One of the most discussed moments in Avengers: Infinity War is Doctor Strange’s curious decision to hand over the Time Stone to Thanos in order to save Tony Stark’s life. This is in, er, stark contrast to his comments earlier in the movie that he wouldn’t hesitate to let any of his allies die if it meant defeating the Mad Titan. Of course, this exchange has terrible consequences for the whole universe, as it allows the villain to go on and wipe out half of all life.
It’s generally assumed that Strange actually had a plan here though and is thinking long term. His dying words that “this is the only way” suggest that he felt he had to save Tony’s life and give Thanos the Time Stone – most likely because he foresaw this when he viewed 14 million versions of the future using the Stone’s powers. He said that only one timeline resulted in the Avengers winning and apparently, this move is somehow a good thing in the long run.
But why does he need Iron Man alive? One thing we do know for sure about Avengers 4 is that it’ll involve time travel. It seems that a few of the surviving heroes will go back to the past, presumably to stop Thanos from collecting the Stones in the first place. So, what if it’s Tony that creates some sort of time travel tech? Our best piece of evidence for this is the fact that the Russo brothers have hinted that time travel’s made possible by Stark’s BARF technology, first introduced in Captain America: Civil War.
Given this, it’s possible that Strange had foreseen that Tony needed to survive to create the tech which would eventually allow the Avengers to defeat Thanos and as such, judged it as a necessary evil that he allow the villain to half all life in the universe – since he knew that, eventually, the Mad Titan’s devastating actions would erased from time in the first place.
At least, that’s what this intriguing theory puts forth. What do you think, though? Why did Strange need Tony alive in Avengers: Infinity War? Sound off below and give us your thoughts!
