The first few phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe had paved the way for the official entrance of Thanos into the story. With a thirst for power, mingled with the belief that he had to set the universe straight, he didn’t care who had to die so that he could achieve his goal.
In fact, in the first few minutes of Avengers: Infinity War, we see his cronies slaughter the remnants of Asgard. And Thanos himself defeats the Hulk with nothing but his own brute strength. His attitude and sheer power would no doubt strike fear into any foe.
Apart from his physical attributes though, the Mad Titan’s militaristic mindset is fascinated with a variety of weaponry. From flashbacks, we understand that a key object representing the relationship between Gamora and Thanos is the double-bladed dagger he gifted to her as a child.
And while his most devastating weapon is doubtlessly the Infinity Gauntlet, the Titan has also used other unique implements of destruction. In Avengers: Endgame, his iconic handheld weapon is a broad double-edged sword. In fact, it was this infamous blade that somehow had the capability to shred through Captain America’s vibranium shield.
Visual Development Supervisor of Marvel Studios, Ian Joyner, recently shared an image though of an alternate weapon that would’ve been employed by Thanos in Endgame. As you can see from the photo in the gallery below, the villain’s sporting a sizeable ax, hideous and battle-ready.
“I had an absolute blast getting to play with some alternate takes on how he would appear in the films, always such a great experience working on these projects with these awesome people. So many talented artists worked on this film,” said Joyner.
It must be said that this ax bears some resemblance to Stormbreaker, the mighty ax used by Thor in the latest Avengers installments. It also seems somewhat reminiscent of other fantasy battle axes such as the ones used by dwarves in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
Regardless of its inspiration though, this weapon that we never got to see in Avengers: Endgame definitely would’ve made for some different dynamics in the battle sequences. But alas, here’s another tidbit that we can chock up to the unused leftovers of the darkest era of the Avengers.
