Avengers: Infinity War Directors Reveal How Thanos Knew Who Tony Was

For some, hearing that Thanos somehow knew of Tony Stark’s existence prior to the events witnessed in Avengers: Infinity War has been picking at their brains ever since the film stormed theaters this past spring. Personally, greater details such as Thor not chopping off the Mad Titan’s arm in the third act were what bothered me, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Thanks to the commentary track included on the film’s digital release, we now have our answer to the Thanos-Stark question. According to ComicBook.com, it’s pretty simple, too, as here’s what co-director Joe Russo had to say regarding the subject:

“He’s aware of Stark from the original Battle of New York as the person who undid the plan.”

In other words, Thanos knows Iron Man was the one who dealt the final blow by directing a missile into the wormhole when he previously had designs on Earth. If that didn’t suffice, then I’d just surmise that someone with such vast resources and power would’ve kept tabs on the Avengers following Loki’s failure.

On a related note, screenwriter Christopher Markus also had something intriguing to say about the opposing players:

“You realize this interesting parallel between Thanos and Tony. They’re both aware of something from an early point and constantly having to deal with being smarter. Thanos is a futurist as much as Tony Stark.”

That’s actually an interesting way of looking at it. I’d like to say that less casualties ensue when Tony enacts his vision, but then again, he was responsible for bringing about Ultron a few years back.

For more trivia on Thanos and other goodies, be sure to pick up Avengers: Infinity War when it arrives on Blu-ray on August 14th. Or, you could click here for a chance to win a copy.