| For alternate versions of the Battle of Wakanda, see Battle of Wakanda's Event Hub |
The Battle of Wakanda[4][5] was an engagement which pitted the forces of Wakanda and the Avengers, against a ferocious offensive of Outriders, led by the Black Order. The Avengers, commanded by Captain America and Black Panther, managed to stand their ground against the Outrider onslaught in the fields outside the Golden City to protect the Mind Stone, which was in the process of being surgically removed from Vision's head.
In the fierce battle, both factions suffered extreme casualties, although the Avengers and their allies triumphed, decimating the Outriders and killing the Black Order. However, their victory was short-lived, as Thanos himself traveled to Wakanda and took the Mind Stone from Vision's head, completing the Infinity Gauntlet and initiating the Snap.
Background[]
- "Thanos has the biggest army in the universe, and he's not gonna stop until he gets Vision's stone."
"Well, then we have to protect it."
"No, we have to destroy it." - ―Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff and Vision[src]
On his quest to obtain the six Infinity Stones, Thanos stole the Space Stone from the Statesman, overpowering Thor and Hulk. As Hulk was sent to Earth via the Bifrost Bridge to warn of Thanos' coming, Thanos tasked the Black Order with obtaining the Mind and Time Stones from the planet. To complete this task, the Black Order split up, with Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive leaving to retrieve the Mind Stone.
Vision is attacked by the Black Order
The Black Order ambushed Vision and Wanda Maximoff in Edinburgh, heavily crippling Vision with Glaive's glaive, which prevented Vision from phasing. However, their attempt to retrieve the Stone was thwarted by Steve Rogers, Black Widow and Falcon, who were warned of the threat by Bruce Banner. With Glaive heavily injured, the Black Order were forced to retreat in their Q-Ship back into space to nurse their wounds.
Reuniting with War Machine and Banner at the Avengers Compound, the Avengers considered their next move, knowing that Midnight and Glaive would eventually return. Having analyzed the Stone's properties, Vision proposed having Maximoff destroy the Stone using her abilities, volunteering to sacrifice himself to prevent it from falling into Thanos' hands. Unwilling to kill their friend and teammate, Banner proposed the difficult task of removing the Stone from Vision to safely destroy it without needlessly taking Vision's life. Rogers suggested taking Vision to Wakanda, the only nation on Earth with the resources capable of achieving this.
Wakandan forces see the Outrider Dropships
Rogers notified T'Challa of their intentions and the threat from Thanos, and he and Okoye began to mobilize Wakanda's armies in preparation for the assault, also recruiting Bucky Barnes to the cause. T'Challa and Okoye greeted the Avengers, where Rogers reunited with Barnes. The Avengers took Vision to Shuri, who was prepared to undergo the time-consuming process of removing the Stone. However, at that moment, disturbances were detected in the upper atmosphere above Wakanda. Released by an orbiting Q-Ship, alien dropships began descending from the sky above the city in a surprise shock invasion by the Black Order. While Wakanda's energy dome prevented them from landing directly in the Golden City, five dropships landed safely in the forests outside the dome.
Elsewhere in space, Thor was rescued from the ruins of the Statesman by the Guardians of the Galaxy. Setting out on a separate quest to stop Thanos, Thor, Rocket and Groot made for Nidavellir to forge a weapon powerful enough to kill Thanos. However, upon arrival, they found the Realm devastated, the forge extinguished, and the Dwarves massacred. Only Eitri remained, who explained that he was forced by Thanos to forge the Infinity Gauntlet to harness the power of the Infinity Stones, before being crippled and forced to watch his people executed.
Thor holds open the iris of Nidavellir's star
Together with Eitri, Thor and Rocket worked to repair and restart Nidavellir, in order to forge Stormbreaker, a powerful axe capable of killing Thanos and summoning the Bifrost. However, the iris mechanism focusing the star's energy, required to heat the Uru metal ingots for the weapon, was crippled. Volunteering to physically hold the iris doors open, Thor bore the full brunt of the star's power to light the forge and allow Eitri to heat the metal and pour it into the mold.
Groot provides the handle for Stormbreaker
However, the critically injured Thor fell unconscious partway through the process, shutting the iris and leaving the weapon incomplete and without a handle. Knowing that a completed Stormbreaker was the only thing that could heal Thor, Eitri frantically searched for a handle, calling for Groot to help. Steeling himself, the Guardian stepped up, using his own wooden arm to grow an improvised handle, completing Stormbreaker. Upon merging the two metal halves of the axe-head, Groot severed his arm at the elbow to finish the weapon. From that, Stormbreaker was completed and Thor was restored to fighting form.
