Battle of Wakanda

"You are in Wakanda now. Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood." "We... have blood to spare."

- T'Challa and Proxima Midnight

The Battle of Wakanda was an open confrontation that pitted the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Wakandan armies and their allies against the Outriders, the remaining members of the Black Order, and eventually, Thanos himself.

Background
"Evacuate the city. Engage all defenses. And get this man a shield."

- T'Challa On his quest to obtain the six Infinity Stones, the warlord Thanos stole the Space Stone from the Asgardian refugee vessel Statesman, overpowering their king Thor and the Avenger Hulk. As Hulk was sent to Earth via the Bifrost to warn of Thanos' coming, the Titan tasked his four Children with obtaining the Mind and Time Stones from the planet. To achieve this task, the Children split up, with Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive leaving to retrieve the Mind Stone from the forehead of the android Vision.

The Children ambushed Vision and his lover Wanda Maximoff in Edinburgh, heavily crippling the Avenger. However, their attempt to retrieve the Stone was thwarted by the rogue Avengers, Steve Rogers, Black Widow and Falcon, who were warned of the threat by the returning Bruce Banner. With Glaive heavily injured, the Children were forced to retreat in their Q-Ship back into space to nurse their wounds.

Reuniting with War Machine and Banner in the New Avengers Facility, the Avengers considered their next move, knowing that Midnight and Glaive would eventually return. Having analysed the Stone's properties, Vision proposed having Maximoff destroy the Stone using her abilities, volunteering to sacrifice himself to prevent it falling into Thanos' hands. Unwilling to kill their friend, Banner proposed the difficult task of removing the Stone from Vision to safely destroy it without needlessly taking Vision's life. Rogers suggested taking Vision to Wakanda, the only nation on Earth with the resources capable of achieving this.

Notifying the Wakandan King T'Challa of their intentions and the threat of Thanos, he and the General of the Dora Milaje, Okoye, began to mobilize Wakanda's armies in preparation for the assault. Recruiting Rogers' old friend and the White Wolf, Bucky Barnes to the cause, T'Challa and Okoye greeted the arriving Avengers, where Rogers reunited with Barnes.

The Avengers took Vision to the lab of T'Challa's sister, Shuri, who prepared to undergo the time-consuming process of removing the Stone. However, at that moment, disturbances were detected in the upper atmosphere above Wakanda - the enemy had returned. Released by an orbiting Q-Ship, alien dropships began descending from the sky above the city, a surprise shock invasion by the Children of Thanos. While Wakanda's energy dome prevented them landing directly in the capital city (instantly destroying a stray dropship that attempted to do so), five dropships landed safely in the forests outside the dome.

Elsewhere in space, Thor was rescued from the ruins of the Statesman by the Guardians of the Galaxy. Setting out on a separate quest to stop Thanos, Thor, Rocket Raccoon and Groot made for the Dwarven star forge of Nidavellir to forge a weapon powerful enough to kill Thanos. However, upon arrival, they found the Realm devastated, the forge extinguished, and the Dwarves massacred. Only the Dwarf King, Eitri, remained, who explained that he was forced by Thanos to forge the Infinity Gauntlet to harness the power of the Infinity Stones, before being crippled and forced to watch his people executed.

Together with Eitri, Thor and Rocket worked to repair and restart Nidavellir, in order to forge Stormbreaker, a powerful axe capable of killing Thanos and summoning the Bifrost. However, the iris mechanism focusing the star's energy, required to heat the Uru metal ingots for the weapon, was crippled. Volunteering to physically hold the iris doors open, Thor bore the full brunt of the star's power to light the forge and allow Eitri to heat the metal and pour it into the mold.

However, the critically injured Thor fell unconscious partway through the process, shutting the iris and leaving the weapon incomplete and without a handle. With the complete Stormbreaker the only thing that could heal Thor, Eitri frantically searched for a handle, calling for Groot to help. Steeling himself, the Guardian stepped up, using his own wooden arm instead as an improvised handle, completing Stormbreaker.

