How Marvel's Phase 3 Quietly Set Up Infinity War

An aspect of Marvel's Phase 3 that somewhat bugged me was the lack of set-up for Infinity War. It honestly felt like directors kicking the can down the road in favor of telling their largely independent stories, with the post-credits scenes being the only things that pushed the greater story forward. This arguably worked out, as Marvel's Phase 3 is a series of excellent films, but it feels like Marvel dropped the ball here. Or did they? Strap in, folks, I've got a theory. 

Throughout Marvel's Phase 3, we've seen the fall of multiple characters famed for their incredible power. We had the death of the Ancient One at the hands of Kaecilius alongside most of the other sorcerers in Doctor Strange, we had Star-Lord destroying Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and losing his celestial powers, and we had Odin die and Asgard destroyed in Thor: Ragnarok. (Arguably, you could count the burning of the herb garden in Black Panther as another example, as well.) All of these figures and places were incredibly powerful, and each was connected to Earth in a certain way. And guess who shows up to Earth after the last of these is destroyed? 

That's right: Thanos. With all these people gone, Thanos comes knocking literally within days of the fall of Asgard. Clearly, all this biding of time was him waiting for these people to no longer be a threat to his invasion. Granted, it doesn't account for the fact that two out of three of these people were effectively immortal. (Asgardians, contrary to most beliefs, do die of old age eventually.) But, hey, it worked out, because the Allfather, the Sorcerer Supreme, and the Celestial with ties to Earth are all gone, and in their places are the mere table scraps that call themselves the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. 

Granted, I could be totally wrong, but if this was quiet set-up, it's totally brilliant and proves that Marvel continue to be the masters of set-up. Plus, this being true clearly means Marvel can do Avengers BC, enabling me to get a Ghost Rider that rides a flaming mammoth on the big screen. 

It's all I've ever wanted, really.