“Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives.”
So declares the first trailer for what promises to be the biggest superhero movie yet, Avengers: Infinity War. And the harbinger of this particular destiny seems to be the “Mad Titan” Thanos.
Marvel has managed to build up our interest in Thanos while keeping most of the details about him obscure. From the moment of his dramatic introduction in the after credits scene of The Avengers, this pink-faced titan and his name has mysteriously cropped up several times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The most revealing of these appearances was in the Guardians of the Galaxy, where it becomes clear that Thanos is a titan who lusts for the infinity stones, and has wreaked devastation and death in his pursuit of them.
For the upcoming Avengers, it is Thanos who seems to hold the plot in his gauntleted hand.
The hand behind it all
Unlike people who have read the comics, those of us who have followed only the movies have precious little knowledge about the character that seems to be the driving force of Avengers: Infinity War. Piecing together the snippets that we have about Thanos, it becomes apparent that he has already been playing a decisive role in the fate of the heroes of the MCU thus far. Among other things, he was behind Loki’s attempt to invade Earth in the first Avengers film, and behind the events which unfolded in the Guardians of the Galaxy. It is clear he has been puppeteering from behind the scenes to set the stage for the Infinity War.
The ominous aura that Marvel has managed to build around Thanos makes it very evident that he is supposed to be a threat which dwarfs anything that the Avengers have faced before.
The Infinity War trailers also show a band of villains accompanying him. While they have not been mentioned in previous films, they are most likely the “Black Order”, which, in the comics, is the group of five generals who command Thanos’ army. The trailers show only four of the Order, but the colossal army is undoubtedly present.
The infinity stones
Like Thanos, the infinity stones were best explained in the Guardians of the Galaxy. The stones are revealed as cosmic entities, older than the universe, which can only be wielded by immensely powerful beings. Thanos belongs to this league of beings and can become invincible with the stones in his grasp.
The name “Infinity War” makes it amply clear what the war will be fought over. The Avengers become involved because three of the stones, incidentally are present on the Earth.
A particularly riveting scene from the trailer shows Captain America struggling to prevent the titan’s hand from crushing him. The gauntlet is clearly visible; two stones are already with him; the purple Power Stone and the blue Space Stone. The former appears in Guardians of the Galaxy and grants its user immense strength, while the latter appears in the Avengers as the “Tesseract” and is capable of creating portals.
Before watching the latest Avengers, It would be worthwhile to go through where the rest of the infinity stones are.
The Mind Stone, yellow in color, was the source of Loki’s mind controlling gimmick in the first Avengers. Subsequently, after the events of Age of Ultron, we find that Tony Stark uses the stone to create Vision, on altruistic super-being who joins the Avengers. The Mind Stone currently resides on his forehead.
The location of the luminous green Time Stone is revealed in the Doctor Strange movie, embedded in an ornate locket. The stone allows Stephen Strange reverse and loop time endlessly to defeat Dormammu and save the planet. The last we saw of the Time Stone was when it was carefully replaced in its sanctuary at Kamar Taj on Earth.
The Reality Stone is first shown as a malicious, red, sentient liquid in Thor: The dark world. The stone was then given to The Collector on the planet Knowhere. He may still possess it.
The Soul Stone is by far the most reclusive; no clues about its location or effects have been given to the audience yet.
New arrivals
Avengers: Infinity War features the largest cast of superheroes ever seen in a Marvel film. While we are well acquainted with the characters from the first and the second films, we will see several other superheroes make their Avengers debut in the upcoming instalment. Most notably, Infinity War will feature Doctor Strange, The Black Panther and Spider Man.
Stephen Strange, the Doctor turned sorcerer, was introduced in a well-received movie last year. He also made an appearance in Thor: Ragnarok and was mentioned in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Doctor Strange will predictably play a major role in Infinity War since he possesses and harnesses the power of the Time Stone, which will surely earn him the attention, perhaps the wrath, of the Mad Titan.
Marvel’s last project, Black Panther, was an ambitious project which payed off spectacularly. It elaborated on the story of the fictional kingdom of Wakanda and its King and protector, the Black Panther (T’Challa), a character who was given a cursory introduction in the third Captain America film. He is firmly tied into this storyline as he has been involved in the conflict between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers; a theme which is sure to surface during the course of Infinity War.
The Spiderman franchise was recently rebooted with the release of Spiderman Homecoming, which was lauded for being true to its comic book roots. Homecoming shows Peter as an up and coming superhero who has hopes to join the Avengers someday. He is mentored by Tony Stark and is involved in the subsequent Civil War conflict as well. It looks like Spidey finally makes it to the big league with the latest Avengers ensemble.
The trailers confirm that Infinity War will finally see the Guardians of the Galaxy meet the Avengers. Though the infinity stones connect the two, none of the members of either team have yet interacted with the other. The Guardians, unlike the Avengers, feature some of the more obscure characters of the Marvel Universe; the likes of Starlord, Groot and Gamora (Thanos’ adopted daughter). With the two groups pairing up against Thanos, there is an exciting possibility of an internal power struggle.
Avengers: Infinity War has the longest runtime for any Marvel movie, which is perhaps necessary to do justice to all of these characters that Marvel has nurtured over the years, and more importantly to finally stage the big reveal for the mysterious Titan who craves the destruction of half the world.
Now we sit and wait.