One of the questions that haunt the Marvel Cinematic Universe fans waiting for Avengers: Endgame is about the connection between Thanos and Tony Stark. Where and how did Thanos meet with Tony Stark? Many people assume that Thanos met Tony during the Battle of New York in The Avengers, but a new theory would suggest otherwise.
In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos immediately recognizes Tony Stark and claims to be haunted by this knowledge. Reddit user atradayse speculates that Thanos knows Tony well before the Battle of New York because of his incredible abilities. During the Battle of New York, Thanos does not take the field in person but sends the Chitauri and Loki to do the dirty work. Even if the details of the fight have been reported to him by his subordinates, it is not here that Thanos meets Stark. The theory goes on to explain that Thanos isn’t even familiar with Peter Quill, someone who actually was able to hold the Power Stone briefly and is the son of a Celestial.
That comes down to the idea of Tony being special, and the theory points to a specific moment in Iron Man in which Obadiah Stane asks Stark Industry scientists to build a reactor the same size as Tony’s. They claim that this can not be done. Then, when told Tony did it in a cave with a box of scraps, quips “I’m not Tony Stark.”
The takeaway? Even among the very intelligent, Tony is an anomaly. He’s unique, with the intellect that makes him incredibly powerful to the point that he stands out from the pack. In the theory’s reasoning, it’s that uniqueness that Thanos recognizes and, especially after New York, understood that Tony is willing to use his powers no matter his personal cost.
Stark’s talents would also be why Doctor Strange cedes the Gem of Time to save Tony from Thanos as his role is central to saving the world. At this point it could be Tony Stark who saves himself from the dangerous situation in which we see him in the first trailer of Avengers: Endgame, without food or water and with oxygen decreasing on the Milan lost in space.
Source: Reddit
