In 2018 and 2019, respectively, the Avengers will face their biggest threat to date in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The two Avengers: Infinity War movies – which are being renamed, incidentally – will pit the heroic team against Thanos, who will be in possession of the completed Infinity Gauntlet, and on a mission to conquer the universe.

Past villains in the MCU have been beaten in fairly conventional ways – Abomination was crudely beaten down by the Hulk; Aldrich Killian was blown to bits by Pepper Potts; and Malekith was crushed under the weight of his own enormous ship, for example – but none of that will work on the Mad Titan when he has all of the Infinity Stones at his disposal.

With that in mind, this article will discuss some extra-special circumstances that are required to defeat the evil alien warlord. Here are seventeen things that are needed to defeat Thanos in the MCU:

Avengers Reunited

Obviously, it goes without saying that the Avengers will absolutely need to reunite after the events of Captain America: Civil War in order to tackle Thanos – there’s no use continuing to bicker in the midst of a universal apocalypse, after all.

In all likelihood, the team will still be fractured in the first of the two Infinity War movies (whatever it ends up being called) and they will reunite in the second after the Mad Titan handily beats half of them down.

Sadly for Earth’s mightiest heroes, even their reunion won’t be enough to beat him. But never fear. It’s not as though they’ll be tackling the bad-ass purple guy on their own (we’ll get on to that a little bit later in the article).

Now let’s take a look at some rule-breaking that might be needed.

Defiance toward the Accords

After the catastrophic events in New York in The Avengers, Washington DC in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Sokovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Lagos in Captain America: Civil War, the governments of the world united to implement the Sokovia Accords – a legislative bill that required superhumans to register as such and only operate when they are instructed to.

The governments believe that the Avengers should only be used as a last port of call against attacks on Earth – and that might mean that they’ll try to use military action against Thanos in the first instance. Of course, the Mad Titan will annihilate them and force the Avengers into action in spite of requests to stay out of the fight initially.

Moreover, Captain America’s team – who aren’t even registered, remember – will also have to step up to defend the Earth. Once they save the universe, surely the governments of the world will remove the Sokovia Accords from existence.

Now we move on to an exciting proposition involving two great super-teams.

A Flagship Team-Up

Among the most exciting things that have to happen in order for Thanos to be defeated in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the team-up between the franchise’s two flagship teams – the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Whether or not the Guardians of the Galaxy will end up on Earth for the fight, the Avengers will end up in space for it – or a combination of both – isn’t yet known, but the two teams will undoubtedly join forces to face the Mad Titan.

Seeing the likes of Tony Stark and Spider-Man interacting with the likes of Rocket Raccoon and Groot will be absolutely incredible – although even the combined might of these two teams won’t be enough to beat the most powerful being in the MCU (in spite of the fact that their ranks will include newcomers like Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, and Mantis by then).

Now let’s move on to an inevitable consequence that will be required for Thanos to be defeated.

Utter Devastation

In order for Thanos to be defeated, there will have to be collateral damage on a scale never before seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and it will come from both sides.

First of all, in order for the heroes of the MCU to take action, Thanos will have to have made his first aggressive move on Earth – and that will probably destroy an entire city, if not an entire country.

Then, in retaliation, the superheroes of the franchise will retaliate with everything they’ve got – dishing out more collective power than ever before, resulting in another case of massive collateral damage. Essentially, by the time the war with the Mad Titan is over, the destruction will be on a devastatingly large scale – perhaps even affecting the entire cosmos.

Now, on to a point that emphasizes the fact that defeating Thanos won’t be about physical might alone.

A Distraction

Trying to beat Thanos via conventional means simply won’t work. Even with the brute force of Hulk and Groot; the technological might of Iron Man and Rocket Raccoon; the magic of Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch; and the martial arts skills of Black Widow and Mantis, the Mad Titan will still be untouchable.

So it’s going to take something else. The superheroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are going to need to outwit the villain. Cue someone like Spider-Man or Star-Lord.

While Thanos is being distracted with the wit and vocal ramblings of someone like the aforementioned Peters – Parker and Quill – the other good guys will take advantage by doing something like relieving him of the Infinity Gauntlet.

