'Avengers: Infinity War' Theory Explains Why Thanos Killed So Many of the Asgardians

From the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok to the end of Avengers: Endgame, the people of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been put through the ringer. But few have suffered as much as the Asgardians.

For those keeping score, the people of Asgard watched their home being taken over by an evil sword god, then destroyed by a fire giant. Half of those survivors were murdered by Thanos and his Black Order, and then the remaining half were snapped out of existence when the Mad Titan obtained the Infinity Stones.

While this might seem cruel to some fans, someone crafted a theory that explains why Thanos decided to be especially harsh on the Asgardian population. Check it out below:

The reason Thanos essentially left 25% of Asgardians alive is their age of 5000 years from r/marvelstudios

Those who did survive Thanos' onslaught are likely to look toward the God of Thunder for his guidance, but maybe they should be thanking Loki for his help.

Actor Tom Hiddleston spoke about his character's growth over the course of five Marvel Studios movies, saying that he thinks Loki has been redeemed because of how he helped his people.

"The thing is, he is redeemed. I found it very touching because Loki, as a character, has been so broken for so long," Hiddleston said at ACE Comic Con. "I think the center of him has been very fragile and very isolated after those traumatic events in the first film when he finds out that he was adopted. Not only was he adopted, but that his father had left him to die, so he has internalized that shame of being abandoned and being alone."

Hiddleston elaborated on his feelings, shedding some insight as to why he would even join Thanos during the events of the first Avengers film.

"And all of that shame has turned into something harder and angrier, which is why he becomes the villain he becomes," Hiddleston continued. "He comes down to earth, he tries to subjugate it, he becomes a villain, in every sense of the word. He's motivated by hatred and anger. Then he loses his mother and he's still not self-aware, in that way."

Hopefully we'll learn the fate of the Asgardian people when Avengers: Endgame premieres in theaters on April 26th.