Infinity War Directors Explain How The Gauntlet Physically Damaged Thanos

If shouldering the weight of the world is enough to drive even the best of us to the point of madness, just imagine what it’s like to wield the entire universe in the palm of your giant, purple hands…

Such was the case for Thanos, Marvel’s Mad Titan and the leading protagonist of Avengers: Infinity War. We know this because of the ways in which Joe and Anthony Russo’s comic book movie crossover was structured around Thanos, rather than being told strictly from the point of the heroes. The result? Arguably one of the most engaging MCU films to date, and enough to cement the Mad Titan’s status as the ultimate Marvel movie villain.

But as the Russo Brothers revealed to Collider (h/t ComicBook.com), wielding the souped-up Infinity Gauntlet demanded a physical price – as evidenced by the damage done to Thanos’ arm.

It’s evident. His daughter is an emotional price, but the physical price is – you’ll see it if you pause your DVD – right before he uses it to go back into the portal away from Thor while he’s got the ax in his chest, his arm is burnt to a crisp. So the physical price is the extreme power that it took to enact his plan, he paid for physically, and when he sits down on the steps at the end of the movie you can see that it actually carries up into his neck and onto his face. [Thanos’] arm is f**cked up and anything attached to his arm is f**cked up.

Not that we’re surprised, mind you, as the Mad Titan is visibly exhausted by the time Avengers: Infinity War reaches its oddly somber finale. It’s one that will live long in the memory, and with the as-yet-untitled Avengers 4 beginning to loom over the horizon (PSA: trailer due this Wednesday), it won’t be too long before Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are ready for round two.

The ETA? May 3rd, 2019, by which point we should have a better understanding of Phase 4 and the many Marvel adventures still to come.