Back in Wakanda, in order to buy time for Shuri to remove the Mind Stone from Vision, T'Challa ordered the city to be evacuated, the preparation of the city's defenses, and for Rogers to be given new vibranium shields. While Maximoff remained in Shuri's lab with Vision to destroy the Stone the moment the process was complete, the rest of Rogers' team, with Bruce Banner using a Hulkbuster armor, prepared for battle. Leaving to face the dropships, the Avengers joined T'Challa, Barnes, the Dora Milaje, Wakanda's King's Guard, the Jabari Tribe, and the remainder of the Border Tribe at the outskirts of the city, preparing to face Thanos' army.

Battle
"Thanos will have that stone." "That's not gonna happen."

- Proxima Midnight and Steve Rogers

As Wakanda's army and the Avengers gathered to face the alien invaders, War Machine detected two enemy signatures approaching the city's energy barrier, Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian. Steve Rogers, Black Widow and King T'Challa moved to confront and negotiate with the Children of Thanos. Notably, Obsidian had received a new mechanical left arm to replace the one lost in New York. Noticing that Corvus Glaive was absent, Black Widow inquired his whereabouts, only for Midnight to claim that he had perished from his earlier injuries. As Midnight asserted that Thanos would retrieve the Mind Stone, T'Challa warned the Children that their father would find nothing but dust and blood waiting for him in Wakanda. Midnight countered, boasting that they had blood to spare, before signalling the dropships to release their armies. Finding their opponents nonnegotiable, the trio rejoined the rest of the army as they prepared for invaders.

As T'Challa ordered the army to hold position, the dropships opened, releasing the Outriders - a countless army of genetically engineered alien soldiers, with a single, unwavering objective to kill. At Midnight's signal, the Outriders began relentlessly charging into the Wakandan energy barrier, with no regard for their own safety, much to the horror of the Wakandan defenders. Despite the barrier killing numerous amounts of them, one by one, several Outriders began to force themselves through the barrier, and began directly charging the defenders.

Under orders from T'Challa, the Border Tribe protected the army using their energy cloaks, while the King's Guard fired on the approaching Outriders using their spears, joined by Bucky Barnes and Bruce Banner in the Hulkbuster. Providing air support, Falcon and War Machine bombarded the surviving Outriders from above. However, Banner noticed that the limited success of the direct forward assault caused the Outriders to begin to circle the barrier to flank the armies instead. Should the Outriders breach the barrier behind them, they had a clear path to the vulnerable Vision in Shuri's lab. In order to prevent them from flanking their position and reaching Vision, T'Challa ordered Shuri to lower a section of the barrier, to directly funnel the enemy towards them in a risky move to draw their attention away from Vision. Reluctantly, Shuri complied, and the Outriders immediately began pouring through the opening in mass.

With a final battle cry from T'Challa, the Wakandan army charged to meet the Outriders in close combat, holding them off in a bloody melee while Shuri began the process of extracting the Mind Stone from Vision. However, as the battle intensified, the defenders were slowly overwhelmed by the seemingly never-ending numbers of Outriders. One by one, Barnes, T'Challa, Rogers and Banner were mobbed and forced to the ground by sheer numbers, while War Machine was blindsided and grounded by an approaching Obsidian.

However, the tide of the battle suddenly turned when the Bifrost Bridge beamed down from the sky into the center of the battlefield, scattering the Outriders. The newly forged Stormbreaker emerged from the Bridge, cutting swaths through the Outriders and rescuing the downed heroes. To the astonishment and delight of the Avengers and defending army, Thor, armed with Stormbreaker, Rocket Raccoon and Groot stepped out of the Bridge into the battlefield, confronting the Outrider armies. Demanding Thanos' presence, Thor used Stormbreaker to singlehandedly destroy a large element of the Outriders in a single lightning-charged slam, before joining the melee with the Guardians.

