According to Anthony and Joe Russo, the directors of Avengers: Infinity War, this long-awaited film was one of the biggest crossovers in the cinematic history. It featured 28 superheroes from different teams, including Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Sorcerers. All of these superheroes had their own stories. And all of them possessed the powers that had already helped them defeat a number of enemies; from the armies of robots and aliens, to the Goddess of Death herself.
All characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are powerful in their own ways. Some of them are incredibly strong and durable, while others can manipulate time and reality. It seemed that with all these superpowers combined, stopping Thanos on his quest to collect all Infinity Stones wouldn't be a big deal. However, the triumph of good over bad could only happen, if out favorite superheroes remembered about all the powers they possessed and used them in the battles.
However, for an unknown reason, some of these characters seemed to have bad memory. Somehow, they forgot that they possessed the powers that could help them stop the Mad Titan. What are these powers and why didn't we see them in Infinity War? Let's discuss it right now!
15 Doctor Strange: Time Travel
When Doctor Stephen Strange just arrived to Kamar-Taj, the abode of Sorcerers in Kathmandu, Nepal, he started learning magic almost immediately. However, his abilities took some time to develop. To become a powerful Sorcerer, he had to conquer his own mind and his own ego. And when he did, the true power inside of him unleashed.
Strange found the Eye of Agamotto that contained the Time Stone and learned to use it right away. All he needed for it was to see how to move his hands. In a moment, he knew how to use the stone to do something as simple as turning a whole apple into a rotten one, and something as hard as turning a complete mess in Hong Kong back into order.
But, for some reason, time manipulation didn't come to Doctor Strange as an option in Infinity War. He could've used it multiple times to prevent Thanos' attacks or to save his teammates from making mistakes (we're talking about Star Lord here). However, either he forgot about the properties of the stone or he chose not to use it.
Well, at least Strange used the Time Stone to see the possible outcomes of their fight against Thanos and realize that there was only one way to defeat the Mad Titan. But was it enough?
14 Spider-Man: Spidey Sense On Titan
Early on in the movie, we saw Peter Parker having his Spidey Sense. When he was sitting in a school bus, it warned him of a danger coming to the planet. Right after he felt it, he turned around and saw Thanos' Q-shaped spaceship hanging over New York City. The next time Peter had his Spidey Sense was in the end of the film, when he was turning into dust. But this time, it didn't help him in any way. On the contrary, it made things worse for him, because he knew that something was coming. For this reason, the scene showing Spider-Man turning into dust in Tony Stark's hands was one of the most emotional ones in the film.
Why didn't Peter get the Spider Sense while they were trying to take the gauntlet off Thanos' hand? I mean, the moment when Star Lord lost control was dangerous enough, wasn't it? It means that his Spider Sense had to give him a warning before it was going to happen. Didn't it work at that moment or did Peter fail to listen to it?
If only it worked and Peter listened. He would've stopped Quill from his outburst of anger in time and the tragic outcome of this scene could be avoided.
13 Scarlet Witch: Mind Manipulation
In Age of Ultron, we were introduced to the Maximoff twins — Pietro and Wanda. Both of them were given powers through Loki's scepter that contained the Mind Stone. As Maria Hill put it for Captain America—when talking about their powers—"He's fast and she's weird."
What was her "weirdness"? Well, a couple of things, and right now we're going to talk about the way she manipulated the minds of most of the Avengers.
Back then, she fought against them and sent them weird visions about their past and future that reflected their biggest fears and regrets. As a result, Stark saw all the Avengers dead because of his inaction, Thor saw strange scenes in Asgard, Cap was at a very weird after-war party, and Natasha recalled the first time she took a life. After this incident, all of them were a complete mess. Thanks to Hawkeye, they got to a safe place where they could recover a little bit.
In Infinity War, Wanda could've used her mind manipulation skills on Thanos or the Black Order. It'd certainly put them out of action, at least for some time. So why didn't she do it?
In fact, it seems that she decided not to manipulate the minds at all, because she never did it after Age of Ultron. Weird decision, but okay...
