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AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
Starring Josh Brolin (Thanos), Robert Downey Jr (Tony Stark / Iron Man), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner / The Hulk), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff / The Black Widow), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Stephen Strange), Tom Holland (Peter Parker / Spider-Man), Paul Bettany (The VISION), Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff), Don Cheadle (James Rhodes / War Machine), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson / The Falcon), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Chris Pratt (Peter Quill / Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Vin Diesel (the voice of Groot II), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Chadwick Boseman (King T’Challa / The Black Panther), Letitia Wright (Shuri), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Winston Duke (M’Baku), Benedict Wong (Wong), Benicio Del Toro (Taneleer Tivan / The Collector), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), William Hurt (Secretary Thaddeus Ross), Jacob Batalon (Ned), Peter Dinklage (Eitri), Terry Notary (Cull Obsidian), Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (the Ebony Maw), Carrie Coon (Proxima Midnight), Michael James Shaw (Corvus Glaive), and Ross Marquand (The Red Skull / The StoneKeeper) with a special appearance by Stan Lee and a post-credits scene featuring Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo
Produced by Kevin Feige
Written by Christopher Marcus and Stephen McFeely
Music By Alan Silvestri
Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Run Time: 2 hours and 29 minutes
World Premier: April 23, 2018, in Hollywood, California
Opening Weekend Box Office: $258 million (North America)
Worldwide Box Office: $2 billion
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Memorable Avengers: Infinity War Quotes
“[The development of the two Avengers movies] … was [Anthony Russo] and I as fans of these stories and these characters going ‘Well, where do we want to see this end?’ There was very little push back from inside the walls at Disney. And I would credit Kevin [Feige] with that a lot. Kevin is always resolute about never letting the business side of things drive a creative choice. That’s an incredible point of view for him to have. Because he was uniquely able to protect the creative choices, the movies were able to flourish in a way that they never could have otherwise.” – Joe Russo
“… When I heard what they were doing [with the two Avengers films], it made me really emotional. I was really touched, because I kind of felt that was Louis {D’Esposito] going ‘We love you, and we love Peggy. And you’re still a part of this family. So much so that we want you to be a part of this final chapter.’” – Hayley Atwell
“The whole of Infinity War hinges on Thanos working. So that was pretty scary going into it.” – Visual Effects Supervisor Dan DeLeeuw
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Fun Avengers: Infinity War Facts
On October 28, 2014, at Marvel Studios’ Phase Three Slate reveal at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles, California, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced Avengers: Infinity War with a release date of May 4, 2018. The film was initially titled Avengers: Infinity War: Part One and a sequel was announced during this same event with a release date of May 3, 2019. That film was titled Avengers: Infinity War: Part Two. Between the time that these two Avengers films were announced and the time they actually entered physical production, Marvel Studios would experience many changes. Marvel Studios would reach a deal with Sony Pictures to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe on February 9, 2015, and Marvel Studios would split from Marvel Entertainment on August 31, 2015, landing Kevin Feige with more creative freedom than he’d ever had. These two events fundamentally changed Marvel Studios, and the addition of Spider-Man would alter the MCU’s Phase Three slate mere months after the historic El Capitan event. Kevin Feige had a distinct vision for where he thought the ambitious journey the Marvel Studios team were about to embark upon should end and that was with the heroic death of Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark / Iron Man; the character the MCU was built upon.
Having written Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor: Ragnarok, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, along with developing ABC’s Agent Carter television series, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, while actively working on the script for Captain America: Civil War, began developing Avengers: Infinity War and its sequel in 2015, more or less beginning with the death of Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark / Iron Man and working their way back from there. This was a highly complicated task. When they began working on the outline for these films, Doctor Strange had yet to enter into physical production, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume Two was yet to finalize a shooting script, Spider-Man: Homecoming didn’t yet have a director nor a Spider-Man, Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther were still in early stages of development, and Captain Marvel was yet to land a director nor a leading lady. All Markus and McFeely really had to work with was Tony Stark’s death and an early creative directive that Part One should end on a cliffhanger and Part Two should offer some sort of emotional closure for viewers.
