarves, who reveals that Thanos forced him to forge the Infinity Gauntlet. Once the device was complete, Thanos slaughtered the other Dwarves and coated Eitri's hands in metal, crippling him so he could never forge again. Thor rallies Eitri's spirit, convincing him that together they can create a weapon to defeat the Titan: Stormbreaker, an axe capable of summoning the Bifrost.
On Titan, Stark, Strange, and Parker crash-land the Q-Ship. They are immediately attacked by the Guardians of the Galaxy (Star-Lord, Drax, and Mantis), who have arrived following Nebula's message. After a chaotic skirmish and a standoff where Star-Lord threatens Spidey and Stark threatens Drax, they realize they share a common enemy. They form a truce and begin planning. While the others strategize, Doctor Strange uses the Time Stone to meditate, viewing alternate futures. He comes out of his trance in shock, revealing that he viewed fourteen million, six hundred and five possible outcomes of the coming conflict. When asked how many they win, Strange answers: "One."
A Soul for a Stone
Thanos and Gamora arrive on the desolate planet of Vormir. They are guided to the mountaintop by the Stonekeeper, who is revealed to be the Red Skull, cursed to guide others to a treasure he cannot possess after being banished by the Tesseract decades ago. The Skull explains the cost of the Soul Stone: "A soul for a soul." To take the stone, one must sacrifice that which they love most.
Gamora laughs, believing Thanos has failed because he loves nothing. However, Thanos turns to her with tears in his eyes. The Skull notes the tears are not for himself. Realizing with horror that he truly loves her as a daughter, Gamora attempts to commit suicide with a dagger, but Thanos turns the weapon to bubbles with the Reality Stone. Apologizing, he drags her to the precipice and throws her off. Gamora falls to her death. Thanos wakes up in a pool of water, the orange Soul Stone now in his hand.
The Battle of Wakanda
The Avengers arrive in Wakanda and are greeted by T'Challa and the Dora Milaje. Shuri examines Vision and confirms she can extract the stone but needs time because of the complexity of the neural links. Wanda is stationed to guard Vision and destroy the stone as soon as it is free. Suddenly, massive drop ships enter the atmosphere, crashing into the jungle outside the city's protective dome.
T'Challa mobilizes the Wakandan army, the Border Tribe, and the Jabari Tribe led by M'Baku. They are joined by Rogers, Barnes, Romanoff, Wilson, and Banner (wearing the Hulkbuster armor since he still cannot transform). Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian lead an army of mindless, snarling creatures called Outriders. The creatures throw themselves at the energy barrier, dying in droves but threatening to breach it through sheer volume. Seeing that the Outriders are beginning to circle the perimeter to find a weak point, T'Challa orders a section of the barrier opened to funnel the attack to a single point. The barrier drops, and the Battle of Wakanda begins in earnest as the heroes engage the swarm.
Stormbreaker
At Nidavellir, Thor and Rocket work to restart the forge. Thor performs a feat of immense strength, rotating the massive rings to break the ice. However, the mechanism to focus the star's energy is broken. Thor volunteers to hold the iris open himself, taking the full force of a neutron star. The heat is excruciating, burning his skin and nearly killing him, but he holds on long enough for Eitri to melt the Uru metal.
The axe head is cast, but Eitri cannot find the handle, and Thor lies dying on the floor. Groot sees the urgency and sacrifices his own arm, growing it into a handle for the axe and severing it. Stormbreaker is completed. The weapon's power heals Thor instantly, and he uses its ability to summon the Bifrost to transport himself, Rocket, and Groot directly to Earth.
In Wakanda, the Avengers are being overrun by the sheer number of Outriders. Suddenly, the Bifrost beams down, and Thor charges onto the battlefield clad in lightning, Stormbreaker in hand. He decimates the enemy lines, shouting, "Bring me Thanos!"
Confronting the Mad Titan
Back on Titan, Thanos arrives to find only Doctor Strange waiting for him. Thanos shares his history, explaining how his home planet collapsed due to overpopulation and how his proposal of random genocide was rejected. He asserts that his will is strong enough to do what is necessary to save the universe. The ambush begins. The combined forces of the Avengers and Guardians launch a coordinated assault, using portals, webs, explosives, and gravity mines to disorient the Titan.
The plan succeeds momentarily; they manage to pin Thanos down. Mantis drops onto his shoulders, using her empathetic powers to sedate him. While he is in a trance-like state, Stark and Parker struggle to pull the Infinity Gauntlet from his hand. However, Mantis senses Thanos's grief and Nebula deduces that he has killed Gamora to get the Soul Stone. Enraged, Star-Lord pistol-whips Thanos, inadvertently breaking Mantis's hold. Thanos wakes up just as the Gauntlet slips loose, regaining control. Furious, he unleashes the power of the stones, throwing a moon at the heroes and devastating the battlefield.