Back in Wakanda, in order to buy time for Shuri to remove the Mind Stone from Vision, T'Challa ordered the city be evacuated, all of the city's defenses to be engaged, and for Rogers to be given dual shields made of vibranium. While Wanda Maximoff remained with Shuri and Vision as a last defense measure to destroy the stone the moment the process was complete, the rest of Rogers' team prepared for battle. Banner, still unable to transform into Hulk, donned the Hulkbuster Armor. Leaving to face the dropships, the Avengers joined T'Challa, Barnes, the Dora Milaje, the Wakandan Royal Guard, the Jabari Tribe, and the remainder of the Border Tribe at the outskirts of the city, preparing to face Thanos' army.[1]
Battle[]
Combat in the Fields[]
- "Thanos will have that stone."
"That's not gonna happen."
"You are in Wakanda now. Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood."
"We... have blood to spare." - ―Proxima Midnight, Captain America and Black Panther[src]
As Wakandan armed forces and the Avengers gathered to face the invaders, War Machine detected two enemy signatures approaching the city's energy barrier, Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian. Steve Rogers, Black Widow and Black Panther moved to confront and negotiate with the Black Order. Notably, Obsidian had received a new mechanical left arm to replace the one lost during the conflict in New York City. Noticing that Corvus Glaive was absent, Black Widow inquired about his whereabouts, only for Midnight to claim that he had perished from his earlier injuries. As Midnight asserted that Thanos would retrieve the Mind Stone, T'Challa warned the Black Order that he would find nothing but "dust and blood" waiting for him in Wakanda. Midnight countered, boasting that they had blood to spare, before signaling the dropships to release their armies. Finding their opponents unwilling to treat with them, the trio rejoined the rest of the army as they prepared for the invaders.
War Machine bombards the nearing Outriders
As T'Challa ordered the army to hold position, the dropships opened, releasing the Outriders. At Midnight's signal, the Outriders began mindlessly charging into the Wakandan energy barrier, incinerating themselves with no regard for their own safety, much to the horror of the Wakandan defenders. Despite the barrier killing numerous amounts of Outriders, it was not powerful enough to withhold them all as several Outriders began to force themselves through the barrier and began directly charging the defenders.
The Border Tribe protected the army using their energy cloaks, while the Royal Guards fired on the approaching Outriders using their Sonic Spears, joined by Bruce Banner and Winter Soldier. Providing air support, War Machine and Falcon bombarded the surviving Outriders from above. However, Banner noticed that the limited success of the direct forward assault caused the Outriders to begin circling the barrier in an attempt to flank them. If the Outriders breached the barrier behind them, they would have a clear path to the defenseless Vision. In a risky strategy, T'Challa ordered a narrow section of the barrier to be opened so that the enemy would funnel directly toward them drawing their attention from Vision. As expected, the Outriders immediately began pouring through the opening en masse.
Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian leading
With a final battle cry from T'Challa, the Avengers and Wakandan army charged to meet the Outriders in close combat, holding them off in a bloody melee as Shuri continued working to remove the stone. However, as the battle intensified, the Wakandans and the Avengers were slowly overwhelmed by the seemingly never-ending numbers of Outriders. One by one, Barnes, T'Challa, Rogers, and Banner were mobbed and forced to the ground by sheer numbers, while War Machine was blindsided and grounded by Obsidian.
However, the tide of the battle suddenly turned when the Bifrost Bridge beamed down from the sky into the centre of the battlefield, scattering the Outriders. The newly forged Stormbreaker emerged from the Bridge, cutting swaths through the Outriders. To the astonishment and delight of the Avengers and defending army, Thor, Rocket and Groot stepped out of the Bridge into the battlefield, confronting the Outriders. Thor used Stormbreaker to single-handedly destroy a large element of the Outriders in a single lightning-charged slam, before joining the melee.[1]
Defeat of the Outriders[]
Black Panther forces his army to retreat
With the sudden arrival of Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy allowing the Wakandans to regain their advantage against the Outriders, Cull Obsidian began to fight personally on the battlefield. Obsidian cut swaths through the Wakandan army, before being personally engaged by Black Panther, while Rocket and Winter Soldier cooperated to hold off a wave of Outriders.
