It spawned the "Thanos was right" memes, philosophical debates about population control, and a year-long anxiety leading into Endgame . Never before had a franchise held its audience hostage for twelve months without a guarantee of resurrection.
From the opening scene—a brutal decimation of the Asgardian refugee ship—the audience understands that this is not business as usual. The Russo Brothers structure the film as a series of intersecting heists. Thanos and his "Children" (Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian, Proxima Midnight, and Corvus Glaive) are hunting the six Infinity Stones. The Avengers, split into three distinct groups, are desperately trying to stop him. The Avengers - Infinity War