After the game-changing events of Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Studios has not slowed down with Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In many ways, she is connected to the multiverse, which first appeared in the series Loki, and then reached new heights in Doctor Strange: Into the Multiverse of Madness.

At the center of Avengers: Endgame was Josh Brolin’s Thanos, whose presence continues to be felt in new projects after his quest for the Infinity Stones left an indelible mark on the MCU. The Mad Titan has been referenced in various projects, including the sequel to Doctor Strange, which showed a different side of Endgame’s ending.

Doctor Strange: Into the Multiverse of Madness featured an alternate ending to Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame when Thanos was defeated on Earth-838. The Illuminati took down the iconic Marvel villain on his homeworld of Titan as the shot showed the villain with a double-bladed sword pierced through his chest. The team used the Book of Vishanti to overpower the enemy.

This was after this universe’s Doctor Strange used the Darkhold to travel through the multiverse and used a different plan than the main Strange used in Infinity War. In the main MCU, the hero gives the Time Stone to Thanos after he injured Tony Stark. This would eventually lead to the Avengers of Earth-616 traveling back in time, collecting Iron Man’s nano-gauntlet in Avengers: Endgame .

When Thanos fought the Illumination Titan, he seemed to be close to snapping. While it’s hard to say how many Infinity Stones he had at that point, he already has the Gauntlet that the dwarf Eitri made for him on Nidavellir, which most likely means that this moment was similar to the ending of Avengers: Infinity War.

Given that the Book of Vishanti could provide the reader with everything they needed to achieve any goal, the Illuminati probably didn’t have to wait five years before taking down Thanos. It’s possible they even ended the fight before Thanos even arrived on Earth, meaning that Thanos was missing the Time Stone and the Mind Stone.

This also happened before Baron Mordo became part of the team, as he was not yet the Sorcerer Supreme, replacing Doctor Strange. It appears that no other Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy were involved in the battle this time, which makes sense since the members of the Illuminati outnumber them.

Doctor Strange 2 seemed to point out that there was another way to defeat the Mad Titan other than how he worked in the Infinity Saga – one that didn’t require the world to go through such turmoil. Why such opportunities were not present in the main universe remains a mystery, although it can be attributed to the fact that Earth-616 was not invaded until Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Access to the Book of Vishanti in the Earth-616 universe may not have been possible during Avengers: Infinity War or was only possible due to specific members of the Illuminati being in the Earth-838 world. Regardless of the reasons, it’s interesting to look at the history of the MCU from a different perspective.