With the sudden arrival of Thor and the Guardians allowing the defenders to regain their advantage against the Outriders, Cull Obsidian began to fight personally on the battlefield. The Child cut swaths through the Wakandan army, before being personally engaged by T'Challa. Meanwhile, Rocket and Barnes cooperated to hold off a wave of Outriders, with the Guardian showing interest in the White Wolf's weapon and prosthetic vibranium arm. Thor took a moment to reunite and compare hairstyles with Rogers, while introducing the Avenger to his newest ally, Groot.

However, the defenders' relief was short-lived - to turn the tide back in their favor, the Outrider dropships suddenly released a force of Threshers - bladed war machines resembling enormous circular sawblades. Burrowing underneath the Wakandan barrier, the Threshers wreaked havoc across the Wakandan army, forcing T'Challa to order a retreat. Observing from Shuri's lab, Scarlet Witch realized that the defenders were once again outmatched. Abandoning her post in the lab to assist on the battlefield, the Avenger used her powers to stop and disable a wave of Threshers, rescuing Black Widow and Okoye. Spotting an approaching force of Outriders, Scarlet Witch threw the Threshers into the Outriders, crushing them instantly.

Despite Maximoff's reinforcement bolstering the defenders, her intervention proved to be a crucial blunder - unbeknownst to the defenders, Corvus Glaive was in fact alive and well. The entire battle and the Thresher reinforcements were merely a diversion to draw out Maximoff, leaving Vision unguarded. Once informed by Proxima Midnight that Maximoff was on the battlefield, Glaive launched his attack, having covertly infiltrated Shuri's lab. Despite Ayo and Shuri's attempts to hold off the Child, they were quickly incapacitated. Vision then furiously tackled Glaive, both falling out into the surrounding forests near the battlefield.

Realizing that Vision was compromised, Falcon notified the Avengers before being downed by an Outrider, with Banner and Maximoff moving to assist Vision. Maximoff was ambushed and nearly killed by Midnight, but was rescued by Widow and Okoye, who engaged the Child in a lengthy two-on-one melee battle. Midnight began to gain the upper hand, preparing to kill a downed Widow. Maximoff, however, managed to grab Midnight and throw her into the path of a passing Thresher overhead, causing Midnight to be gruesomely shredded.

Meanwhile, Glaive continued to assault the weakened Vision, joined by Cull Obsidian. Banner quickly arrived to assist, engaging Obsidian in a ferocious duel. Falling into a nearby waterfall, Banner called for reinforcements to stop Glaive as he fought. However, Obsidian began to gain the upper hand, severing the Hulkbuster's left arm. In response, Banner attempted to bring out the Hulk to turn the tables, to no avail. Frustrated, Banner resolved to handle Obsidian himself, managing to trap the Child's arm in the severed Hulkbuster arm. Activating the arm's repulsor thrusters, Banner sent Obsidian flying into the Wakandan energy barrier, where the Child violently exploded and was killed.

In the forests above, Glaive continued to torment Vision, stabbing and further crippling the android. However, Vision was saved by the sudden arrival of Steve Rogers, who beckoned Vision to run while he held off Glaive. Rogers managed to disarm Glaive, but was quickly overpowered. Before Glaive could kill the Avenger, however, he was suddenly impaled from behind and killed by Vision, having taken and used Glaive's own weapon against him.

With the remaining Children of Thanos defeated, the leaderless Outriders were routed, fleeing back to their dropships in a desperate attempt to escape. However, Thor and the Wakandan air force gave pursuit, destroying the dropships one by one as they attempted to flee to space.