Wanda Maximoff notices the incoming Threshers
To further turn the tide back in their favour, the Outrider dropships suddenly released a force of Threshers. Burrowing underneath the Wakandan barrier, the Threshers wreaked havoc across the Wakandan army, forcing T'Challa to order a retreat. Observing from Shuri's lab, Wanda Maximoff realized that her allies were outmatched once again. Abandoning her post in the lab to assist on the battlefield, Maximoff used her powers to disable a wave of Threshers, rescuing Black Widow and Okoye before throwing the Threshers into numerous Outriders, crushing them instantly.
Wanda Maximoff stopping the Threshers
Despite Maximoff's reinforcements bolstering the defenders, her intervention proved to be a crucial blunder. The entire battle and the Thresher reinforcements were merely a diversion to draw out Maximoff, leaving Vision unguarded. Once informed by Proxima Midnight that Maximoff was on the battlefield, Corvus Glaive covertly infiltrated Shuri's lab surprising and defeating the Wakandan Guards. Despite Ayo's attempt to hold Glaive off, she was quickly incapacitated. Shuri, who was not yet finished removing the Mind Stone and woefully unprepared for battle, blasted Glaive with one of her gauntlets, but failed to stop him and was knocked aside as well. Vision then furiously tackled Glaive, sending them both out a window and into the surrounding forests near the battlefield.
Proxima Midnight ambushed in the trench
Realizing that Vision was compromised, Falcon notified the Avengers before being downed by an Outrider. Banner and Maximoff moved to assist Vision, as were ordered by Steve Rogers. Immediately afterward, Maximoff was ambushed and nearly killed by Midnight, but was rescued by the nearby Widow and Okoye. In the ensuing melee, Midnight began to gain the upper hand and nearly killed Black Widow. but was grabbed by Maximoff's telekinetic powers and thrown into the path of a passing Thresher, gruesomely shredding and killing her.
Bruce Banner battles against Cull Obsidian
Meanwhile, Glaive continued to assault the weakened Vision, joined by Obsidian. Banner quickly arrived to assist, engaging Obsidian in a duel. Falling into a nearby waterfall, Banner called for reinforcements to stop Glaive as he fought. However, Obsidian began to gain the upper hand, destroying the Hulkbuster's left arm. In response, Banner attempted to bring out Hulk to turn the tables, to no avail. Frustrated, Banner resolved to handle Obsidian himself, managing to trap the latter's arm in the severed Hulkbuster cuff. Activating the arm's repulsor thrusters, Banner sent Obsidian flying wildly into the Wakandan energy barrier, where he was incinerated on impact.
Corvus Glaive stabs Vision in his chest
In the forests above, Glaive continued to torment Vision, stabbing and further crippling the android. However, Vision was saved by the sudden arrival of Rogers, who ordered Vision to retreat while he held off Glaive. Rogers managed to disarm Glaive, but was quickly overpowered. Before Glaive could kill Rogers, however, he was suddenly impaled from behind and killed by Vision, having used Glaive's own weapon against him.
With the remaining members of the Black Order defeated, the Outriders were routed, fleeing back to their dropships in a desperate attempt to escape. However, Thor and the Wakandan air force gave pursuit, destroying the dropships one by one as they attempted to flee to space.[1]
Thanos' Arrival[]
- "Cap, that's him."
"Eyes up. Stay sharp." - ―Bruce Banner and Captain America[src]
With the Outriders utterly defeated, Wanda Maximoff arrived at Vision's location, comforting him. However, their respite was short-lived, as Vision suddenly felt a piercing pain from the Mind Stone: Thanos was coming for the Stone himself. As unnatural winds began to blow, signaling Thanos' arrival, Steve Rogers sensed the incoming threat and ordered the other Avengers to converge on his position to assist. Moments later a portal opened and Thanos himself stepped through it. With the Power, Space, Reality, Soul and Time Stones mounted on the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos stared at the Mind Stone, his final objective, and at the defenders that stood between him and his goal. As Bruce Banner confirmed his identity, Thanos began slowly advancing towards Vision.
Steve Rogers rallies the Avengers
Rogers then rallied the Avengers to hold Thanos off for as long as they could. Banner made the first strike, leaping furiously at Thanos, only to be casually phased out of space with the Space Stone. He tumbled helplessly through Thanos into a solid rock cliff, where he became imprisoned. As Thanos blasted Rogers aside with a shockwave from the Power Stone, Black Panther leaped for Thanos' throat. However, Thanos merely grabbed T'Challa in mid-air by the throat before brutally punching him into the ground, sending a kinetic shockwave from his suit which Thanos likewise ignored. Falcon attempted to provide air support, only to be incapacitated and grounded by the Space Stone.
