While Thanos’ actions regarding the Mind Stone in Infinity Stones, Thanos planned to wipe out half of all living beings in the universe, so the remaining half would have access to more resources. While the Avengers naturally opposed this goal, Thanos believed his idea would ensure fair and stable societies across the galaxy.

However, Thanos’ first appearance in the MCU occurred long before the Avengers or the audience knew about his plan. In The Avengers, Thanos helped Loki invade New York City by supplying him with the Chitauri army and giving him a powerful scepter. Loki’s Scepter had the ability to not only fire energy blasts, but take control of people’s minds. Mind Stone – the Infinity Stone that represented the element of the mind.

Related: Avengers Theory: Loki Was Always Under The Mind Stone's Control

Given that Thanos’ goal was to find all the Infinity Stones, this raises the question of why he gave the Mind Stone to Loki. Unless Thanos somehow did not know that the scepter contained the Mind Stone, giving it away – even with the hope of gaining the Tesseract in return – seemed like an unnecessary risk. Thanos easily could have given Loki a different weapon, especially since Thanos ultimately lost control of Loki’s Scepter and the Mind Stone on Earth for several years. Due to this, one theory (via Space Stone was on Earth in the Tesseract, and he may have known that the Masters of the Mystic Arts had the Time Stone inside the Eye of Agamotto. To obtain these Infinity Stones, Thanos needed to understand Earth’s defenses. Attacking Earth with the Mind Stone allowed Thanos to learn this information, especially since he could reclaim the stone later when he took the other two. Evidence for this theory includes the Chitauri’s battle techniques, The Avengers’ post-credits scene, and the knowledge Thanos gained from the Battle of New York.

Loki's Battle Of New York Plan Made No Sense

A closeup of a Chitauri in the Battle of New York in The Avengers

Although the Chitauri army was a serious threat, their battle tactics did not make sense for accomplishing Loki’s goal of Thanos may have used Loki and the Chitauri to force Earth’s greatest heroes to come together, so he could examine their effectiveness against an alien invasion.

The Avengers' Post-Credits Scene Hints At Thanos' Plan

Thanos and the Other in Avengers Post Credits Scene

The Avengers' post-credits scene s this theory. During the short scene, Thanos’ personal servant, known simply as the Other, informed Thanos of Loki’s failure in New York. The Other explained that rather than being “cowering wretches,” humans were ready to fight for their planet. Ominously, Thanos smiled at this news. Following the theory, Thanos smiled because losing the Battle of New York still accomplished his goal. In The Avengers, Thanos’ objective was not to immediately capture every Infinity Stone, but to learn more about Earth and its defenses. Through the Battle of New York, he discovered that Earth did have a strong team to counter an alien invasion. Due to this, Thanos needed a careful strategy to obtain Earth’s Infinity Stones.

Thanos Gave Up The Mind Stone On Purpose To Test Earth

The Avengers during the Battle of New York

Although Hulk and Thor. Although he did not have his powers fully under control, the Hulk was dangerous due to his incredible strength and near indestructibility. For Thor, he had strength, seemingly magic powers, and over 1000 years of combat experience.

Related: Why Thanos Gave Loki The Mind Stone (Every Theory)

With this information, Thanos was able to better plan his strategy and timing for attacking Earth. Rather than sending a henchman, like Loki, Thanos sent his own children to capture the Infinity Stones in Hulk, who became stuck as Bruce Banner after his defeat. With these two combatants out of the way first, Thanos correctly believed that Earth would be more vulnerable. In this way, losing the Mind Stone in The Avengers may have been a risky strategy for Thanos, but it ultimately allowed him to test Earth’s defenses against an alien invasion, so he could retrieve all of its Infinity Stones later.