Infinity War is not just a superhero movie, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe is no longer just a comic book franchise on film. For the ideas this film explores, tackling fate and free will, what it means to be human and live in our universe, are fundamental in storytelling. They are so fundamental that they’ve been explored from our beginnings all the way to the modern era; they’ve been and continue to be explored in religion, philosophy, mythology, and now also in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Movies Under The Surface is a series of video essays that explores what makes great films great. The videos are about understanding movies at a deeper level, beneath plot and story, at their heart.
For educational purposes only.
Footage from:
Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Dir. Anthony and Joe Russo
What Really Killed The Dinosaurs? (2011), BBC Earth
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Dir. Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
Band of Brothers: Day of Days (2001), Dir. Richard Loncraine
Wrath of the Titans (2012), Dir. Jonathan Liebesman
Music from:
Avengers: Infinity War Soundtrack, Alan Silvestri
You can also follow us on Facebook:
Full transcript:
WANDA MAXIMOFF/SCARLETT WITCH: NO!!!
Hi, my name is Gabe and in this video I’ll be looking into Avengers: Infinity War. I loved Infinity War, and I think it took the Marvel Cinematic Universe to an entirely new level. That’s right, this film introduced depth and meaning unheard of in the MCU.
Before I get into this, here is your warning that spoilers are ahead.
There’s so much going on in Infinity War, I mean, the film has dozens of heroes and probably the most powerful villain in the history of movies, all of which make for lots of interesting dynamics. But for me, there was one that stood above the rest: the film’s exploration of free will versus fate.
All throughout Infinity War, the filmmakers play with fate and free will. The characters constantly bring it up,
THOR: I’m only alive because fate wants me alive. Fate wills it so.
VISION: Tell me, why is this any different?
BRUCE BANNER: Because you might have a choice.
every battle is between the two,
EBONY MAW: Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now contributing to the balance-
TONY STARK/IRON MAN: I’m sorry, Earth is closed today.
and so are the conflicts, the drama, and every defining moment the characters face in the film.
GAMORA: You promised. You promised.
Let’s look at some of the free will moments, moments when characters make choices in an attempt to control their future. These moments include: Tony Stark ignoring Pepper Potts and continuing to serve as Iron Man, Peter Parker refusing to leave Iron Man’s side, James Rhodes taking Captain America and his posse in,
JAMES RHODES/WAR MACHINE: It’s great to see you Captain.
Peter Quill shooting Gamora, Rocket acting as therapist to Thor, Scarlet Witch killing Vision, T’challa inviting the final battle to his home,
T’CHALLA/BLACK PANTHER: Wakanda forever!
and lots more.
There are two things all these choices have in common. One, they are all motivated by human desires, things like love, bravery, revenge, honor, and so on.
T’CHALLA/BLACK PANTHER: ?
And two, in the end, none of these choices matter. Every decision in this film, every act of free will, is done to stop Thanos from obtaining the Infinity stones. And not only does he obtain them, but results are exactly the same as if no one had opposed him at all.
The fate aspects of Infinity War, however, are the opposite of this, for fate constantly makes a difference in the outcome of this story.
A great example can be seen here. This is an incredibly stupid thing for Star Lord to do, but despite this, Star Lord is obviously intelligent, having come up with the plan that was so successful before he sabotaged it.
PETER QUILL/STAR-LORD: I thought you’d be hard to catch. For the record, this was my plan.
I can only reconcile this difference one way: Star Lord sabotaging his plan wasn’t a choice; it was the involuntary result of his emotions overcoming his free will. Tony Stark actually saw this coming,
TONY STARK/IRON MAN: Okay, Quill, you gotta cool it right now. Do you understand? Don’t, don’t, don’t engage, we almost got this off!
but because the whole thing was fated, there was nothing he could do.
Gamora’s death is another example of fate in this film. First off, there’s the amazing coincidence that she’s the only person Thanos can use to meet the soul stone’s sacrifice, and she’s with him when he needs to make that sacrifice. And while this sacrifice may seem like free will on Thanos’s part, him choosing the stone over that which he loves, I don’t think this is the case. For Thanos is obviously a narcissist, which amongst other things means he loves no one but himself.
GAMORA: This isn’t love.
THANOS: I ignored my destiny once.
GAMORA: You love nothing! No one!
To me, Thanos killing Gamora wasn’t a choice; it was the inevitable result of his mental programming, the inevitable result of a narcissist getting what he wants.