As the duo tossed around ideas, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige threw out the prospect of killing off all six of the original Avengers, but this was shot down by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, who would be directing both Avengers films. The Russo’s theorized that there wouldn’t be enough time between the two films to give six different beloved characters the sendoffs they deserved, so the discussion turned to the idea of who else?
Stark was a given and from there, Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers / Captain America was considered, and the creative heads began to toy with the notion of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers dying together. This changed however, when Marvel Studios veteran producer Nate Moore pitched the idea of Steve Rogers’ arc ending with a reunion between himself and his beloved Peggy Carter. Everyone involved loved this idea, and that was the decided endgame for Evans’ Steve Rogers. With Cap off the board, the creative team turned to Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff / The Black Widow. This was quickly agreed upon as another worthy death to go with the death of Tony Stark, and all three actors (RDJ, Evans, and Johansson) endorsed the end of their respective character’s arcs. In Fact, Downey was reportedly moved to tears by his character’s heroic end.
On July 23, 2016, Marvel Studios presented its eighth panel at San Diego Comic Con. There, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige unveiled a new Marvel Studios logo and montage that would accompany future MCU films, beginning with Doctor Strange. This change was made in an effort to reflect Marvel Studios’ new era following its split from Marvel Entertainment. Feige went on to announce the casting of actress Brie Larsen as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and also announced that the two upcoming Avengers films would no longer be a two-part story labeled Part One and Part Two. The first would simply be Avengers: Infinity War while the second would remain untitled for the time being.
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Avengers: Infinity War was based on the 1990 Marvel Limited Series The Thanos Quest by Thanos creator Jim Starlin and Ron Lim and the 1991 Marvel Event Series The Infinity Gauntlet written by Jim Starlin and illustrated by George Perez and Ron Lim. These series’ saw Thanos collect the Infinity Gems and wield them within the Infinity Gauntlet to erase half of all life in the Universe with the Snap of his fingers in an effort to impress his beloved Mistress Death. There are several callbacks to Starlin’s work in the film such as the Ebony Maw’s dialogue in praise of Thanos (a role portrayed by the demon Mephisto in the comics), Bruce Banner crashing through the roof of the Sanctum Sanctorum (in the comics it was actually The Silver Surfer who does this), Thanos’ reality-bending attack against Drax and Mantis on Knowhere (he turns Drax into sliced cubes and Nebula into ribbons in the comics), Steve Rogers’ strong stand against the Mad Titan, and Thanos’ armored scarecrow on his farm.
In the Marvel comics, Thanos’ children are referred to as The Black Order and are comprised of the Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, and Cull Obsidian (named the Black Dwarf in the comics). The Black Order were created by Jonathan Hickman and Mike Deodato and played big parts in Hickman’s 2013 Infinity Event Series. The Outriders also made their first appearance in the Infinity Event Series.
In the 616-Universe Marvel comics Universe, Stormbreaker was a weapon created by Odin for the Beta Ray Bill character; a featured part of Walter Simonson’s Thor run and a fan-favorite character that many Marvel fans have longed to see enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Beta Ray Bill is known to exist within the MCU, and there was a statue commemorated to him as a former champion in The Grandmaster’s Contest of Champions in Thor: Ragnarok.
Avengers: Infinity War commenced filming on January 23, 2017. Nearly six-months later, Avengers: Infinity War would wrap filming on July 21, 2017. A mere three-week break would transpire before the Untitled Avengers film entered into physical production. It would shoot until January 11, 2018. During filming, Marvel Studios shot alternate versions of various scenes so that even the actors themselves were not aware of their respective fates in the film. This was done in an effort to limit leaks and spoilers pertaining to the plot of both films.
As the two Avengers movies were filmed, Marvel Studios released three films theatrically: Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume Two, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Thor: Ragnarok while concurrently filming Black Panther and Ant-Man and The Wasp.
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Stan Lee makes his landmark 19th MCU cameo in Avengers: Infinity War as a school bus driver.
