The Difference Between The MCU’s Snap, Blip And Decimation Explained

The end of Avengers: Infinity War saw Thanos kill half of the universe, but what exactly that event is named has proven to be a bit contested. While not necessarily an unexpected event in the abstract, since it was adapted from a legendary Marvel Comics arc, the ending of Infinity War left audiences across the world shaken. With one quick movement of his hand, enabled by the immense power of the Infinity Stones, Thanos the Mad Titan was able to accomplish his horrifying goal of reducing life by 50 percent.

One of the major results of this move was the onscreen deaths of some of the MCU’s most beloved characters, including Spider-Man, Groot, Bucky Barnes, and Black Panther. This left the six original Avengers members, plus a handful of other surviving heroes, to band together and pull off a “time heist” designed to bring all those lost back. Along the way, a different, even more ruthless Thanos came into the picture, putting the other half of Earth’s life in jeopardy.

The side of good ultimately won the day of course, albeit at the expense of Iron Man’s life. Thanos’ initial catastrophic purge remains a landmark MCU event though, for obvious reasons. The weird thing is, fans and Marvel can’t seem to agree on what to call it.

The Difference Between The MCU’s Snap, Blip And Decimation

The most common name used to refer to the event in which Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to erase half of life in the universe is “The Snap.” This is what fans came to call it, and has largely stuck after its wide adoption online following Avengers: Infinity War. However, it’s important to note that Marvel Studios never officially dubbed the event “The Snap,” fans did. Marvel certainly could’ve just gone with that naming in-universe, but for whatever reason chose not to, although fans can obviously continue to call the event whatever they choose.

As for “The Decimation,” the origin of that one is a bit stranger. It comes from an MCU tie-in book called The Cosmic Quest Volume Two: Aftermath, published between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. That book names the event “The Decimation,” and since it was an officially licensed piece of merchandise, most assumed “Decimation” was now the official moniker. That all would’ve been fine, were it not for Spider-Man: Far from Home, in which characters refer to what happened as “The Blip.”

MCU boss Kevin Feige later said publicly that Marvel Studios had decided to call when Thanos used the Infinity Stones “The Snap,” and call when Hulk used them to bring everyone back “The Blip.” Which again could’ve been fine, had the Disney+ show WandaVision not referred to what Thanos did as “The Blip.” The whole thing is quite confusing at this point. As for why characters within the MCU chose this phrase, it’s likely due to the fact that to those who disappeared, no time passed, even though it had been five years to those left behind. Therefore, to them the whole period was simply a blip in time, almost like turning a light switch off and then on again.

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