Why Didn’t the AVENGERS Go Back in Time and Find Little THANOS?

Bruce Barner will hate me for exposing this, but his explanation of time travel was incredibly confusing. 

Time travel is a crucial detail—it represents the only chance among over 14 millions for the Avengers to defeat Thanos. Yet, somehow, our Hulk managed to muddle its meaning!

However, if you’re still puzzled by the question “Why didn’t changing the past change the future?” like Colonel James Rhodes, keep reading. We’re about to break it down. 

Let’s get started!

“Time Doesn’t Work That Way!”

Commonly, we think of time as linear, meaning that changing an event in the past would affect the course of future events. 

However, in the Marvel Universe, as Smart Hulk explains, “if you travel to the past, that past becomes your future, and your former present becomes the past.” 

This concept deviates from a straightforward timeline and introduces the idea of a Branching Timeline.

This theory suggests that even when time is depicted as a straight line, unexpected interventions—such as someone traveling back and altering an event—could cause the timeline to branch. 

As a result, 2 separate timelines could exist concurrently. In this scenario, you, as the time-traveler, affect the past but do not change your present.

Consequently, 2 distinct timelines emerge: 1) the “original” past that includes your present, and 2) the new branch created at the moment you altered something.

This is precisely what Hulk means when he says, “changing the past does not change the future.” 

In other words, any change you make simply creates an alternate timeline, leaving your original problems, such as Thanos, still intact.

To illustrate this with an example from the movies, consider how Nebula can kill her 2014 version yet continue to exist. 

This scenario results in 2 branching timelines: 1) the timeline where the 2014 Nebula is still with the Black Order, and 2) the timeline where the 2014 Nebula was killed by her future self.

This explanation also applies if we consider baby Thanos. Even if you travel back to intervene with baby Thanos, nothing in your current timeline would change.

Why Does Taking The Stones From The Past Work?

You might wonder, “If time-traveling doesn’t change anything, why did the Avengers still do it?”

The answer is that the Avengers didn’t change the past; they simply borrowed the Infinity Stones from the past to alter their present.

At the beginning of “Avengers: Endgame,” we learn that Thanos, after wiping out half of the universe, used the Stones again to destroy them. 

Consequently, no Infinity Stones exist in the present. However, the only solution to revive trillions of lives in the universe hinges on using the Infinity Stones once more.

Thus, even though the Avengers traveled to the past, they were essentially addressing a problem in their present—and they succeeded. 

This leads us to the question: does borrowing the Infinity Stones from the past create any branch timelines? 

Is There Any Consequence By Stealing The Stones?

The answer is: YES, absolutely. The Avengers’ act of “stealing” the Stones can indeed branch a timeline, potentially creating dire outcomes. 

One notable consequence, as depicted in the “Loki” series, involves Loki being apprehended by the Time Variance Authority (TVA).

FYI: the TVA is an agency tasked with monitoring and securing branched timelines. Their duty is to prevent any unexpected events that could branch alternative timelines. 

The Infinity Stones serve as a balancing force to help stabilize the timeline, or as the Ancient One put it, they are “against the Dark Forces.” (To be honest, I think the Ancient One does a better job explaining this than Bruce).

Technically, the Avengers removing the Infinity Stones from their reality could be considered a significant case for the TVA to engage. 

Everything seemed likely to spiral out of control until Captain America did one crucial thing: he returned the Stones. 

This aligns with what Bruce explained to the Ancient One: “chronologically, the stone wasn’t taken in that reality.”

Time functions differently when traveling via the Quantum Realm (where years can equate to seconds), so the difference in time is not substantial enough to branch a timeline.

Consequently, there’s no branch timeline for the TVA to address concerning the Avengers, right?

To sum up, Hulk’s explanation and the Avengers’ actions turned out to be almost perfectly executed, with only a minor hiccup (Loki escaping in 2012, but fortunately, he was later captured by the TVA).

What do you guys think? Are there any plot holes in the Avengers’ time-traveling mission? Share your thoughts!