Why can't Thanos gather the stones himself?

I'm guessing he CAN, he just doesn't want anyone to know he's out there collecting them. If other beings, like Celestials or Odin found out, they may try to stop him. But if he has random people, i.e. Ronan, Nebula, The Collector, Loki, Gamora, etc. collect them for him, no one would be the wiser about suspecting and ultimately trying to stop him.

Just my theory.

 

He's too lazy staring at the stars!

 

I'm guessing the groundwork is beneath Thanos.

He probably knows he will get them eventually and is willing to wait for the right time.

 

His seat is too comfy.

 

Right. Keep in mind Thanos never told his followers what it was they were actually collecting either.

 

Let these pawns do his dirty work. Thanos is patient enough to gauge his enemies and test loyalties. No need to make his presence known yet as to alarm others in the universe. He will also know not to make similar mistakes as we have learned with Malekith and Ronan.

 

Have you seen the price of fuel on Knowhere?

 

There needs to be a movie where Thanos actually succeeds in obtaining an Infinity Stone.

I would like to see him winning the next 2 stones and then use their combined power to obtain the other 4.

Of course, I'm assuming there will be 6 stones like in the comics but that could be changed.

The point is he needs to be shown triumphant in order to be truly credible as a threat.

 

and the proof is right here

 

I suspect "drawing too much attention" is the main answer. Thanos is powerful, but he doesn't want to draw the hostile action of everyone else in the galaxy at once, which is about what would happen if he ran around personally punching his way towards Infinity Stones. Note that even Ronan, who was known to be associated with Thanos, was not openly known to be hunting an Infinity Stone. Hell, *he* didn't know he was hunting an Infinity Stone. Up until the point that he got the word, he was just another troublemaker who happened to acquire Thanos as a patron, but was otherwise pursuing his own fanatic Kree zealot interests.

 

That's what I was thinking too.

 

I am also guessing that he does not know where they are yet. He now knows where three of them are

 

That does make me wonder though.

Were Ronan's men following Quill?

Was it ever explained how he found stone? Or, why they both got there at almost exactly the same time?

 

I'm pretty sure they were, like Belloq following Indy at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

But maybe it was just a coincidence.

 

Raiders was a big influence on the movie.

 

No, Korath wasn't after Quill. He had no idea who Star-Lord was. ("Who....?") He had tracked the location of the Orb at exactly the same time Quill happened across it.

 

How epic would it be if a live Celestial stepped in during Avengers 3?

Like, Thanos has the IG, all his plans have come to fruition, the Avengers and the Guardians are in way over their heads, but a Celestial takes notice of this "disturbance in the force" and comes to stop Thanos.

And this gives our heroes a chance to regroup and formulate a plan, and we get a demonstration of Thano's power by having him defeat an ancient god.

 

I agree with the "drawing too much attention" thing. Thanos is obviously powerful already (Qorath did suggest he was the most powerful being in the galaxy), but without the Infinity Stones, there's no way he could take on the whole galaxy by himself, and that's basically what he'd be faced with if everyone got wind that he was trying to collect all the Infinity Stones. He'd instantly become Public Enemy #1.

 

The same reason Vito Corelone never did the dirty work when he was the Godfather…or Emperor Palpatine…or any other figure of extreme authority.

Thanos is a BOSS. He's above getting his hands dirty anymore.

You don't develop a reputation such as Thanos amongst the galaxy and continue to expose yourself to everyone. You work your magic behind the scenes and let these other "tools" do the work for you.

 

Has it ever actually been stated that he isn't already in possession of other stones, we have only seen three, its possible he might have one or two of the other three already.

 

For the same reason the United States under the Bush Administation relied on Tribal Warlords to capture and Kill Osama Bin Ladin. Why waste your time doing the dirty work when you can get someone else to do it and take all the risk and blow back if it fails.

 

Why isn't the guy who owns Burger King flipping burgers........ because he doesn't have to.

 

As much as I don't like seeing him fail over and over, the answer is obvious.

If he's known to be collecting the stones, it doesn't take a genius to work out what's coming next. The Nova Corps, Asgard, and everyone else would be on top of him in a moment

 

Celestials are not good guys really though..it would be better to have the Living Tribunal or something stop him