'Avengers: Endgame' Refresher: Thanos

With Marvel Studios' “Avengers: Endgame” quickly approaching, you might be in need of a refresher of what Thanos managed to accomplish with just a single snap, and how the Avengers even got here in the first place.

Thanos — who was first introduced in a mid-credit scene for “The Avengers” back in 2012 — has been working all this time to collect all the Infinity Stones for his Infinity Gauntlet. At first, he sent others out to try and gather all the stones (like Ronan the Accuser and his “second favorite” daughter, Nebula), but finally realized he needed to do this job himself. Our first glimpse of Thanos wearing the uncompleted Infinity Gauntlet came at the end of “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

A few years, and one “Civil War” later, Thanos was ready to finally complete his mission for the Infinity Stones. The events of “Avengers: Infinity War” very sadly showed us how exactly that happened.

Offscreen, Thanos destroys Xandar and collects the purple Power Stone, and he destroys Knowhere to take the red Reality Stone. “Infinity War” tragically opens with Thanos killing Loki for the blue Space Stone. Then even more tragic, we see Thanos kill his favorite daughter, Gamora, because it’s the only way for him to get the orange Soul Stone. Doctor Strange later willingly gives up the green Time Stone. Even though Scarlet Witch manages to destroy Vision’s yellow Mind Stone, Thanos uses the Time Stone to reverse everything, so he can collect that one, too.

With Thanos now in possession of all the stones, Thor tries one last ditch effort to take him down, but it’s of no use. With one snap felt through the entire Marvel Universe, Thanos finally achieves what he’s been trying to do all this time, and wipes out half the population of all living things. He then finds himself inside the Soul Stone, where he sees a younger version of Gamora, before he jumps to another planet. The last we see of Thanos is him settling in to watch the sunrise, as a small smile creeps across his face. Is he happy? Yes. Is it unsettling for us to watch? Very.

Throughout all the new trailers for “Avengers: Endgame,” Thanos has been noticeably absent, which only makes his presence loom so much larger. What is he doing? What is he up to? Does he know the remaining Avengers are rallying to try and take him down again? Does he have any inkling that Captain Marvel has finally arrived? We’ll find out soon enough.

See the culmination of the last decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Endgame" opens in theaters on April 26. Get tickets on Fandango now!

Marvel Insiders! Experience Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Endgame" in REALD 3D. Redeem your points for 25% off RealD3D tickets on Atom Tickets. Visit marvel.com/insider/rewards for more details. Terms apply.

Follow @Avengers on Twitter, and Like “The Avengers” on Facebook for the latest on the Avengers as it develops!