Avengers: Infinity War's Many Unanswered Questions

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Avengers: Infinity War.

Avengers: Infinity War is truly the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which means there's a lot to unpack because of that. Bringing together virtually every major character in the shared universe (including their individual story arcs) for an ultimate showdown with the Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his loyal Black Order makes for a compelling action film, but it also opens itself up to a breadth of new questions.

One of the best things about Avengers 3 is that it acknowledges the past, answers questions that fans have been asking for several years, and sets characters and their storylines onto new paths that wouldn't have been possible before. Unfortunately, in doing so, the movie becomes over-packed, which leads to even more questions stemming from all the events that do happen in the new film. Sure, some of these questions may be answered by looking at the comics or supplemental material for Infinity War, but that's not necessarily fair since the movies don't strictly follow the source material and supplemental materials are, by nature, meant to enhance an understanding of a film, not explain one.

This Page: Xandar And The Power Stone

What exactly happened on Xandar?

Avengers: Infinity War starts off with Thanos already having the Power Stone, which was being safeguarded by the Nova Corps on Xandar. Unfortunately, it's never revealed what happened on Xandar and how Thanos ended up getting the Power Stone in the first place. The only instance in which it's even mentioned is when Thor tells the Guardians that Xandar had been destroyed a week prior.

Thor found out at the very beginning of the movie, but the audiences never know more than that. The word "decimated" can have multiple meanings. But based on Thanos' modus operandi, it's presumed that he killed half of Xandar's population. It would be strange if he completely destroyed the entire planet, but that's something audiences may have to wait until Guardians of the Galaxy 3 or another movie to find out (or even wait for a new comic book).

Why couldn't Xandar defend against Thanos, who had zero Infinity Stones?

The Nova Corps armored up in Guardians of the Galaxy

While audiences never find out exactly what happens on Xandar, how did Thanos even beat them, to begin with? Of course, it's plausible that Thanos used the Outriders to overrun Xandar, but why would the Nova Corps, of all organizations, not be able to defend themselves against a force like that? The Avengers were coming close to defeating the Outriders before Thanos teleported into Wakanda, and Wakanda's force resembles the Nova Corps.

Plus, the kicker here is that Thanos and his Black Order must've arrived on Xandar without any Infinity Stones in hand, so they had nothing but an army to defeat them with. That's something at least explaining in some detail or showing on screen. It's explained how Thanos gets every other Infinity Stone, so not showing Xandar seems like a strange decision, but doing so is what allows the filmmakers to start the movie right after Thor: Ragnarok.

Avengers Infinity War Thor Scream Thanos

Why doesn't Thanos kill Thor?

The beginning of the movie focuses on Thanos obtaining the Space Stone from Loki, who he kills for attempting to kill him while Loki pretended to offer his allegiance and guidance on Earth. After killing everyone aboard the ship, which includes killing both Loki and Heimdall, Thanos and his Black Order departed the vessel, leaving Thor alive. Why?

Towards the end of the film, Thanos is seen about to kill Tony for trying to stop him, but he doesn't choose to kill Thor for the same reason. And it seems that the only reason Heimdall dies is because he transported Hulk back to Earth through the Bifrost (as mentioned). Thor is arguably Thanos' greatest enemy (as evidenced towards the end of the movie), and they had him secured. It just seems strange - Thanos decides to destroy the ship using the Power Stone but not kill the last person remaining on it. That could've been because they wanted Thor to suffer, but audiences probably will never know.

How does Heimdall know to send Hulk to Doctor Strange?

Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner or The Hulk in Avengers Infinity War Trailer

It was revealed fairly early on that Hulk arrives in the Sanctum Sanctorum and warns everyone about Thanos - it was even shown in the film's trailers and clips - but how he got there was always a mystery going into the movie. It becomes clear that Heimdall actually sends Hulk to Earth when Thanos and the Black Order are a bit distracted. But how does Heimdall know to do that?

Thor is captured at that moment, and he doesn't tell Heimdall to do that, nor does he tell him to send Hulk to the Sanctum Sanctorum. What's interesting is that omni-senses are one of Heimdall's many powers, meaning he can see pretty much every soul in the universe. He used that multiple times throughout the franchise, which is why it's possible that Heimdall could sense that Thor wanted Hulk sent to Earth, but that's still a reach without any sort of confirmation.

Why doesn't Heimdall Bifrost everyone out (or Thanos)?

Idris Elba's Heimdall with a Sword Looking Surprised in Thor: Ragnarok

What's interesting about Heimdall sending Hulk to Earth is that he mumbles in incantation requesting his forefathers to let dark magic flow through him once more, which then opens up the Bifrost allowing him to send Hulk away. How he knew to send him to Doctor Strange, though, and how he did so remains unclear. If Heimdall can summon the Bifrost from somewhere other than Asgard, then why hasn't he done it before and why didn't they all escape together? The Bifrost can certainly transport multiple people at a time to different realms.

