Thanos' snap is all over 'Avengers: Endgame.' But why the heck was it a snap?
Thanos wiped out half of all life in the universe at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. He did it with a simple snap, a physical action — even though the power granted to him by a fully powered Infinity Gauntlet meant he could accomplish the same feat with nothing more than a thought.
Enter the question that kept coming up in my mind as Endgame revisited the snap repeatedly: Why even bother with a snap?
It goes back to the comics, of course. In the original Infinity Gauntlet series, written by Thanos creator Jim Starlin, the moment that directly inspired Infinity War's Snappening played out in roughly the same way. Thanos dramatically assembled the Infinity Gems and fended off an onslaught of superhero attacks long enough to raise his arm up and ... snap.
So I took my question to the source. When I had the opportunity to chat with Starlin recently (after he'd had a chance to catch Endgame), I asked him: Why did Thanos snap? What's the significance of the physical action there?
His answer: "It seemed the most dismissive gesture that I could come up with at the time. I wanted something casual, but something that would have a hook to it. I never in a million years imagined it would become this pop culture moment that it has become," Starlin said.
"But it was basically a contemptuous way of executing what he was planning on doing at the time. And it looked good with the gauntlet."
It makes sense. Contempt for lesser beings -- or what Thanos sees as lesser beings, anyway -- in many ways defines his character. It's not a grounded, humble mind that hatches a plan like "I can save the universe by wiping out exactly half of it!"
By executing his grand design with nothing more than a snap, Thanos was roasting his enemies one last time in the precise moment he defeated them all.
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