With the Outrider army utterly defeated, Maximoff arrived at Vision's location, who suddenly felt a piercing pain from the Mind Stone - their respite was short-lived, as Thanos was coming for the Stone himself. As unnatural winds began to blow, signalling Thanos' arrival, Rogers sensed the incoming threat, and ordered the other Avengers to converge on his position to assist. Suddenly, a portal opened, and Thanos himself stepped through it, arriving on Wakanda. With the Power, Space, Reality, Soul and Time Stones mounted on the Infinity Gauntlet, the warlord stared at the Mind Stone, his final objective, and at the heroes that stood between him and his goal. As Banner realised and confirmed his identity, Thanos began slowly advancing towards Vision.

Rogers, with only a final reminder to stay sharp, rallied the Avengers to hold Thanos off for as long as they could. Banner made the first strike, leaping furiously at Thanos, only for him to casually phase Banner out of space using the Space Stone. The Avenger tumbled helplessly through Thanos into a solid rock cliff, where he became imprisoned. As Thanos blasted Rogers aside with a shockwave from the Power Stone, T'Challa leaped for Thanos' throat. However, Thanos merely grabbed the King in mid-air by the throat, brutally punching him into the ground. Falcon attempted to provide air support, only to be incapacitated and grounded by the Space Stone.

Knowing that the Avengers were no match for Thanos, Vision pleaded with Maximoff to destroy the Mind Stone, who refused. Vision desperately insisted and reasoned with her, stressing that they had run out of time and that destroying the Mind Stone immediately was the only way to thwart Thanos' plans. As Vision reassured her that he would feel no pain from its destruction, Maximoff reluctantly complied, and began pooling her energy directly into the stone.

As Maximoff began the process of destroying the Stone, Thanos continued to steadily advance, defeating the Avengers one by one. Using the Space Stone to deflect War Machine's shots, the Titan simply crushed the Avenger's armor telekinetically, flinging him aside. Barnes arrived to reinforce, firing on Thanos, who simply blasted him aside with the Power Stone. Black Widow and Okoye moved to replace Barnes, with the latter throwing her spear at Thanos' head. Blasting the spear and Okoye aside with the Power Stone, Thanos used the Reality Stone to trap Black Widow in a cage of rock before she could react. Groot attempted to restrain Thanos using his vines, to no avail.

As Maximoff continued to pool energy into the Stone, Thanos was engaged once again by Rogers, who managed to briefly stall Thanos in close combat. Despite managing to briefly hold back the Infinity Gauntlet, Rogers was finally downed with a direct punch to the head, leaving only Maximoff to defend Vision. Desperately, Maximoff held Thanos back with a beam of energy to stall him further, who continued to slowly advance while blocking the beam with the Space Stone. However, he was too late - with a final confession of love to Maximoff, Vision peacefully shut his eyes as the Stone's structure began to destabilize, and finally shatter in a violent explosion, disintegrating itself and Vision completely. Maximoff had succeeded, and the Mind Stone was finally destroyed.

As Maximoff lay on the ground, heartbroken, Thanos could only stare at the barren crater where Vision had once remained. However, remaining calm, he comforted Maximoff, sympathizing with her pain at having to sacrifice what she loved most, having previously sacrificed his dearest daughter, Gamora, for the Soul Stone. Maximoff bitterly retorted, claiming he knew nothing of her pain, to which Thanos replied that he had lost more than she could ever know. However, noting that there was no time to mourn, Thanos activated the Time Stone, using its powers to reverse Vision's destruction, restoring the Mind Stone and rendering Maximoff's actions moot. Before she could stop him, Thanos easily flung her aside, taking Vision by the throat and ripping the Mind Stone from his head, killing him a second time. Flinging his lifeless corpse aside, Thanos inserted the Stone into the Gauntlet. As the Stones' combined energies flowed through his body, Thanos admired the Gauntlet, having finally completed his quest.

