How Was Thanos Able To Break Captain America's Shield In ...

Despite wrapping up an entire decade's worth of sprawling superhero storytelling relatively neatly, Avengers: Endgame still left viewers with some unanswered questions. This has led to the proliferation of even more fan theories online, some of which the filmmakers have confirmed to be true in the director's commentary on the home release.

And fans just got another answer to one of their questions: how was Thanos able to cut through Captain America's shield? It's made from the indestructible Wakandan mineral Vibranium, after all. According to screenwriter Stephen McFeely, it's entirely possible that there are even stronger metals out there in the cosmos. "You can also see that while Vibranium is the strongest substance on Earth, whatever Thanos' straight razor there is made out of is stronger," he says on the commentary track.

This builds on a statement that director Joe Russo had already made in a previous interview with ComicBook.com, in which he speculated about the origins of Thanos' double-bladed weapon, which functions as a symbol of his desire to "bring balance" to the universe.

"Clearly Thanos is a thousand-year-old character who has fought everyone in the universe and is the greatest," Russo said. "He's the Genghis Khan of the universe, so he would have the greatest weapon." He then reminded fans of how Thanos came by the Infinity Gauntlet back in Avengers: Infinity War; he paid a brutal visit to Eitri, the king of the dwarves and the most skilled blacksmith in the galaxy.

"He knows of Eitri, he's been to Eitri to have his glove created. Did he have them create his blade as well? Potentially. But it's interesting that it could destroy the shield."

That's... not exactly an answer, but it does make sense that there are substances with even greater properties remaining to be discovered in the MCU.

Philip Ellis is Sex & Relationships Editor at Men's Health, and author of the novels We Could Be Heroes and Love & Other Scams. His other work has appeared in Teen Vogue, British GQ, and The Independent.