What That Huge Thanos Scene At The End Of 'Infinity War' Means For The Big Bad's Future

Major spoilers ahead for Avengers: Infinity War. When it comes to weapons, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has always had some pretty cool ones, and Infinity War definitely ups the ante. Though Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, was destroyed, in Infinity War he gets a giant new axe named Stormbreaker, with a handle lovingly provided by some of Groot's wood. Captain America had his shield for awhile there, but he also gets new gear courtesy of high tech Wakandan Vibranium. And Tony Stark even makes a special new nano tech suit for himself and for his kid pal Spider-Man. But the weapon all eyes will be on during Infinity war is no doubt the one held by Thanos — but is Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet destroyed at the end of Infinity War?

It just might be. The Infinity Gauntlet, a massive metal glove, draws its power from the six Infinity Stones that adorn it. The purple Power Stone was last seen in Guardians of the Galaxy, where it was being guarded by the Xandarian Nova Corp. The blue Space Stone lives inside the Tesseract. The red Reality Stone was the Aether from Thor: A Dark World, and given to The Collector for safekeeping. The green Time Stone lives within Dr. Strange's medallion. The yellow Mind Stone is what gives Vision his life, residing in the middle of his forehead. And the location of the orange Soul Stone is revealed in Infinity War, in one of the movie's more shocking death scenes.

As for the Gauntlet itself, though a fake one made an appearance in the Thor movies as an artifact in Odin's treasury, Infinity War suggests that Thanos created this one himself. In the new movie, Thor returns to Nidavellir, one of the Nine Realms over which the Asgardians rule, and where his hammer was originally forged. There he reunites with Eitri, the dwarf master craftsman who runs the great metal forgery played by Peter Dinklage. As it turns out, Thanos visited Nidavellir and forced Eitri to make the gauntlet for him. One by one, Thanos gets ahold of each Infinity Stone, granting him more and more power throughout the movie. Thanos' final plan is to use all six stones to essentially become the master of the universe and wield their power in order to wipe out half of the population of the universe.

There's actually one point in the film when we think the Avengers/Guardians team-up squad is going to be successful in yanking the Infinity Gauntlet off of Thanos' hand. With Mantis playing some mind tricks on Thanos brain, Spider-Man tying him down, and Iron Man attempting to pull the darned thing off, there's a hopeful moment where the audience might think Thanos may lose. But, in what might be either a twisted turn of events for the MCU, or in an expected cliffhanger depending on what we've come to know about these movies, Thanos is actually successful in his plot. He obtains all six Infinity Stones, giving his Gauntlet power over all of the universe and with the snap of his fingers, half of the population of the galaxy disintegrates into dust, leaving the other half shocked and saddened by the tragic events.

But it's unclear what happens to the Infinity Gauntlet after Thanos makes the snap. The film ends with half of the cast dead, and Thanos perched upon a hill in Wakanda, saddened by his actions. The Infinity Gauntlet looks like it's wiped out, its luster gone, perhaps its power diminished. It's possible Thanos used up all of the inherent power of the stones with his one horrific deed. Perhaps the power required to kill half of the universe wiped out the Gauntlet's abilities for good, and Thanos is now just a mad titan trapped on Earth with no power, and no way of getting home. In which case, the Avengers who are left will most certainly come for him.

But it's also possible that the Infinity Gauntlet isn't powerless by the end of Infinity War. Sure, it's a little dingy, but it's possible that each stone and the Gauntlet itself still work, and the all powerful glove was left just a bit dusty from the climax. And considering that Avengers 4 is possibly named Infinity Gauntlet, we should probably expect to see the Gauntlet, and Thanos, return next year. The rumors of the title reach back to when Zoe Saldana said, during an interview, "I think the Guardians just shot their part when it comes to Infinity War, the first part, and we all have to go back for Gauntlet later this year." It's also the name of the third and fourth comic on which the movies are based. So knowing the fight isn't over, the Avengers that are left are going to need some help to beat something as powerful as the Infinity Gauntlet.