6 years later, Marvel fans are debating one of the biggest "what ifs" of the MCU involving Thanos

In 2019, timelines were introduced and swiftly thrown all out of whack thanks to the efforts of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Endgame. The search for the infinity stones led our team to take trips across the far reaches of space and time to undo the damage Thanos had wrought, but in doing so, drew the attention of the Mad Titan from another time to the present. It's here, though, where one fan on Reddit has questioned that with that Thanos stepping out of his own timeline, what did it mean for everyone else the universe-dividing villain left behind?

"Assuming the TVA didn’t prune that branch (especially after Loki Season 2, where Loki allows all timelines to grow), what would actually happen in that universe?" posited the fan. "Would Vision still be alive, meaning WandaVision never happens? Would Sam even take up the shield without Endgame, so Falcon and the Winter Soldier doesn't play out? Would Wanda ever become the Scarlet Witch without all that grief in Multiverse of Madness?"

There's certainly a debate to be had about the knock-on effect Thanos' absence would've created. Might the Guardians of the Galaxy have even formed, given that Gamora had gone with her father and not been on Xandar to track down Peter Quill? Would it have meant Loki dodged death yet again, with Asgard all safely making it to their new location?

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One fan said that this aforementioned timeline actually got off lucky. "That universe was saved from Thanos. The events of Infinity War and Endgame never happen. Tony Stark is still alive. The events of the Guardians of the Galaxy would play out differently." Another fan argued, "Could be that Ultron took prominence in that universe. Much like What if…? Ultron."

It makes for an interesting concept, but one that we doubt will get revisited in the future. Given how things are going now, all roads lead to Doom, with Robert Downey Jr. becoming the new threat of the MCU with Avengers: Doomsday. The only concern is whether it will be able to match what still stands as the highlight of the MCU thus far. We'll have to see if the former Iron Man's Latverian leader can compete.

While we wait for Doomsday to appear, check out our ranking of every MCU movie so far here.