THANOS: I had to…
There’re actually several situations similar to this in the film, like here, and here. The main difference between these: Loki and Gamora aren’t narcissists, although Loki does give it a shot,
LOKI: Kill away.
meaning that despite their will, it was inevitable they would give in and give Thanos what he wants.
LOKI: Alright, stop!
And if those three examples weren’t enough, this dynamic actually occurred a fourth time in the film,
THANOS: Do it!
and in this one, the filmmakers even found a way for the hero to use free will to make a sacrifice.
GAMORA: I want you to promise me, you’ll kill me.
But even here, inevitability won out.
Another major and super-simple example involves Bruce Banner. For while Bruce is constantly trying to will Hulk into existence,
BRUCE BANNER/HULK: NO!!!
Hulk refuses to come out. And if Hulk refuses to come out, it doesn’t matter Bruce’s will, Hulk is not coming out.
TONY STARK/IRON MAN: Dude, you’re embarrassing me in front of the wizards.
BRUCE BANNER: I’m sorry…
But perhaps the most literal fated moment in this film occurs here.
DOCTOR STRANGE: Spare his life and I will give you the stone.
At first this may seem like a choice, except Dr Strange specifically said that if given the choice he would not do this,
DOCTOR STRANGE: If it comes to saving you, or the kid, or the time stone, I will not hesitate to let either of you die.
and when you combine this moment:
DOCTOR STRANGE: I went forward in time to view alternate futures.
TONY STARK/IRON MAN: How many’d we win?
DOCTOR STRANGE: One.
with this:
DOCTOR STRANGE: Tony, there was no other way.
it’s pretty clear Dr. Strange didn’t choose to hand over the time stone, he was simply following the path the future forced him to take.
I could continue with more moments of fate and free will in this film, but instead let’s step back and look at what we have here. Basically, Infinity War exists in a world where free will and humanity have no impact on how things turn out, while fate and inevitability do. And when you consider that “how things turn out” means half of all living beings dying, this actually isn’t that far from our own world. Consider the dinosaurs. They probably didn’t have free will, but even if they did, there’s no way they could’ve stopped that asteroid from wiping them out. Another example is Medieval Europe, a society with humanity and free will, and yet the plague still killed more than half their population.
MEDIEVAL CART MASTER: Bring out your dead!
And you can look at pretty much any other event that resulted in massive death, the situation is the same for all of them.
But you want to know the most interesting aspect of Infinity War? At the end of the film, this dynamic is taken a step further. I’m specifically talking about here. Thanos has so much power in this moment, he can do anything, but instead he does nothing; he rests. This is not what you’d expect from a narcissist, making this what seems to be Thanos’s first act of free will in the film.
And unlike all the other acts of free will, Thanos’s will actually makes a difference. Him choosing to rest, to do nothing after killing half the universe, that makes a huge difference on all the beings he spared.
So why does Thanos’s will matter when everyone else’s doesn’t? The difference is that by this point in the film, Thanos has effectively become a God. Loki said he couldn’t do it,
LOKI: You… will never be… a God.
but with all six infinity stones? With the ability to control space, time, reality, being the most powerful being in the universe, with the ability to kill trillions just by snapping his fingers,
THOR: NO!
these are things only a God can do.
Because of this, what Infinity War is really saying is that human will doesn’t matter, what’s gonna happen is gonna happen and there’s nothing we can do about it, because we’re all at the mercy of the will of the Gods.
NED: Holy shit, we’re all gonna die!
And it isn’t just Thanos, for the only person who even came close to stopping Thanos was the other God in this film; the non-God heroes barely did anything at all.
THANOS: All that for a drop of blood.
This isn’t the first time this message has been told. It’s actually an idea that goes as far back as ancient Greece, with characters like Zeus and Hades controlling fate in those stories. Thanos with all six infinity stones is basically all the Greek Gods rolled into one, making the Marvel Cinematic Universe very similar to Greek Mythology. I think this a huge part of the franchise’s appeal, as the ideas it is exploring are as timeless as they are universal.
WONG: …hurtling across the virgin universe.
As for Infinity War itself, it’s message isn’t the most inspiring one, but the movie doesn’t have the most inspiring ending, so… the message fits. It’ll be interesting to see what the filmmakers do with the next film, whether they add to or change this dynamic. My guess is they’ll change it,
PETER QUILL/STAR-LORD: Did we just lose?
and I’m excited to see how they do it, because if done right, not only will it be amazing, it’ll be inspirational as well.
DOCTOR STRANGE: We’re in the endgame now.