12 Thor: God Of Thunder
In the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok, Thor lost his weapon. At first, he was devastated because his hammer helped him defeat his enemies in so many battles. He barely knew how to fight without it. But eventually, he got a vision of his father, Odin, telling him, "You're not the god of hammers" and realized that the true power lied inside of him, not in his hammer. After it, he became the true God of Thunder and unleashed the biggest power ever.
But it seems that this power wasn't enough for fighting in the Infinity War.
Right after realizing how strong he was by himself, Thor began looking for a new weapon to help him defeat Thanos. Did he want to become the god of axes? Did he feel worthless without a powerful weapon in his hands again? And did Stormbreaker, his new axe, limit his true powers, like Mjolnir did in the past?
I hope that Thor won't get attached to his new weapon again, and in case Stormbreaker is destroyed some time in the future, he will be able to overcome the loss more easily, because he should know now that he's the God of Thunder who's strong all by himself, with a weapon or without it.
11 Doctor Strange: Sling Ring
During one of the first battle scenes in Infinity War, when Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian attacked Doctor Strange to secure the Time Stone from him, Wong showed us a very interesting way to use the Sling Ring.
But first, let me remind you what a Sling Ring is. It is a two-finger ring that allows its wearer to create a portal to any place and travel through the Multiverse.
When the Ancient One was teaching Doctor Strange to use the Sling Ring, she advised him to visualize the place he wanted to get to and "look beyond the world in front" of him. It's a very useful tool that allows not only to travel long distances in moments, but also to escape danger.
But Wong demonstrated another way to use the Sling Ring. With its help, he teleported Cull Obsidian to some snowy region and, when the villain wanted to come back through the portal, Wong closed it, thus cutting off his hand.
Now, we know that Doctor Strange wouldn't use the Sling Ring to escape, because he wasn't that kind of person. But why didn't he use it to cut off Thanos' left arm, on which he was wearing the gauntlet? Did he forget that he could do it or was Wong the only one who knew about this interesting property of the Sling Ring?
10 Gamora: Incredible Acrobatic Skills
When Thor fell onto the ship of Guardians of the Galaxy and talked about Thanos' quest for the Infinity Stones, Gamora realized that everyone was in danger. He could only fulfil his plan and "restore balance" in the universe if he found all six Infinity Stones, and she was the only one who knew where the Soul Stone was. Despite all the efforts, she still got into Thanos' hands and ultimately had to give out the stone's location to save Nebula from torture.
On Vormir, it turned out that Thanos had to sacrifice what he loved the most, and, since he loved his daughter, he had to throw her off the cliff. For any average person, such a fall means instant death, but... Gamora wasn't an average person. Do you remember how deep she and Nebula were falling in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, when Ego disintegrated the ground beneath them? Back then, it didn't hurt them at all. After landing safely, both of them just jumped out of the hole.
Why didn't the same thing happen in this precipice on Vormir? Did Gamora forget that she could land safely and jump out? I mean, it seems that that hole on Ego's planet was far deeper, and she made it out alive!
9 Hulk: Rage Equals More Power
Throughout the Infinity War film, we saw Bruce Banner struggling with the Hulk, who didn't want to come out and engage into a fight. Some fans thought that it happened because the green giant was afraid of Thanos, but the Russo brothers stated that it wasn't correct. Hulk didn't want to come to help, because he was sick and tired of saving Banner's life every time he needed it.
Thus, Banner got a chance to develop his warrior side without Hulking out. Meanwhile Hulk, kind of, ruined his own essence.
What I mean is the original portrayal of the monster, where rage made Hulk more and more powerful.
In the first movie that told us about the Banner/Hulk duo (where Edward Norton played the character), it was shown in the best way. Just a moment of anger could force Bruce to Hulk out. But in Infinity War, either this ability disappeared or Banner didn't actually get angry at all (which is very unlikely).
For this reason, Hulk's refusal to come out seems to be weird. But, at least it allowed Banner to become a superhero by himself, without the help of a giant green monster who liked to smash everything (and everyone) he saw.