Granted, the only other time something like that has happened was when Thor came to Earth in the first Avengers movie, which was chalked up to Odin summoning dark magic. Taking that into , it's possible only one person can be transported at a time. But again, that's just a potential answer to a question that has been asked multiple times since 2012 - and it doesn't seem like it's going to go away anytime soon.

Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie in Thor Ragnarok — Marvel Studios' THOR: RAGNAROK Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) Ph: Film Frame ©Marvel Studios 2017

Where is Valkyrie?

Avengers: Infinity War takes place right after the events of Thor: Ragnarok, which begs the question, where is Valkyrie? She's one of the most powerful Asgardians out there, and she was present aboard Thor's ship when they departed on their journey to Earth. They didn't get there, of course, and the only people audiences saw among the wreckage of the ship was Thor, Loki, and Heimdall. Did Valkyrie die, or did she abandon ship beforehand? What happened?

And along those lines, where are Korg and Miek? It's certainly possible that all three of them could've perished at some point in the opening battle (which isn't really shown in the movie). If that's the case, then not showing their bodies on screen so that audiences can acknowledge their deaths feels like a disservice, especially since Thor 3 was the direct lead into Infinity War.

Where's Lady Sif?

Another Asgardian missing from Avengers: Infinity War is Lady Sif. Jaimie Alexander didn't appear in Thor: Ragnarok due to a scheduling conflict with her NBC series, Blindspot. Alexander claimed that she wasn't given enough notice to appear in the movie, which ended up being a blessing in disguise, seeing as virtually every Asgardian was killed by Hela in Thor 3.

Still, that doesn't mean her whereabouts not being acknowledged in Infinity War should be excused. At this point, Lady Sif's location and purpose in whatever she's doing is almost as confounding as the location of the Soul Stone was. At least that got solved in an intriguing fashion.

Why did Hawkeye fight in Civil War but not Infinity War?

Hawkeye isn't in Avengers: Infinity War, despite appearing in the movie's poster at SDCC 2017. The reason is that Clint Barton struck a deal with the government to let him go home to his family in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War. That's all that was said on the matter. While the fight in Civil War was about ideals for most Avengers, the fight in Infinity War is about survival - and not just humanity's survival - which should require all hands on deck.

Sure, if this was any other movie, then it would make sense why Clint would choose to remain with his family so that he doesn't get sent back to the Raft (a prison for superpowered people). But everyone else - including everyone that fought alongside Steve Rogers in Infinity War - gave up their safety and freedom to safeguard Vision and prevent Thanos from wiping out half of all life. So, saying that Hawkeye essentially decided to stay at home simply doesn't cut it in this movie. The least they could've done is ask him.

Where are Ant-Man and Wasp during this?

Ant-Man and the Wasp aren't in Avengers: Infinity War either, primarily because they are both slated to appear in Peyton Reed's Ant-Man and The Wasp movie later this summer, which deals with the aftermath of Scott Lang's decisions to fight alongside Steve Rogers in Captain America: Civil War - against the government. Sure, Scott was formerly a criminal, but he knew that he had to keep his family safe - and that meant not g the Sokovia Accords.

And just like what happened with Hawkeye, Ant-Man made an agreement with the government to go home, which is why he's seen wearing an ankle tracker in the first Ant-Man and The Wasp trailer. As for the Wasp, the government probably doesn't know about her and she was most likely busy looking for Janet van Dyne. So, while we can probably deduce their whereabouts by watching Ant-Man 2's trailer, what they're doing in Infinity War is still never revealed. Cap and his team obviously know about him, but they thought it best to leave him be, and if that's the case, then where exactly is he?

Why does Wong protect Sanctum Sanctorum and not go with Hulk?

Doctor Strange and Wong in Avengers Infinity War

Each major superhero appeared to have at least one ing character from their movies in Infinity War. For Doctor Strange, that was Wong - a fellow sorcerer from the 2016 Doctor Strange movie. Although Wong was vital to protecting New York at the start of the film, he disappeared almost right away and wasn't heard from again. Why? Because he opted to protect the Sanctum Sanctorum instead of going after Doctor Strange and the Time Stone or, at least, helping Bruce Banner find the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

There are lots of mystical items stored inside New York's Sanctum Sanctorum. So, while it makes sense that Wong would choose to stay back, that doesn't explain why he doesn't fulfill his sacred oath to protect the Time Stone above all else? Again, Doctor Strange had it, and Wong stayed in New York instead of looking for him. And what's more, Wong doesn't eventually help the Avengers in protecting Vision either - a situation that he could've easily helped with.