Okay I have to ask …Phase 2
Why a physical “snap” to destroy or rebirth populations? It’s not putting two gems into physical contact. It’s likely not a shared gesture among planetary cultures.
I get “movie recognition” but still.
I get “movie recognition” but still.
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But... this is from Dodgeball.
Sometime later another writer took this wayyyy too literally and it became the actual way the stones are used.
I guess you can explain it like this, in the movies it doesn’t NEED to be a snap just a closed fist. Thanos does the snap in that moment because of his earlier comments about how easy it would be for him to do with all five stones. Then Hulk and Ironman are traumatized by it and are repeating the gesture out of associating for how it’s used. Basically they’re copying.
So it makes sense that they can parse between an intentional command and an intrusive thought.
If Thanos could use the stones with impunity from simply having them in his possession, it would've been no contest, but he had to close his fist to use them one or two at a time. This meant the gauntlet could be "neutralized" in the battle. From there it makes sense that a more demanding use would require a more specific gesture/input in addition to the convenient visual cue for the audience.
Kings used to clap or snap to order someone to do something. It adds a plot point that even if he has all the stones, stop him from snapping his fingers, which gave us the last montage in Infinity War
Thanos is fucking ridiculous in the comics, but he takes himself very seriously.
“Yeah you’re right. Hmmm, just have him flying around above”.
“I don’t think Thanos can fly”.
“I dunno, figure it out”.
It’s a one handed easy gesture that simultaneous elevates the power of the gauntlet while emphasizing its criticality to the action occurring. It makes Thanos feel like a god because it was just *that* easy.
The stones are basically granting a wish that needs to be “locked in” when you wish for it. The gesture could be anything the wearer wants, but a snap is a) easy enough to do that you could probably manage it under duress, and b) something you’re not gonna accidentally do without meaning to.
It's also somewhat dismissive - such a simple, flippant thing spelling the death of half of all living beings with cold, dispassionate will.
2. Thanos mentions it on Titan in Infinity War. Says “with all 6 stones I can simply snap my fingers and they would all cease to exists. I call that mercy.”
And alternative spellings, like 'thru'
Occasionally. The stones work just by wearing the glove and thinking stuff. Thanos wipes out the universe and recreates it multiple times without snapping his fingers. He snaps when he wants to be theatrical. Thanos is a nut job, you have to keep in mind, with his sole goal in his sad incel life to impress and seduce Death.
For thanos, it was just him being an asshole. In the comics the idea was "look how easy this is." And I think that was his messaging in this.
Having Hulk do it is annoying. Tony doing it would have had more impact if Hulk didnt. Like him throwing it back in Thanos' face.
But now, there is no reason to snap. It isnt part of the glove or the gems.
NOW - head cannon to make it make sense? Its what they know thanos did to tie his thought to the action of the gauntlet. So it would make sense for them to just follow suit since they dont understand the stones the way Thanos did. Makes a lot of sense that way, but thats never actually indicated.
If you read the comics, it was only ever the one snap after he monologued about being able to wipe away half of all life with the snap of his fingers.
A reference to the comics, sure, but in the film, I saw it as being symbolic of Thanos’ ‘mercy’ in how quick and painless the erasure of the population would be
Thanos being an intelligent alien pentadactyl doesn't mean it's unusual that he knows what finger snapping is. If he comes from a highly developed civilization, there probably is a cultural thing tied to the gesture different from ours, we just don't know. Even in human cultures the finger snap gesture takes widely different meanings all around. Some cultures don't even use it. Thanos just probably preferred it to showcase the power he wielded.
If another non-humanoid species of alien could have wielded all gems/stones, then it would have probably done its version of "snapping fingers" to make the same point.
A simple snap of one’s fingers when in possession of all 6 stones is enough to literally rewrite the universe in an instant
It makes more sense to see them do something physical than to just think the action into reality. Plus, it’s something we all understand and if one character does one thing and another does something else it gets too confusing for the general theater goer
That’s just what Thanos is doing while using the stones as symbolism
If a species without traditional hands had created the gauntlet, it would have been a action/gesture native to that species.
In the comics, Thanos doesn't need the snap to use his full powers. There's a scene at the end of his fight with the Avengers (in which he limited himself after Mephisto's manipulation) where he literally wipes them out of reality without moving a muscle.
The reason he snaps is because at that precise moment he wants to show Death (with whom he's in love) that he's now the most powerful being in the universe, so powerful he can wipe out half of all life with a single snap of his fingers.
In Infinity War, it's already bizarre that he snaps his fingers at that moment, risking Thor neutralizing him, but okay, let's pretend he wanted to make a dramatic gesture to impress him.
But what about the fact that in Endgame, snapping your fingers becomes mandatory for everyone to use their power? What is this, a parody? "To use the most powerful object in the universe, you have to snap your fingers"—that's Army of the Dead-esque nonsense.
Like I said: first they tried to remake an iconic moment in the wrong context, then they turned a single moment into a full-blown rule, ridiculing everything.
2. Snapping your fingers is a universally recognized gesture for us, the viewers, representing doing something quickly, simply, and/or practically. It's therefore a very elegant visual representation for these movies without needing to invent something complicated or perhaps ridiculous.
To inuniverse headcanon it....its an action to suit the thought. Its like saying a mantra to focus your thoughts. By adding a specific action to the use of the stone you focus your intent.
The action could be anything. Thanks had already settled on the imagery of the snap, he said so himself and he obviously said so before since gamora said the same thing. It was his mantra so to speak.
Then moving forward, hulk and Ironman already associated the 1st use of the stones with the snap and therefore had that as an easy anchor to find their mantra. Thanos chose a snap, the avengers chose to snap back.
They literally all have the exact same hand build as we do for some reason. Hence, it should be known about.
But also the visual cue and smooth mfer factors as well if we’re talking meta.
One...snap, that was all it took. Just. Like. That.
And we've internalized it so well - it's a *global phenomenon* that shook us all. How fckn epic is that. What a time to be alive, really. It just hit me for a moment. Amongst Norse gods, aliens, superheroes, witches, wizards, sentient androids, kids with powers of animals, walking talking racoons and trees - one snap that blew all our minds. Marvel really blessed us.
In Titan the team tried hard to prevent Thanos from closing his fist. Back in EG, CM held his hand to prevent him from using it. Both Tony and Bruce used snaps themselves too, or else they would just simply think about it.
Literally, visually, it was presented in both films, that the snap was the actual trigger/gesture. No explanation why, but it was.