Avengers: Endgame Director Explains Why They Didn't Just Cut Off Thanos Arm

Following Avengers: Infinity War, many Marvel fans had a common question after Thanos defeated the Avengers with a snap of his fingers: "Why didn't they just cut off his arm?" More specifically, it seemed Doctor Strange may have had a chance to do just that when fighting the Mad Titan on his home planet but he didn't. The only bloodshed from Thanos came after repeated kicks to the face from Iron Man. As it turns out, they might not have ever had the option to cut of that arm.

In a recent Q&A, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo explained why Doctor Strange didn't take the presumed easy route to stop Thanos. "Thanos' skin is almost impenetrable, we don't know whether Doctor Strange had the capability to do it," Russo said. "If he failed to cut it on time, Thanos would still able to do the snap. Doctor Strange realized this issue during his millions of test runs."

Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame follow. Major spoilers!

As it turns out, only Thor's Stormbreaker axe had the power to easily cut off the arm of Thanos. In the beginning of Avengers: Endgame, the God of Thunder took advice from both the critical audience and Thanos himself. He both cut off that arm and went for the head, proving that Thanos could in fact have his skin broken.

Doctor Strange, on the other hand, apparently wasn't strong enough to defeat the Mad Titan. As seen in the final battle at the Avengers headquarters in upstate New York, Captain Marvel and Captain America would both come up short of the strength to best him. Only Iron Man with the Infinity Stones would be enough to settle the issue once and for all.

Of course, none of this would have been possible if Scott Lang hadn't escaped the Quantum Realm thanks to a mouse. "Yes, the mouse saved the universe," Russo said. "Among the many realities in those 14 millions possible futures Doctor Strange foresee, the mouse failed to press button and thus the heroes failed in those futures."

What do you think of the rules of Thanos, his skin, and Doctor Strange seeing the outcomes in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram and Twitter! Also, tune into ComicBook.com's Game Over: An Evening With Joe Russo on May 6 for a chance to get more of your questions answered!

Avengers: Endgame is now playing in theaters.