The Blip

The Blip (also known as the Decimation and the Snap) is a major fictional event and period of time depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Blip began in 2018 when Thanos, wielding all six Infinity Stones in the Infinity Gauntlet, exterminated half of all living things in the universe, chosen at random, with the snap of his fingers. The Blip ended five years later, in 2023, when the Avengers utilized time travel to collect the Infinity Stones from prior points in the timeline and, with a second snap by Avengers member Bruce Banner, restored all those previously killed by Thanos.

Aspects of the Blip have been featured in Phase Three, Four, and Five of the MCU, most notably in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), which is when the first snap occurred, and Avengers: Endgame (2019), where the second snap took place. In addition, a variety of other MCU films and television series have referenced or depicted aspects of the Blip. The consequences of the Blip were substantial and far-reaching. Some were portrayed for comic effects, such as "blipped" school band members reappearing in the middle of a basketball game and "blipped" characters now being years younger than their own "unblipped" previously younger siblings. Others were portrayed for dramatic effect, such as blipped characters returning to general chaos and confusion, finding that loved ones had died in their absence, their homes and life savings were repossessed, and their jobs had been filled by others.

The Blip inspired the creation of a real-world event on the website Reddit, in which a randomly-selected half of the members of a highly popular subreddit would be banned, simulating the effects of the Blip. The ban of over 300,000 accounts, which included Infinity War and Endgame co-director Anthony Russo, was the largest in Reddit's history. The Blip, as an event within the MCU, has been compared to the COVID-19 pandemic as something that has a sustained effect on people all over the world. Since the Blip in Infinity War, many scientific articles have been published analyzing various aspects of the event, including whether it would even be possible for Thanos to snap his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet.