system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[MCU Endgame] Why didn't Thanos just "rain fire" on Cap and the assembled forces before they engaged in close combat?

Could've softened them up, at least.
gpt
Thanos is all about his ego. He needs to be right, and he needs people to tell him he's right; he needs to win, and he needs his enemies to acknowledge that they are beaten.

So when Thor, Iron Man, and Cap came to fight him, he met them face to face, because he takes pride in his combat skills; when Cap persisted in his defiance, he called in his entire army in order to crush him utterly. He didn't just want to beat Cap; he wanted him to *know* he was beaten. Hence bringing an army to what had been a single combat.

Then Cap produced an army of his own. But by that time Thanos had committed to the display. He'd put his army out there, and he couldn't hold them back to allow time for a bombardment without admitting that he might have misjudged the situation. Remember, his entire character arc is about being unable to admit that he might be wrong about something. So he orders his army to attack.

Of course, later he gives the "rain fire" order, because while admitting he's underestimated his enemy is a bruise to his ego, actually *losing* to this same enemy would be far more serious a blow.