New 'Avengers: Infinity War' Theory May Explain Why Thanos Is So Evil

Did the instant death of half the universe’s population in Avengers: Infinity War come down to the left-handedness of the movie’s main villain? A new theory posits that Thanos decided to carry out his terrible plan because he was left-handed (and therefore evil), but a closer look at the Mad Titan suggests that might not be the case after all.

The entire debate began when British sci-fi magazine Starbust tweeted in honor of International Left-Handers Day (yes, that’s apparently a thing) featuring a GIF of Thanos flexing his Infinity Gauntlet-clad left hand and accompanied by the following text:

Lefties are supposedly more creative than their right-handed counterparts… and clearly a tad more maniacal and universe-conquering, too.

It makes sense to assume that Thanos would wield the all-powerful Infinity Gauntlet in his left hand. Right? Well, maybe not.

Over on Reddit, one Avengers fan posed the same question earlier this year, wondering if the fact that Thanos wields the Infinity Stones with his left hand means he’s left-handed (and, by extension, evil). However, the overwhelming response seems to be that the purple-skinned villain would be more likely to keep the stones on his weaker hand in the same way that most people wear a watch on their less-dominant wrist. This frees up your stronger had to do the actual work, which in Thanos’ case mostly involves punching and killing his enemies.

Still not convinced? Check out this video breaking down some of the biggest fights in Infinity War. In the first scene, where he fights the Hulk, you can clearly see that Thanos favors his right hand. He uses it to punch his opponent and then puts extra weight on that hand when he picks up the Hulk and chucks him into the ground.

Near the end of the movie, when Thanos fights Iron Man, he uses his right hand to stab Tony Stark with his own blade. Also, this:

So, if Thanos isn’t left-handed, what makes him so evil?

Well, more importantly, it turns out that the hand you favor has very little to do with your personality at all. As for Thanos, a look into the character’s comic book history reveals plenty about why he’s so comfortable wiping out half the universe in a snap, but perhaps we’ll learn a bit more about his motivations in the next Avengers movie.

Inverse reached out to Marvel to ask whether Thanos is left-handed and will update this article if we receive a response.

Avengers 4 will be released on May 3, 2019.