Vision tells Wanda Maximoff to kill him
Knowing that the Avengers were no match for Thanos, Vision pleaded with Maximoff to destroy the Mind Stone, who refused. Vision desperately insisted and reasoned with her, stressing that they had run out of time and that destroying the Mind Stone immediately was the only way to thwart Thanos' plans. As Vision reassured her that he would feel no pain from its destruction, Maximoff reluctantly complied and began pooling her energy directly into the stone. As Maximoff began the process of destroying the Stone, Thanos continued to steadily advance, defeating the Avengers one by one.
Thanos easily defeats his enemies
Using the Space Stone to deflect War Machine's shots, Thanos simply crushed Rhodes' armour telekinetically, flinging him aside. Winter Soldier arrived to reinforce, firing on Thanos, who simply blasted him aside with the Power Stone. Black Widow and Okoye moved to replace Barnes, with the latter throwing her Vibranium Spear at Thanos' head. Blasting the spear and setting Okoye aside with the Power Stone, Thanos used the Reality Stone to trap Black Widow in a cage of rock before she could react. Groot attempted to restrain Thanos using his vines, which Thanos easily broke by merely shrugging.
Steve Rogers holds back Thanos
As Maximoff continued to pool energy into the Stone, Thanos was engaged once again by Rogers, who managed to briefly stall Thanos in close combat. Despite briefly holding back the Infinity Gauntlet, Rogers was finally downed with a direct punch to the head, leaving only Maximoff to defend Vision. Desperately, Maximoff held Thanos back with a beam of energy to stall him further, who continued to advance while blocking the beam with the Space Stone. However, he was too late, as Maximoff managed to destabilize the Stone's structure, shattering it and killing Vision.
Thanos uses the Time Stone to restore Vision
As the heartbroken Maximoff lay on the ground, Thanos comforted her, sympathizing with her pain at having to sacrifice what she loved most, recalling his sacrifice of Gamora for the Soul Stone. Maximoff bitterly retorted, claiming he knew nothing of her pain, to which Thanos replied that he had lost more than she could ever know. However, noting that there was no time to mourn, Thanos activated the Time Stone, using its powers to reverse Vision's destruction, restoring the Mind Stone and rendering Maximoff's actions moot. Before she could stop him, Thanos easily knocked her aside.
Thanos taking the Mind Stone from Vision
He took Vision by the throat and ripped the Mind Stone from his head, killing him a second time. Tossing Vision's lifeless, gray-colored corpse aside, Thanos inserted the Stone into the Gauntlet. As the Stones' combined energies flowed through his body, Thanos admired the Gauntlet, having finally completed his quest.
Thanos completes the Infinity Gauntlet
However, before he could activate it, he was immediately attacked by a vengeful Thor, in a last-ditch attempt to stop him, driving him into the ground with a powerful lightning blast. Regaining his footing, Thanos unleashed an energy blast on Thor, who powered Stormbreaker with all his electrical power and then hurled it with all his might at Thanos' torso. The power of the fully enchanted axe quickly overwhelmed the beam, and Thanos could do nothing to stop Stormbreaker from burying itself deep in his upper chest.
Thor plunges Stormbreaker into Thanos' chest
Landing in front of the severely injured Thanos, Thor vengefully gloated to Thanos, reminding him of his promise to kill him. Thor forced Stormbreaker deeper into his hated enemy's chest, causing him further pain and injury. However, despite being grievously wounded and in severe pain, Thanos weakly taunted Thor for not aiming for the head for an instantaneous kill. Thor, realizing his mistake too late, could do nothing but yell in horror as Thanos mustered the strength to simply snap his fingers anyway. The Gauntlet was activated in a blinding flash of energy, and Thanos' goal of killing half of all life in the Universe was finally achieved.[1]
Aftermath[]
Thanos' Retreat[]
- "Today, I lost more than you can know. But now is no time to mourn."
- ―Thanos to Wanda Maximoff[src]
Thanos briefly passed out, and to his great surprise, reawakened in a vast orange void, a world conjured by the Soul Stone, without the Gauntlet and his fatal injury healed. Turning to find a lone Zen-Whoberi archway, Thanos found a reflection of Gamora's spirit standing underneath, as the child he had first met many years ago. Gamora calmly asked if he had accomplished his mission, to which a resigned Thanos replied yes. Realizing with horror that he had finally succeeded but resigned to having been defeated, Gamora asked what his actions had cost. Looking sorrowfully at her, Thanos solemnly admitted that his quest had cost him "everything."
