A genius MCU theory about the Infinity Stones suggests that the Snap wasn’t actually Thanos’ idea. As seen in the MCU Infinity Saga, Thanos collects the powerful Infinity Stones with the mission to erase half of all life in the universe, thereby restoring balance to the universe and saving the living from overpopulation and the rapid depletion of resources. However, it’s been suggested that Thanos didn’t devise this plan alone.

Thanos’ home world of Titan was lost due to a lack of resources after its people rejected his proposal to kill half the population at random. Thanos then became known as “The Mad Titan” before he was ultimately proven correct and his people went extinct. As such, this motivated Thanos to begin his crusade across the galaxy, killing half the population on various worlds as a means of restoring “balance”. However, a new MCU theory suggests that Thanos’ idea of killing half of all life may have come from none other than the Mind Stone.

Theory: The Mind Stone Convinced Thanos To Wipe Out Half Of Existence

Presented by Redditor LoveWaffle1, the idea is that the Mind Stone was the only Infinity Stone Thanos had before the events of Avengers:Infinity War and the start of the Infinity Saga itself. After all, Thanos gives the Chitauri Scepter and the Mind Stone within to Loki to aid in his conquest of Earth in 2012’s Avengers. However, there is no canonical backstory for how and when Thanos got the Mind Stone to begin with.

Keeping that in mind, it’s theorized that the Mind Stone was in Thanos’ possession for quite some time. As such, it began influencing his mind and perhaps even became responsible for the idea of wiping out half of all life to begin with, rather than a less murderous option like finding a way to generate additional resources that aren’t as finite. This would also explain why Ultron decided to wipe out humanity and replace it with something stronger, having been activated and influenced by the Mind Stone courtesy of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner.

Does This Idea Actually Work In The MCU Canon?

While an intriguing idea, the key element is the timing. For Thanos to have been convinced to wipe out half of all life by an exterior influence, the Mind Stone would have needed to be in his possession before events on Titan became dire. This means that Thanos would have needed to have the Mind Stone in his possession for years before finding the other stones.

While technically possible, it doesn’t make much sense considering his crusade where the Mad Titan started going from world to world, wiping out 50% of life one planetary population at a time without the other stones. However, the idea of the Mind Stone not valuing life and affecting both Thanos and Ultron to hold the same dark values is still compelling, though it does open up questions regarding its apparent lack of effect on the Vision. Regardless, a possible origin for the Mind Stone does support its corruptive nature.

An MCU-Connected Thanos Novel Supports The Mind Stone’s Corruption (Sort Of)

The noncanonical yet MCU-adjacent novel Thanos: Titan Consumed by Barry Lyga supports the idea that the Mind Stone had a corruptive influence. It also revealed a potential backstory for how Thanos came to own his first Infinity Stone. In Titan Consumed, Thanos was already conquering worlds in his crusade for balance when he heard rumors of the Infinity Stones’ existence.

Having originally dismissed the Infinity Stones as Asgardian myth, Thanos began seeking them out. This put him in contact with the Mind Stone’s original owner known as the Lorespeaker, brother to the Grandmaster and Collector. Upon the Lorespeaker’s death, Thanos remains in his quarters studying the Mind Stone for an extended period of weeks, only to emerge with his eyes having been changed with glowing purple energy which ultimately faded over time (explaining the difference in his appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy compared to Infinity War).

This implies a sort of influence the Mind Stone might have had over Thanos, albeit without any sort of clear specificity as Thanos was already seeking balance via randomized murder. If anything, the Mind Stone likely urged Thanos to find and bring together the other Stones with an increased obsession and fanaticism. However, it’s important to remember that this novel was only connected to the MCU as an adjacent story, rather than being any kind of official canon.

How The Mind Stone Theory Changes Thanos’ Backstory

“The Mind Stone being a corruptive force behind Thanos’ origins is still a genius idea and would have had some key narrative significance.”

If even proven true, this theory would certainly create some plot holes and questions regarding the Mind Stone’s influence or lack thereof on heroes such as Vision, Quicksilver, or the Scarlet Witch. However, the idea that the Mind Stone might have influenced Thanos’ murderous plans is very entertaining nonetheless. It would essentially mean that the Mind Stone is what gave Thanos his madness, and that he might have gone on to do great things and even found a way to save his people had it never come into his possession and convinced him that genocide was the only option.

At any rate, the Mind Stone being a corruptive force behind Thanos’ origins is still a genius idea and would have had some key narrative significance. After all, it was ultimately the first and last Infinity Stone the Mad Titan would come to collect before snapping his fingers in the MCU. However, it seems far more likely that Thanos had already made his conclusion about balance and erasing half of all life long before he came into contact with the Mind Stone.