Very well said.
As you said, Thanos is not dumb. To me, that looked like a clear case of Thanos puts the mind stone in the gauntlet, reacts to the surge of power, quickly gets hit by Thor’s lightning and then tries to ward off the fast moving axe but gets hit just the same. I can’t see him having allowed that to happen just to prove a point. For all he knew that shit was coming for his head, he basically was damn sure looking to protect himself.
2 things driving my thought process on this particular point:
1. Thanos simply didn't need luck. He was a step ahead the entire time, and they made that very clear.
2. He was smart enough to know Thor wanted to watch him die. He wasn't gonna appear out of nowhere and kill him instantly, he was gonna make sure he got to look in Thanos's eyes as he died. Assuming Thanos was well aware of this isn't a leap for me, it's in keeping with his character. At every turn he was psychologically one step ahead of everyone. To me it was true until the end. So I don't think I'm making an assumption in saying Thanos knew Thor would still leave him the chance to snap.
When he does the snap, he’s struggling to breathe, barely able to muster the words. While he definitely does taunt Thor with the “You should have aimed for the head,” even gives a little smile after that, I think he basically lucked out that he didn’t get one shot killed and that he had the seconds necessary to pull off his plan.
I just don't see luck and Thanos going together. He didn't need it. The only time he seem surprised was when Quill pulled the trigger on Gamora.
Thanos saying "you should have gone for the head" just before snapping his fingers leads me to believe that he acknowledges Thor could have killed him so it doesn't seem to me that he let him land that shot just to fuck with him.
It was him saying "you should of killed me when you had the chance". He knew Thor wanted to kill him, but he knew just as much, Thor wanted to watch him die. Thor just destroyed his home for his people, and the second he thinks he's got them safe, Thanos appears and slaughters them all. Even in this sense the movie starts with Thanos taking victory from people right when they think they've secured it. Thor wasn't gonna respond with a quick killshot, and Thanos knew it.
You're not going to convince me and I'm not going to convince you. I think you're reading too much into it and extrapolating some of Thanos' choices and actions to cover every interaction he has with the Avengers. Thanos does enjoy giving false hope and then taking it away. Especially the scene where he allows Quill to try and kill Gamora. That doesn't mean he does the same with every other character he meets. While he's a sadistic bastard, he's also capable of genuine respect towards those he regards as worthy opponents. He tells Stark,
I don't see how you can argue it wasn't a consistent theme in the movie. You can pretty much summarize Thanos as "the guy who gives you hope just to take it away". Every time he triumphs over a good guy, he gives them hope first.
"But you have my respect. And I hope they remember you".
The fight with the Hulk starts with Thanos, who's attention is on the Tesseract, being sucker-punched. Thanos then eats a few heavy shots before he can catch his breath. Once he does so, he curb stomps his opponent. He wasn't playing with the Hulk; it just took a few moments for him to counterattack.
Ok, what movie were you watching man? What do you think the point of Glaive saying "let him have his fun" was? He was very clearly toying with the Hulk.
He's not only stronger than the Hulk, he's much more skilled, and it shows. Hulk is throwing sloppy haymakers. Thanos is filling the room with uppercuts. He's a trained, methodical fighter while Hulk is just a brawler.
Thanos let's Hulk overpower him before grinning and overpowering him. If Thanos is that strong and that competent as a fighter, the encounter would've never got to that point unless Thanos was toying with him.
When Thor is pushing Storm Breaker's blade deeper into Thanos' chest, it's obvious he's mortally wounded and in great pain. He wasn't faking it to give Thor false hope.
I'm not saying he was faking it. He was very clearly mortally wounded. But he knew if Thor got to him, he'd try to hurt him badly first before killing him. And he was completely right.
It takes everything he has to complete his plan and snap his fingers.
But has time to crack a joke? Doesn't fit.
He teleports away after that because he needs time to heal himself. The meeting with young Gamorra was the fever dream of a near death experience.
This is much more of an assumption than any I've made. You could tell by his face he was in uncharted territory and was experiencing something he didn't expect for the first time in the movie. Him "teleporting off to heal himself" doesn't make much sense for a guy wielding the gaunlet. He could've made Stormbreaker fly out of his chest and up Thor's ass if he wanted to while simultaneously healing himself completely.
I just think it was a pretty clear theme in the movie and I'm confused at people missing it entirely.
Agreed on that part.
You thought he was being sadistic with Gamora just before throwing her from the cliff?! He loved her, for christ's sake. If he hadn't loved her, he would never have gotten the soul stone.
He could've tossed her right away. He let her realize what was happening before slowly dragging her to her death. To me the biggest sign of how misguided he was. His most sadistic act was ultimately how he told the only person he loved, that he did. He
wanted her to know he loved her, right before murdering her. It was great insight into just how fucked up he is.