Avengers: Infinity War has sparked debate and most of that debate, when it is not centered around Peter Quill’s actions, has focused on Thanos, his emotional life and his objective. For me I had not issues with Thanos either in his motivation, his plan, or his twisted, destructive, and maladjusted emotional landscape. This essay is more about how I see it and not how you should. I am not trying to convince you that I am ‘right’ and you, if you do not agree, are ‘wrong.’ In the matter of art no honest reaction can be wrong, it is how the piece resonated with you.

Naturally this post will contain spoilers but I will try to moderate them as much as possible; proceed at your own risk.

Is Love Objective?

This is the critical question when considering Thanos and his relation to his children, particularly when we look at his daughters, Gamora and Nebula. That Thanos is an abusive character is without question. Throughout their lives Thanos pitted the two daughters against each other in violent combat, making the loser, always Nebula, suffer surgical alteration and mechanical implants to ‘strengthen’ her. Gamora he stole from her home after murdering half of it population. That both of these woman emerged with any sort of functional moral compass is a testament to their strength of character. Thanos always favored Gamora, rebuking Nebula’s status in her presence by referring to Gamora as his ‘favorite daughter.’ When confronted by the guardian of the Soul Stone Thanos murders his favorite daughter to posses the Infinity Stone, but did he love her?

Can love be measured any outside observer? Is there a test for when a person loves another that can be objectively quantified? I do not think so.

Let me be clear, in my book abuse is never ever love. Thanos does not live by my book. Thanos, a character warped and twisted by trauma seems incapable of any true empathy and mistakes his anger, his displacement, and his terrible abuse for sympathy, for caring, for love. In that terrible when confronted by the Red Skull Thanos believes that he loves Gamora, his belief drives that scene not the objective reality that he is a terrible abuser. It is a quintessential example of the villain being the hero of their own story. Gamora is right when she says that Thanos does not, by any definition that an emotionally healthy person would use, love, but Thanos’ truth is not ours. Thanos is so twisted by his own trauma he is incapable of recognizing his true nature is it any surprise he cannot tell love from abuse?

Does Thanos’ Plan make any Logical Sense?

In a word, no, but when does logic matter to someone who has already become convince that they are right? Again to me the answer is in Thanos’ own trauma, the destruction of his home and the death of his people. Once Thanos became certain of his own vindication no amount of logic or objective fact could dissuade him. We can look around at our real world and see Thanos reflected from all too human behavior over and over again. Perhaps there had been a time when a reasonable person could doubt the safety of modern vaccines but that time has long since passed. Look around on line and you can find a photo of smiling women still promoting the idiotic and thoroughly disproved theory that vaccines harm, they are children of Thanos. There was a time when one could have legitimate doubts about climate change but every argument against humanity changing the climate has failed but those who cling bitterly to their denials are the children of Thanos. There was never a time when you could credibly believe in a vast world wide conspiracy that Jewish people controlled everything and yet the Nazi believed it so utterly that when the Enabling Act made Hitler into the dictator Gobbles Goebbels write in his diary that they were ‘free’ they too were children of Thanos. Certainty becomes monomania and impervious to reality this is the core of Thanos’ plan to ‘save’ the Universe. He knows he is right and there is no confluence of facts or logic that can dissuade him from his crusade.

These two elements strengthen not weaken the power and impact of Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War.