However, before he could activate it, he was immediately attacked by a vengeful Thor, in a last-ditch attempt to stop him and avenge Loki, Heimdall, and everyone else Thanos had killed, driving him into the ground with a powerful lightning blast. Regaining his footing, Thanos unleashed an energy blast on Thor, who powered Stormbreaker with all his electrical power and then hurled it with all his might at Thanos' torso. The power of the fully enchanted axe quickly overwhelmed the beam, and Thanos could do nothing to stop Stormbreaker from burying itself deep in his chest.

Landing in front of the severely injured Thanos, Thor proceeded to vengefully gloat to the Titan, reminding Thanos of his promise to kill him while forcing Stormbreaker deeper into his chest, causing him further pain and injury. However, despite being grievously wounded and in severe pain, the Mad Titan weakly taunted Thor for not aiming for the head for an instantaneous kill. Thor, realizing his mistake too late, could do nothing but yell in horror as Thanos mustered the strength to simply snap his fingers anyway. The Gauntlet was activated in a blinding flash of energy, and Thanos' goal of killing half of all life in the Universe was finally achieved.

Aftermath
"What just happened?" "Oh, God."

- War Machine and Steve Rogers Thanos briefly passed out, and to his great surprise, reawakened in a vast orange void, a world conjured by the Soul Stone, without the Gauntlet or his fatal injury. Turning to find a lone Zen-Whoberi archway, Thanos found a reflection of Gamora's spirit standing underneath, as the child he had first met many years ago. Gamora calmly asked if he accomplished his mission, to which a resigned Thanos replied yes. Realizing with horror that he had finally succeeded but resigned to having been defeated, Gamora asked what his actions had cost. Smiling sadly, Thanos solemnly admitted that his quest had cost him everything.

Regaining consciousness, Thanos returned to his body in Wakanda, the Gauntlet and his left arm scorched and burned by the immense release of energy. Seeing no apparent change, Thor furiously questioned Thanos about what he had done. Thanos, astonished but nevertheless knowing that his goal was completed anyway, teleported away with the Space Stone without a word after giving Thor a mocking smirk, leaving only a confused Thor and a bloody Stormbreaker falling to the ground.

The consequences of Thanos' actions quickly became apparent, as slowly, half of all life in the Universe disintegrated into ashes: As Rogers questioned Thor as to Thanos' whereabouts, Barnes suddenly crumbled into dust in front of Rogers. M'Baku could only watch with horror as Wakandan soldiers around him began to fade. Hidden in long grass, Falcon disintegrated as Rhodes called out to him, not realizing his companion was already gone. T'Challa, attempting to help Okoye up and encourage her to fight, fell into ashes before her eyes. As Okoye desperately yelled for her King, Rocket tearfully watched Groot fade away, weakly calling for his father to help him. Kneeling over Vision's lifeless body, Maximoff peacefully vanished into dust.

In Chicago, Nick Fury and Maria Hill witnessed the power of the Gauntlet claim the lives of the civilians around them, plunging the city into chaos. As Hill disintegrated before Fury's eyes, the former Director hurried to retrieve his last resort, an intergalactic transmitter. Realizing he was disintegrating as well, Fury managed to transmit a last-ditch distress call to a distant Captain Marvel before crumbling to dust. Elsewhere, many prominent others, including Hope van Dyne, Janet van Dyne, Hank Pym, Betty Ross and Sif became victims of the snap, fading away as well.

On Titan, in the aftermath of their defeat by Thanos, the effects of the Gauntlet began to claim the lives of the battered combatants, including Mantis, Drax, Star-Lord, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, leaving Iron Man and Nebula as the only survivors on Titan. As the effects of Thanos' mass genocide took hold across the Universe, the remaining survivors could do nothing but stand in shock, unable to do anything but accept the reality of Thanos' victory and the consequences it had for them and the rest of the Universe.

Far away, Thanos returned to a tranquil farm on a distant planet, his wounds healed, and his armor hung up on a nearby scarecrow. Finally at peace, he smiled to himself in relief, having finally succeeded in his goal, and calmly watched the sun rise on what he saw as a grateful Universe.