Infinity War and Secular Religion

4/28/2018

(Spoilers Ahoy)
Consider poor Vision.
Shining from his synthetic forehead is the final Infinity Stone that Thanos needs to complete the set. The mad Titan’s glove awaits this final accessory and he will attain the powers of God. Not a god, but capital-G God.
In a last ditch effort to thwart this fate, Vision’s love-interest, the Scarlet Witch, must destroy the stone where it rests, killing Vision along the way. She does so, and mourns over the body of her beloved. Thanos, however, is already 5/6 God and simply reverses time to the moments before Visions first death. He then rips the stone out himself, reuniting all the stones and killing Vision a second time.
Marvel’s latest film will be dissected in excruciating detail over the next few weeks, so I will be focused and brief here.
Thanos indeed becomes God for all intents and purposes. He has complete creative control over the universe, able to bend and reform reality, travel through space and time, and do whatever else those other stones allow him to do (I’d love some clarity on that, actually). In other words, he is a being who is able to right the wrongs of the universe as he sees fit. And I wonder if his solution (basically erase half of all living beings in the universe to make more room for the other half) isn’t precisely what all of us would do with such power.
Isn’t any material solution to the question of theodicy ultimately choosing a side to save? Granted, almost nobody would have the other half turn to literal dust, but we’re talking metaphor here, right? In this way, Thanos provides an interesting image of a secular God. A being with all of the Creator’s power, but none of the Grace.
A pretty well-accepted tenet of Christianity is the idea of the resurrection (there are of course debates about bodily vs. spiritual etc..but that’s for another podcast). Vision is indeed resurrected, right in line with Orthodox beliefs about God’s grace and redemption. Unfortunately for him, his resurrection is at the hands of an all-too-human God, and leads only to a second death. There is no redemption for him, only for the half-Creation that Thanos wishes to save. There is no salvation for all.
Loki then, in his dying words, was right about Thanos. Though he may attain God’s power, he will never be a God.

3 Comments

Adam Sorber link

4/28/2018 06:55:21 pm

Interesting thoughts. I really appreciated how they made Thanos more relatable. Obviously flawed, and using vicious immoral means, but pursuing an end with a rationalization that's relatable. I really think the god references made by Thor and Loki were projections--if I'm reading the character correctly, I don't think Thanos really wants to be a god. I think he simply desired the god-like ability to perform a single task, and upon doing so, seems to have contentedly retired, as he said he would. There doesn't seem to be any additional ambition to rule, avenge, etc... The fact that most of the original Avengers fought him hand-to-hand and lived indicates that he's not thirsty for power for power's sake or even as a tool of revenge.

I also thought the sacrifice of Gamora was interesting. Obviously Thanos has no legitimate "love", as you or I would probably define it, for Gamora, yet his sacrifice of her was deemed worthy, so it must have been a legitimate, painful sacrifice. I thought it was a nice way of underscoring the fact that this is a deeply twisted, flawed, and driven foe and not just an amoral villain with a lust for power. I think that's what makes this version of Thanos so formidable. As I was watching the film, I couldn't help but be reminded of this quote from C. S. Lewis: "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

Alex Genetti link

4/29/2018 12:00:42 am

I dig this. Thanos also strikes me as a somewhat Nietzschean figure; if I recall correctly, he once refers to himself as the only one with the "will" to make his vision a reality. Since he lacks any hope in a Christian-style redemptive eschatology, he has to become the salvation that no one else is prepared to offer. He's a god for a godless universe.

Poor Vision, indeed - though I suspect I'd find his death more affecting if only he and Wanda had been given proper screen-time to develop their relationship!

4/29/2018 03:29:11 pm

I’m interested in hearing Gilmour’s take on Thanos being a big, purple Tony. Personally, I see some pretty stark differences. (“Thank you, I’ll be here all week, don’t forget to tip your wait staff…”)

In season 4 of South Park back in 2005, they released an episode called Best Friends Forever that addressed the Terri Schiavo controversy. The episode is notable for making two observations: First, and most importantly, not even the mightiest angel in heaven can resist the temptation to sniff a dry-erase marker. Secondly, people got so emotionally involved in the Schiavo case because it essentially involved one group of people wanting to do the right thing for the wrong reasons locking horns with another group of people wanting to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. It’s an oversimplification, perhaps, but it’s a good starting point.

This is the lens through which I view the Stark/Thanos comparison. Stark is a hero in deed but not in thought. In pretty much every engagement he’s had with “evil”, his motivation has been self-defense or some other personal interest(s). Even his alignment in Civil War had only a thin veneer of altruism. The dude wanted to retire and settle down, and this gave him the opportunity to do so (and avoid future negative PR) without any real soul-searching or personal regard for greater good. The powers that be are indicating that the greater good is served by leaving the fight to them, and that’s all the motivation he needs to move on. Stark is consistently doing the “right” thing for the wrong reason(s).

Thanos, on the other hand, represents the “wrong thing for the right reason” narrative. He’s absolutely insane, but there’s a selflessness in his efforts. It is a burden to him, and in his own words, it cost him everything. He is not acting in self-interest, but, oddly enough, in altruistic service to what he considers to be the greater good.

Ultimately, I see Thanos as a redeemable soul driven by a broken mind, whereas Stark is a malleable mind hindered by a broken soul. In that regard, I can’t imagine them being any more different.

Infinity War and Secular Religion

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