8 Spider-Man: His 'Karen' Suit
Spider-Man Homecoming told us more about Peter Parker's personality and showed us how his relationship with Tony Stark developed. One of the coolest parts of this film was Spider-Man's new suit created by Stark. It allowed him to do a number of new things and even gave a new friend to Peter Parker. It was a "suit lady," whom he called Karen. Similarly to JARVIS in Iron Man's suit, she was there to help Spider-Man, and tell him about the features of his suit that he could use at any given moment.
But Peter, this sweet young man, didn't use a single one of the suit's features offered by Karen. It was the mode that could instantly "off" the enemy. So wouldn't it be very helpful during the battle with Thanos? I mean, I know that Peter wouldn't want to take anyone's life, but at least having this option would be nice.
Besides, it was strange that Spider-Man's newest suit introduced in Infinity War had so many new features, including the spider legs protruding from his back, but it didn't have Karen. I mean, it's cool when the new gear has newly developed properties, but why should it eliminate the old ones that were useful?
Besides, Stark also works with a "suit lady," as well, and he knows how useful it is. Why would he take it out of Spidey's new suit?
7 Loki: God Of Mischief
Since Loki was a God of Mischief, he'd always been an expert in fooling others and pretending to be someone he wasn't. He was also a very sharp-witted guy, who knew exactly when he needed to become intangible to save his life. However, when Loki attempted to cut Thanos' throat with a knife (sounds silly, right?), the Mad Titan stopped him immediately and broke his neck. "No resurrection this time," he said to Thor afterwards.
The demise of Loki didn't seem to be logical to anyone. First of all, what made him think that he could defeat the Mad Titan with a small knife?
Thanos wasn't a fool, and he could see Loki's trick from afar. And secondly, how come Loki didn't think of the possibility of failure? Why didn't he become intangible, like he always did before when he wanted to save his life? Not only could he create copies of himself, but also he could turn into anyone he wanted.
He did it so many times to other MCU heroes (including Thor, who kept on loving his brother no matter what he did). Did he forget about this power during the last moments of his life? He could've easily used this trick against Thanos and the Black Order at least to escape alive.
6 Groot: Control Over Plant Life
Back in Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot seemed to be much more powerful than he is now. He was super-strong, his body was extremely elastic as he could stretch his hands to whatever length and change his physical form whenever needed, and he could use the plant life around to help him fight.
After he stretched his body to save his teammates from a fall and sacrificed his own life, Groot was regenerated in a new plant. He was Baby Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol.2 and teenage Groot in Infinity War. As a baby, he didn't demonstrate a lot of powers (except for the power of sweetness and adorableness, in which he had no rivals), but wasn't he supposed to use them as a teen?
Let's take one of Groot's superpowers as an example here. He was able to use the plant life to his own benefit in a fight. And the Battle of Wakanda was literally taking place in an African forest. Why didn't Groot use trees and other plants around them to stop the enemy?
Can you imagine how epic it'd look if he summoned trees to the fight? They'd be just like Ents in Lord of the Rings! It'd make a huge difference for the battle's outcome, wouldn't it?
5 Doctor Strange: Mirror Dimension
According to the Ancient One, "The Mirror Dimension is ever present but undetected. The real world isn't affected by what happens here. We use the mirror dimension to train, surveil, and sometimes to contain threats."
In other words, whatever happens in the Mirror Dimension, stays in the Mirror Dimension. It's kind of a Sorcerers' version of Vegas.
In Doctor Strange, the Mirror Dimension was used several times to fight against Kaecilius and his minions. The reality in New York City would bend in a very spectacular way, warping and splitting the buildings and making the heroes run up and down.
In Infinity War, Strange tried to use the Mirror Dimension against Thanos once, but the Mad Titan quickly shattered it with the help of the Power Stone. Then he used the Space Stone to turn it into a black hole and threw it back at Doctor Strange.
Even though we can't blame Strange for not trying to use the Mirror Dimension at all, we can still assume that he could try a little bit harder. For example, he could've created it, when Peter Quill started losing control over the news about Gamora's death and distract him or take him out of the scene completely for some time.
