How & When Did Thanos Destroy Xandar?

Thanos‘ plan to collect all Infinity Stones will forever be remembered as the most ambitious plan we’ve seen in the MCU. Even though the consequences of the Snap were catastrophic, they were ultimately reversed. What wasn’t reversed was the fact that Thanos destroyed numerous planets on his path to bring balance to the Universe, and among them was Xandar. Many of the great battles took place on Xandar, but the final blow came when Thanos himself manifested on Xandar to collect the Power Stone. The event was never shown in the movies, so we decided to answer how and when Thanos destroyed Xandar.

Thanos destroyed Xandar in 2018, before the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War. He traveled to Xandar in order to obtain the Power Stone following Ronan’s betrayal. Thanos and Black Order completely annihilated Nova defenses, which were already weakened due to Nova-Kree War. When Thanos got his hands on the Power Stone, his legions proceeded to massacre half of the planet’s population. 

Now that we’ve covered what happened and when it happened, it’s time to analyze it in more detail. The movies were supposed to feature the destruction of Xandar, but it never made the cut. That’s why we’re here to fill in the blanks. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading!

Why didn’t we see Thanos destroy Xandar? 

Much of the Avengers: Infinity War focused on Thanos collecting the Infinity Stones in order to bring balance to the Universe. We, however, never saw him acquiring the Power Stone. He already had it at the start of the movie.

Power Stone long eluded Thanos, and this is because several parties had shown interest in it. Originally, Ronan was supposed to deliver the Power Stone to Thanos if Thanos helped him with the Kree-Nova war, which was at the time stuck in a peace treaty, and this bothered Ronan on a personal level. 

Then, Gamora was sent to assist Ronan, but she had plans for the Stone as well. She planned to sell it to Taneleer Tivan to buy her freedom and escape from Thanos. Star-Lord stole the Power Stone from the planet Morag but was unaware of its power. Yondu and the Ravagers were looking for the Orb as well. What was supposed to be a quick and clean hunt turned out to be a nightmare with several parties included and at least three armies. 

Before Power Stone could be delivered to the Nova Corps for safekeeping, Ronan managed to track down the Guardians and forcefully took the Stone from them, which resulted in him getting drunk on power and betraying Thanos. He made his way to Xandar to finish the job that the thousand-year-long war couldn’t. 

On Xandar, the Dark Aster faced opposition from Yondu’s Ravager Clan, the Nova Corps, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. As the battle raged, Ronan the Accuser unleashed explosives on the ground, leaving civilians vulnerable. Rocket Raccoon and the Ravagers stepped in to protect the civilians while the others fought. 

Drunk on power, Ronan destroyed the Nova Corps fleet with a blast from the Cosmi-Rod. However, Drax killed Korath, Gamora defeated Nebula, and the group ultimately managed to defeat Ronan by crashing a ship into the Dark Aster and using the Power Stone’s power. Groot sacrificed himself, but Xandar was saved, and Ronan was defeated, basically through a dance-off. 

We know that the Stone was given to Nova Corps for safekeeping, and it was saved for a time, but at the start of the Infinity War, Thanos already had the Stone. The destruction of Xandar and the acquisition of the Power Stone were never included in Infinity War because the movie was already long as it is. Besides, the destiny of Xandar didn’t matter as much as the time, and the scenes wouldn’t be as interesting since we’ve already seen one battle on Xandar’s surface in the MCU. 

Why did Thanos destroy Xandar? 

Now to continue, after Thanos learned of Ronan’s betrayal, he figured out pretty soon that he won’t be getting that Power Stone anytime soon. And if you want something done, do it yourself. Thanos gathered his Black Order and made his way to Xandar, and to be honest, Thanos wasn’t met with as much resistance since Ronan’s Battle of Xandar had already severely crippled the defenses of the planet, with its fleet gone and the planet recovering from Nova-Kree War, Xandar was left with limited means to defend itself. 

Thanos and his Black Order swooped onto Xandar and defeated Nova Corps. Thanos managed to locate the Power Stone, which was located in Nova Corps headquarters, and seized it effortlessly. After Power Stone was seized, Thanos got a significant power boost, and the battle for Xandar was lost. Thanos and Black Order proceeded to destroy the planet, putting half of its population to death, in order to bring balance to the Universe.

All of this took place in 2018, and even though we didn’t see the event taking place, we know what happened since Thor briefed the Guardians about it at the start of the Avengers: Infinity War. 

Xandar suffered extreme losses in the MCU, and what’s worse, the damage dealt to the planet, especially its people, couldn’t be undone in the same way that damage on Earth was undone. Everyone on Earth was resurrected after Tony’s Snap because the Infinity Gauntlet caused their deaths. Since the massacre at Xandar was done the “old-fashioned” way, half of the population of Xandar remained dead.

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