The End Game
Thanos easily repels the attacks of the remaining heroes. He faces off against Doctor Strange in a duel of magic and reality-warping, eventually overpowering the Sorcerer Supreme. Iron Man steps in for a final stand, using every nanotech weapon in his arsenal. He manages to draw a drop of blood from Thanos, but the Titan quickly turns the tide, beating Stark's armor off his body and stabbing him through the abdomen with his own blade.
As Thanos prepares to kill Stark, Strange intervenes. He offers the Time Stone in exchange for sparing Stark's life. Thanos accepts, taking the green stone and slotting it into the Gauntlet. He now possesses five of the six stones. As he departs for Earth, a wounded Stark asks Strange why he did it. Strange simply replies, "We're in the endgame now."
The Last Stand
In Wakanda, the Black Order unleashes massive, rolling siege engines called Threshers to grind the battlefield. Wanda is forced to leave Vision's side to stop the machines, saving her friends. Seeing Vision undefended, Corvus Glaive infiltrates the lab, knocking out Shuri and attacking Vision. Vision fights back, tackling Glaive out the window and onto the field.
The battle reaches its climax. Banner, using the Hulkbuster, kills Cull Obsidian by launching him into the protective dome. Steve Rogers saves Vision and fights Corvus Glaive, eventually helped by Vision who impales Glaive with his own weapon. Wanda kills Proxima Midnight by telekinetically throwing her into the path of a Thresher. The Black Order is dead, and the Outriders are routed by Thor's power.
Destiny Arrives
The silence is short-lived as Thanos steps through a portal into the Wakandan forest. The Avengers attempt to stop him, but he is unstoppable. With five stones, he effortlessly bats away Banner, Rogers, Falcon, and Black Widow. Even T'Challa and Okoye are swept aside. Vision, realizing they are out of time, convinces Wanda that she must destroy the Mind Stone.
With a heavy heart, Wanda unleashes her energy on the stone in Vision's forehead while simultaneously holding Thanos back with her other hand. As Thanos inches closer, the stone shatters, and Vision is vaporized in a massive explosion. Thanos, however, is unfazed. He acknowledges Wanda's sacrifice but uses the Time Stone to reverse the event. Vision is reformed, only for Thanos to rip the Mind Stone from his head, crushing his skull and killing him instantly. Thanos inserts the final yellow stone into the Gauntlet. Energy surges through him as he achieves omnipotence.
The Decimation
Before Thanos can act, Thor descends from the sky and hurls Stormbreaker with all his might. The axe cuts through the power of the six stones and buries itself deep in Thanos's chest. Thor lands and glares at the Titan, gloating over his vengeance. Thanos, grimacing in pain, whispers, "You should have gone for the head." He raises his hand and snaps his fingers.
A blinding white light engulfs the screen. Thanos finds himself momentarily in the Soul World, where he encounters the spirit of a young Gamora. She asks him if he did it, and what it cost. Thanos solemnly replies, "Everything." He snaps back to reality in Wakanda, the Gauntlet fused and smoking on his arm. Thor demands to know what he did, but Thanos simply uses the Space Stone to teleport away.
Perfect Balance
The catastrophic result of the snap begins to manifest. Bucky Barnes calls out to Steve Rogers before crumbling into dust. In rapid succession, the horror spreads: half of the Wakandan army disintegrates, followed by T'Challa, Groot, Wanda Maximoff, and Sam Wilson. The survivors gather around Vision's gray corpse, stunned and helpless.
On Titan, the effects are equally devastating. Mantis, Drax, and Star-Lord turn to dust. Doctor Strange looks at Stark and says, "There was no other way," before vanishing. Peter Parker, sensing his death with his spider-sense, clings to Stark in terror, begging, "I don't want to go," before he too fades away. Stark is left alone with Nebula, who states hollowly, "He did it."
On a lush, distant garden planet, a healed Thanos emerges from a small hut. He sits down, watching the sun rise over a grateful universe, and smiles, satisfied that his work is done.
Signal to the Stars
In a post-credits scene, Nick Fury and Maria Hill are driving through New York City monitoring the situation in Wakanda. Suddenly, a car crashes in front of them; the driver is missing. A helicopter spirals into a skyscraper. As chaos erupts, Maria Hill begins to disintegrate. Realizing what is happening, Fury rushes to retrieve an old pager from his bag. As his hand begins to turn to dust, he manages to send a signal. He curses as he vanishes completely. The pager falls to the ground, displaying a sending confirmation and an insignia: a gold star on a red and blue background—the symbol of Captain Marvel.
