What was so shocking about Avengers: Infinity War is that the galaxy’s mightiest heroes gave it their all and for once they still didn’t win. Despite multiple times of almost beating him, Thanos survived long enough to enact his ultimate plan and wipe out half of all life in the universe – including a lot of the Avengers themselves.
Some of the most notable times the heroes came close to beating him include Gamora attacking her father on Knowhere (it turned out to be a Reality Stone illusion), the gang nearly removing his Gauntlet on Titan (Star-Lord unfortunately sabotaged that one) and Thor stabbing Thanos in the chest with Stormbreaker (he should have gone for the head).
There’s one other close shave that isn’t immediately obvious, though. During the big battle between Iron Man, Spidey, Strange and the Guardians against Thanos on Titan, one of Tony’s best moves sees him come very close to slicing the villain’s left arm off with his blade. However, the Mad Titan reacts just in time to save himself.
Check out the screenshots which capture the moment in the gallery below, as supplied by Reddit user @IAmBlade (Wesley Snipes, is that you?):
While Tony’s efforts are to be commended, we’re not actually sure if he would’ve been able to remove Thanos’ hand even if he got the chance. The Mad Titan’s an incredibly durable guy and even the God of Thunder had to get himself a specially-forged weapon in order to take him on. As advanced as Stark’s tech is, it probably wouldn’t have been able to cut through Thanos’ thick hide. Especially with the powers of the Infinity Gauntlet bolstering him.
In any case, though it looks like the villain has won out right now, evidence suggests the tragic end of Avengers: Infinity War had to happen for the timeline to eventually come out in favor of the heroes – just ask Doctor Strange.