Now for something that will be required of Thanos himself in order for him to be defeated.

Plot Induced Stupidity (PIS)

Thanos is a bona fide genius in the comic books and you have to imagine that he’s a genius in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well – given that he’s plotting to take over the universe and all that. However, it’s going to take him acting like an idiot in order for him to lose.

He’s going to possess power that should make all of the MCU heroes as insignificant as ants to him – so he’ll really need to drop the ball in order for them to defeat him.

Take the comics as an example of this (see the above picture for details); in order to move the plot on, characters often do stupid things that are out of character (known as “plot induced stupidity”, or “PIS” for short). This will have to happen with Thanos in the MCU – he’ll have to act like a complete moron and drop the Infinity Gauntlet or something – otherwise the heroes of the franchise don’t stand a chance against him.

Now let’s discuss how the heroes themselves will have to perform.

Heroes Overperforming

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, if Thanos is even close to being as powerful as he is in the comic books – particularly when he gets his hands on the completed Infinity Gauntlet – nothing that any of the heroes have displayed so far in the MCU will even scratch him.

That Hulk punch that killed the Chitauri leviathan? It won’t scratch him. A full-powered hit from Mjolnir? He won’t even feel it. Captain America’s shield hitting him in the face? Like a bug buzzing around a dinosaur.

The heroes are going to have to show powers closer to their comic book levels to even make the Mad Titan notice they exist. Because, to date, they haven’t shown anything in terms of their powers that will even register on Thanos’ radar.

Now let’s move on to some additional sources of help for the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Surprise Heroic Assistance

The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy are indeed mighty, but, as we’ve already mentioned, it’s unlikely that – even collectively – they’ll be able to scratch the almighty Thanos when he’s wielding the Infinity Gauntlet. So they’re going to need some extra help.

That extra help could come in the form of a number of other groups; the Inhumans, the Defenders, and/or the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – any of which would be awesome to see.

The Inhumans are no longer starring in their own Phase Three movie, so they could appear in the Infinity War movies. The Defenders are coming to Netflix, so they might make the jump to movies. And the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. need a movie appearance, so 2018 or 2019 would be well overdue for them.

Now, let’s look at some additional help that would be even more surprising.

Some Villainous Assistance

If there’s one thing that the heroes and villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe obviously have in common, it’s that they all share the same universe, and that means they will have a goal in common when Thanos tries to conquer it – none of them will want him to do so.

With that in mind, might the heroes call upon some villains to assist them in the fight against the Mad Titan? It certainly shouldn’t be ruled out.

It would do them no harm to have the likes of the Abomination on their side – the more power they have on their side, the better. So don’t be surprised to see some unlikely allies fighting alongside the Avengers and Co.

Now, let’s consider what kind of attacks will be required to hurt the Mad Titan.

Extreme Power Combinations

Thanos is generally presented as having power and expertise in all kinds of areas – physical strength and durability, technological and magical augmentation, extreme mental power and massive intelligence – so it’s going to take combined attacks on every aspect of his being to defeat him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The brute force of the likes of Hulk and Groot, the technological might of Iron Man and Rocket Raccoon, the mystical might of Doctor Strange, the weirdness of Scarlet Witch, the pin-point accuracy of Hawkeye and much more should be utilised – all of which should be used to attack his body, soul and mind.

Ideally, the MCU’s heroes could do with adding a Professor X-esque telepath to their ranks in order to attack Thanos psionically, but it remains to be seen if that will happen in time. Either way, they’ll need to throw all kinds of attacks his way.

Now for something extremely drastic that could happen in order for Thanos to be defeated.

Cosmic Intervention

To date in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we haven’t really met any truly “cosmic” characters in the mold of the abstract types seen in the comic books (Eternity, Infinity, Love, Hate, Order, and Chaos, et al), but that might change when Thanos gets his hands on the six Infinity Stones.

The entire universe will know that it’s at risk when the Mad Titan is wielding that kind of power – and that could mean the real big guns come out to try and stop him (just like they did in the Infinity Gauntlet comic book arc).

Celestials have been confirmed to have existed at one point in the MCU, so who knows which incredibly powerful beings have existed and do still exist there? It would be awesome to see such powerful beings on screen, though.