Thor shocked at the fried Gauntlet
Regaining consciousness, Thanos returned to his body in Wakanda, the Gauntlet, and his left arm scorched and burned by the immense release of energy from the snap. Seeing no apparent change, Thor furiously questioned Thanos about what he had done. Thanos, astonished but nevertheless knowing that his goal was completed anyway, teleported away with the Space Stone without a word after giving Thor a mocking smirk, leaving the Avenger confused as Stormbreaker fell to the ground.
Thanos is satisfied with his goal
Far away on a remote planet, Thanos returned to a tranquil farm, where he sat down inside a room with an opening door. As his wounds healed and with his armour hung up on a nearby scarecrow, Thanos breathed heavily while gazing upon the landscape. Finally, at peace, Thanos smiled to himself in relief, having finally succeeded in his goal, and calmly watched the sunrise on what he saw as a grateful Universe.[1]
Snap[]
Captain America realizes Thanos' actions
- "Thanos did exactly what he said he was gonna do. He wiped out fifty percent of all living creatures."
- ―Natasha Romanoff[src]
The consequences of Thanos' actions quickly became apparent, as half of all life in the universe slowly disintegrated into ash: as Steve Rogers questioned Thor as to Thanos' whereabouts, Bucky Barnes suddenly crumbled into dust in front of Rogers. M'Baku could only watch with horror as Wakandan soldiers around him began to fade. T'Challa, attempting to help Okoye up and encourage her to fight, fell into ash before her eyes. As Okoye desperately yelled for her King, Rocket tearfully watched Groot fade away, weakly calling for his father to help him. Kneeling over Vision's body, Wanda Maximoff peacefully vanished. Hidden in tall grass, Falcon, still in pain from Thanos' powers, disintegrated as James Rhodes called out to him, not realizing his companion was already gone.
Spider-Man turns to ash by Thanos' Snap
On Titan, in the aftermath of their defeat by Thanos, the effects of the Gauntlet's power claimed the lives of the battered heroes Mantis, Drax, Star-Lord, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Man, leaving Iron Man and Nebula as the only survivors on Titan, realizing in their solitude that Thanos was victorious. As the effects of Thanos' mass genocide took hold across the Universe, the remaining survivors could do nothing but stand in shock, unable to do anything but accept the reality of Thanos' victory and the consequences it had for them and the rest of the Universe.
In Atlanta, Georgia, Nick Fury and Maria Hill witnessed the power of the Gauntlet claim the lives of the civilians around them, plunging the city into chaos. As Hill disintegrated before Fury's eyes, the former Director hurried to retrieve his last resort, an intergalactic transmitter. Realizing he was disintegrating as well, Fury managed to activate a distress call to Captain Marvel before crumbling to dust.[1]
Many other prominent individuals, such as Hope van Dyne, Janet van Dyne, Hank Pym,[6] Shuri, Erik Selvig, Laura, Cooper, Lila and Nathaniel Barton,[7] Betty Ross, Sif, Jane Foster,[8] May Parker, Michelle Jones, Ned Leeds, Betty Brant, Flash Thompson,[9] Monica Rambeau,[10] Yelena Belova,[11] and Nicodemus West[12] became victims of the Snap, turning to dust as well.
Samples Collected[]
In the aftermath of the battle, leftover samples of Groot's limbs were collected from the battlefield.[13] In 2026, these samples were retrieved by the Skrull Resistance so that they could be used to enhance Skrulls via the use of the Super-Skrull Machine.[14]
Appearances[]
- Avengers: Infinity War
- WandaVision
- Season One
- Previously On (flashback)
- Season One
- WandaVision
- Avengers: Endgame (mentioned)
- WandaVision
- Season One
- Breaking the Fourth Wall (mentioned)
- The Series Finale (memory)
- Season One
- The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
- Season One
- New World Order (mentioned)
- Season One
- Thor: Love and Thunder (indirectly mentioned)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (mentioned)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (mentioned)
In an indefinite temporality:
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Avengers: Infinity War
- ↑ "4/30/2018" on Scott's laptop in Ant-Man and the Wasp
- ↑ Marvel Studios' The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline
- ↑ Wanda Maximoff Throughout the MCU (Including WandaVision!)
- ↑ Look Out for the Little Guy!
- ↑ Ant-Man and the Wasp
- ↑ Avengers: Endgame
- ↑ 'Avengers: Infinity War' Directors Reveal Who Died And Survived Off Screen
- ↑ Spider-Man: Far From Home
- ↑ WandaVision: 1.04: We Interrupt This Program
- ↑ Hawkeye: 1.05: Ronin
- ↑ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- ↑ Assembled: 1.17: The Making of Secret Invasion
- ↑ Secret Invasion: 1.02: Promises