Avengers Infinity War end: Remember that SECOND gauntlet – Is it the key to Avengers 4?

Marvel fans the world over are still reeling from the shock ending of Infinity War.

The devastating final scenes seem impossible to recover from, even with superpowers.

Is all hope lost – or have we already seen a secret way to defeat Thanos hidden in some of the previous Marvel Cinematic outings?

Obviously, please do not read beyond this point if you have not yet seen Avengers 3.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

At the end of Infinity War, the Mad Titan finally collects all six Infinity Stones and uses the Infinity Gauntlet to erase half of all life across the universe.

In the process it also appears that he has destroyed the Gauntlet itself which is shown blackened and crumpled after channeling such unimaginable power. The gauntlet was made for Thanos by the Dwarf King Eitri and is the only way to combine and use the power of all six Stones. 

Thanos now has no way to use the Stones again – nor does he think he needs one, since his self-appointed quest to restore balance is complete.

But what about that other gauntlet shown in previous movies? Can the remaining Avengers find that and use it to reverse The Snap?

The gauntlet was first shown in Odin’s vault on Asgard.

Eagle-eyed fans first spotted it in a background shot and then realised it is not the same as the one shown with Thanos.

The Mad Titan, like so many creative thinkers, does his best work with his left hand, but the gauntlet shown on Asgard is for the right hand. Did Odin commission Eitri to make it as a safeguard? How is this possible when Thanos left the Solar Forge dead along with most of the dwarves?

Asgard, of course, has also been destroyed and Loki appeared to save only the Tesseract. However, it is still possible that the gauntlet has been salvaged, or even that it will feature in the expected time travel plot of Avengers 4.

Coukd the Avengers go back in time to retrieve the other gauntlet?

Even if they do and even if they are able to somehow gather all the Infinity Stones, either in an alternate past or the devastated present, who would be strong enough to wield it and at what cost?

There are mounting theories that Iron Man or Captain America could sacrifice themselves to save everyone else, perhaps burning up as they use the Gauntlet like Star-Lord holding the Power Stone in the first Guardians of the Galaxy.

Fans also know Captain Marvel will appear in the sequel and she is one of the strongest beings in the universe.  Could she use the Gauntlet?

We only have 12 months of theories to go until the truth is revealed…

AVENGERS 4 IS OUT IN THE UK ON APRIL 27, 2018