Now we’ll take a look at another unlikely source of assistance for the heroes of the MCU.

A Turncoat

Realistically, the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and company might actually require someone who is working alongside Thanos – someone the Mad Titan trusts – to turn against him for the good of the universe.

For example, Loki may well be at Thanos’ side for the Infinity War movies, but the God of Mischief might see sense and realize that having the Mad Titan ruling the universe with absolute power would be a very bad idea.

Loki could redeem himself for all the bad things he has ever done by turning against his master and saving the universe. Something like that would go down well with the fans – with whom Loki is a big favorite – but it could be any evil ally working with the alien warlord.

Now for something that needs to happen regarding someone by Thanos’ side.

A Disinterested Lover

In the Infinity Gauntlet comic book arc, everything Thanos did with the titular item was an attempt to impress Mistress Death. He wanted to claim the universe for her and rule it with her at his side, but she was almost entirely disinterested.

It is generally expected that the Mad Titan will have someone he’s trying to impress by his side in the Avengers: Infinity War movies too – but it is expected to be Hela.

Should Hela dismiss his attempts to woo her in the same way that Mistress Death did – which is entirely possible – Thanos might abandon his attempts to rule the Marvel Cinematic Universe, giving the heroes of the franchise a defeat by default.

Now let’s move on to the final entry in this list, which could be potentially devastating for characters in the MCU and fans alike.

A Major Sacrifice

In thirteen Marvel Cinematic Universe movies to date, there really hasn’t been a major character death. There certainly have been deaths – Quicksilver for example – but no truly major character has died (and the ones who have appeared to die have either been revealed to be alive or resurrected in some way). That must change in the Infinity War movies.

A battle of universal proportions will surely kill off some important characters – perhaps even in an heroic sacrifice that defeats Thanos in the process.

Don’t be surprised to see someone like Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor or Star-Lord meeting their demise to bring the Mad Titan down (then again, don’t be surprised later on to see them brought back to life using the Infinity Stones).

Now for an ingredient that will definitely be required to defeat Thanos in the MCU.

Sheer Unadulterated Luck

Without a doubt, the main thing that the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will require when it comes to defeating Thanos is some good old-fashioned good fortune and luck.

There’s no getting round it – the Mad Titan will dwarf even the biggest combination of characters when it comes to power levels when he’s wielding the six Infinity Stones, so a little bit of luck will definitely go a long way.

Perhaps Scarlet Witch will have developed her probability manipulation powers by then, like she has in the comic books (hence why she’s pictured above, in case you were wondering), because they would definitely help matters in the Avengers: Infinity War movies!

Now let’s look at the idea of fighting fire with fire, so to speak.

Another MacGuffin

With Thanos wielding the might of the six Infinity Stones in the Infinity Gauntlet, wouldn’t it be a good idea for the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to wield something of equal power?

With characters likes Adam Warlock and Doctor Strange entering the fray, surely someone on the heroic side will know of objects with power to rival the Infinity Gauntlet?

Imagine if Adam Warlock arrives with the MCU version of the Heart of the Universe. Or if Doctor Strange can get his hands the Evil Eye of Avalon. Or if Tony Stark creates a live action version of the Ultimate Nullifier. Thanos would undoubtedly have to think twice about going ahead with his plan if any of those items appeared on the heroes side.

Now let’s look at the final thing that will be needed to beat Thanos.

Something We Haven’t Thought of Yet

Let’s face it, it’s going to take something outstanding to beat Thanos – something way beyond the minds of mere real world individuals. Something none of us reading this could possibly think of.

The geniuses of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – the Tony Starks, the Bruce Banners, the Stephen Stranges and the like – will undoubtedly come up with something amazing to combat the Mad Titan.

Perhaps it will be a technological device or weapon, perhaps it will be a complex magical spell, or perhaps it will be a concept we can’t even imagine at this stage. One thing’s for sure though, there’s bound to be a totally unexpected wildcard in play when it comes to battling Thanos in the Avengers: Infinity War movies.

And that’s all, folks! We truly hope you enjoyed this article!

What do you think? Will all of these things be required to defeat the Mad Titan? What else will be needed? Have your say below!