'Infinity War' Theory Explains How Cap Beats Thanos in 'Avengers: Endgame'

Avengers: Infinity War proved Thanos was unbeatable. While all the other Avengers were easily knocked out or snapped out of existence, Captain America, however, was the exception. He was able to briefly hold off the Mad Titan during the Battle of Wakanda, and fans have long speculated about how he was able to do it when no one else could. Now, a fascinating new theory suggests that he was able to channel all of his will-power into the Infinity Gauntlet resulting in an unexpected stand-off with Thanos that could have big repercussions in Avengers: Endgame.

Captain America charging at the Mad Titan is probably one of the most exciting scenes in Infinity War. After all, Thanos was able to quickly defeat Black Panther, Bruce Banner in the Hulkbuster suit, and more. So what made Captain America so different?

Redditor u/XanPerkyCheck posits that Captain America’s hold on the Infinity Gauntlet was what caused Thanos to struggle for a moment before knocking Cap out with his glove-less arm. That’s an important distinction. Captain America was still bested by the Mad Titan, but it was because Thanos cut the connection between Steve Rogers and the Infinity Stones.

“The glove works by responding to the will of the user, and in that moment, both of them were in physical contact with the glove,” they write. “So Rogers was kind of ‘out-willing’ Thanos.”

Clearly, the gauntlet reacts to its user and has its own powers and since Captain America went straight for the gauntlet, it essentially became a battle of wills. In addition, the theory claims that Captain America’s influence on the Infinity Gauntlet was greater than Thanos’ in that moment and so the glove stopped responding to the Mad Titan, forcing him to use the other hand to take down Captain America. 

If you watch the scene above, Thanos is undeniably confused at first by Captain America’s ability to hold him off. Fans have noted this peculiar response before, with one previous theory suggesting that Thanos is confused because he already killed Captain America in the past thanks to time travel.

But we like this new theory more, mostly because it doesn’t rely on time travel shenanigans to make sense. If it turns out to be true, it also means that Captain America, and not Tony Stark, will be the one to command the Infinity Gauntlet in Avengers: Endgame.

Previous [Avengers Endgame leaks]((https://www.inverse.com/article/54776-avengers-endgame-toy-leaks-tony-stark-infinity-gauntlet) seem to confirm that Iron Man will make his own gauntlet to challenge Thanos. It’s possible that Captain America could end up being the one who uses it, or maybe Tony’s gauntlet won’t be necessary at all.

Either way, Thanos could be in deep trouble if the Avengers ever figure out a way to harness the power of the Infinity Stones for themselves in Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame hits theaters April 26, 2019.