One of the biggest standout moments in Avengers: Infinity War, a film full of standout moments, was when Thanos destroyed the moon of Titan and brought it down on Iron Man. So how exactly did Thanos pull off that trick?
It took the power of two of the six mighty Infinity Stones for Thanos to throw a moon at his enemy, one to break the moon and the other to move it. Co-director Joe Russo explains on the Avengers: Infinity War director’s commentary that Thanos “uses two stones there. He uses the Power Stone to destroy the moon. And then he uses the Space Stone to pull it so quickly to the surface of Titan.”
The Power Stone first appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy inside the Orb. The Power Stone is linked to the destructive energy of the universe. Most who try to hold the Stone directly perish, and so its destructive might is often channeled through a conduit, such as Ronan’s hammer. The Stone’s destructive nature makes it the stone of choice for turning a moon into rubble.
The Space Stone, which first presented itself as the Tesseract, holds power over the very concept of space and has the ability to create portals to instantly transport beings from one end of the galaxy to another. Like the Power Stone and the other Infinity Stones, the Space Stone can only be safely wielded by beings of great power, though where the Power Stone would simply destroy its bearer the Space Stone may teleport them away. The Space Stone’s capabilities would allow Thanos to manipulate the laws of physics so that he could move a moon so quickly and precisely over such a great distance.
As Thanos became more skilled with the Infinity Stones, the harder it was for the Avengers to stop him. If Thanos is at full power again when Avengers 4 rolls around, his expanding use of the Infinity Stones that was on display here will only make him a tougher opponent.