4 Scarlet Witch: Telekinesis Skills
Another superpower of Scarlet Witch was hyper-telekinesis. Do you remember how incredibly strong she was when she was using this superpower? To begin with, she could lift Captain American up and let him fly into a window! And let me remind you — he's not a little guy!
Besides, she could also catch Crossbones into her hands and throw him far away in Captain America: Civil War. Back then, she couldn't control her immense powers and she accidentally threw him onto a building, thus wounding a number of people.
Later in the same film, when she wanted to run away, she managed to stop Vision by throwing him several floors down. Let me remind you — the droid was made of Vibranium, so he was extra-heavy.
So the question is: why didn't she throw Thanos away in a similar fashion, when she saw him turning Vision back to life? Or why didn't she just remove the gauntlet from his hand? With the incredible telekinesis power she demonstrated previously, she could do it quite easily.
In fact, it seems that Wanda was one of the most underused superheroes in Infinity War, wasn't she? I mean, she was great, but she could do so much better!
3 White Wolf: A Vibranium Arm
The post-credit scene of Black Panther and then Avengers: Infinity War introduced us to Bucky Barnes in the new role. He stopped being the Winter Soldier, because his mind was cleared of brainwashing, and turned into the White Wolf.
On the one hand, Bucky had always been an experienced fighter. The Super-Soldier Serum injected into his body by HYDRA made him stronger and more durable. And, of course, he was experienced in taking the lives of others. While his mind-programming was left in the past, all these skills remained. And it even seemed that they had to be enhanced with his new arm made of Vibranium.
However, Bucky's new arm didn't really show any of its properties.
Since it was created by Shuri (the sister of T'Challa and the technological genius), we thought that it'd be equipped with some of the features of Black Panther's suit, like the ability to store the kinetic energy taken from the fight to inflict a stronger blow. It would be cool to see these features during the Battle of Wakanda, wouldn't it?
But, sadly, Bucky (aka the White Wolf) didn't show his full potential in the battle and then turned into dust after it...
2 Mantis' Instant Sleep
When we were introduced to Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol.2, we learnt that she had two major superpowers. First, due to her excellent empathy skills, she could read the feelings and emotions of anyone she touched. And second, she could induce sleep on any living being by simply touching them.
The latter one was the reason Mantis lived with Ego, Quill's father — the Celestial could sleep only with her help. And since she was able to put a Celestial to sleep (even in the end, when he was in his full Celestial mode), what would it take her to do the same with the titan?
In fact, it shouldn't have been a hard thing to do. However, when Mantis was sitting on Thanos' shoulders and holding his head, she didn't induce sleep on the Mad Titan. If she did, he wouldn't confirm Nebula's words about the death of Gamora and Quill wouldn't freak out so much. They would have accomplished their plan and taken the Infinity Gauntlet off the Mad Titan's left arm.
Thanos' crazy mission would've been ceased once and forever.
Why Matis tried to control his emotions instead of inducing sleep remains a mystery to me, as well as to many other fans.
1 Doctor Strange: Teleportation Skills
One of the funniest scenes in Thor: Ragnarok involved Doctor Strange helping Thor and Loki to find their father Odin. The Sorcerer Supreme knew where he was and teleported the brothers to this location in an instant (but not before making Loki fall for whole thirty minutes).
Why didn't Doctor Strange use this instant teleportation skill in Infinity War?
Of course, teleporting Thanos wouldn't be useful, because he'd come back in a moment with the help of the Space Stone. But the skill could be utilized in some other occasions. For example, he could make use of it in his fight against Ebony Maw and teleport him to the top of Everest, the Mariana Trench (the deepest part of the world's oceans), or any other place on this planet or another, from where it'd be hard to escape.
Another scene where the skill would be useful was the one where Quill started freaking out over Gamora's demise. It'd be better if Strange sent him to some place else, where he'd chill out for a couple of minutes and then get him back, when the Infinity Gauntlet was removed from the Mad Titan's left arm.
But we still don't know whether Strange forgot about this skill, or he didn't use it intentionally, because he already knew what to do to realize the single scenario, where Thanos was ultimately defeated.