A recurring theme in Avengers: Infinity War sees many heroes willingly ready to sacrifice their own lives for the common good, but they struggle with the idea of someone else being sacrificed toward that same goal. We see this explicitly with The VISION, whose nobility comes at the expense of Wanda Maximoff’s sanity. She is one of the heroes who is willing to make the hard choice, as is Star-Lord, who really did try to kill Gamora on Knowhere as he’d previously promised her that he would. Another character that brought himself to make the hardest choices was Thanos, as he was willing to sacrifice anyone in order to accomplish his mission, as he proved on Vormir. I should also mention Doctor Strange here. He was very clear in his willingness to sacrifice the lives of Tony Stark and Peter Parker in order to protect the Time Stone, but after peering into those many possible futures, he reversed his stance and traded the Time Stone for Tony Stark’s life.
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers’ birth year was revealed as 1918. Avengers: Infinity War takes place in 2018, making Rogers 100-years old in the film.
Despite their prior relationship, Avengers: Infinity War actually marks the first time that Josh Brolin’s Thanos and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki share a MCU scene together.
Avengers: Infinity War was Paul Bettany’s seventh MCU appearance following Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War, but it is the first MCU film in which the actor’s actual face is shown.
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Natasha Romanoff sports blonde hair and a green vest in Avengers: Infinity War. The blonde hair is an effort to conceal her identity but is also a tribute to her “sister” Yelena Belova. The green vest Natasha wears came directly from Yelena, as revealed in 2021’s Black Widow.
Actor Peter Dinklage is a little person in real life, but in Avengers: Infinity War, he portrays Eitri the Dwarf; the physically largest entity in the film.
In Avengers: Infinity War, Rocket is the only hero that does not engage Thanos in any kind of physical combat.
In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos keeps every single promise that he makes over the course of the film, which suggests that he had at least some impact on who was, and who wasn’t dusted following his Snap. Thor survives and Thanos had demanded the Tesseract from Loki in exchange for Thor’s life, Nebula survives after Thanos ordered Gamora to take him to the Soul Stone in exchange for Nebula’s life, and Tony Stark survives after Doctor Strange trades the Time Stone for Stark’s life.
James Gunn, who directed Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Two, revealed on Twitter that the final words of Groot II in this film translated to a desperate call of “Dad” begging for help from Rocket, who of course is able to translate Groot’s language. Gunn was consulted for scenes that featured The Guardians, and Gunn made a change to the script that saw Quill try and go through with his promise to kill Gamora. In the original script, Quill was unable to go through with it.
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Peter Parker’s dialogue while he is being dusted was improvised by Tom Holland.
In Avengers: Infinity War when Rocket tries to comfort Thor via conversation, Thor exclaims that he has nothing “left to lose.” After Thor walks away, Rocket somberly utters “I’ve got some things to lose” to himself. When Thanos executes his Snap, Rocket loses a lot as Groot II, Peter Quill, Drax, and Mantis are all erased from existence. Gamora also lost her life at the hands of Thanos.
In Avengers: Infinity War, King T’Challa taunts Proxima Midnight by proclaiming that all the Children of Thanos will get from their invasion of Wakanda is “dust and blood.” That’s exactly what Thanos got when he executed his Snap as half of the Universe was reduced to dust with the blood on Thanos’ hands.
Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark does not share a single scene with Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes in Avengers: Infinity War; a first for the pair for any MCU film that they both appear in.
In an Avengers: Infinity War post-credits scene, Nick Fury activates a pager as he is being erased from existence. The person he pages is Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, whose story would be told in the 2019 Marvel Studios film Captain Marvel.
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Nearly every single shot in Avengers: Infinity War incorporated some degree of Visual Effects. The film was furthermore shot entirely on digital IMAX cameras.
24 MCU characters appeared on the poster for Avengers: Infinity War. Of those 24 characters, 12 are erased from existence, and 12 survive, driving home the “Perfectly Balanced” concept that Thanos preaches within the film.
On July 15, 2017, at the D23 Expo, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced plans for Marvel Studios to celebrate its 10th Anniversary of independent theatrical releases over the course of 2018, complete with a new logo that transformed the “I” and “O” in the Marvel Studios logo into a “10.” Feige then invited several members of the Infinity War cast (including Anthony Mackie, Chadwick Boseman, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Holland, Elizabeth Olsen, Robert Downey Jr, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, and others) to watch the first public footage from Avengers: Infinity War, which was met with overwhelming excitement and acclaim. 9-days later at San Diego Comic Con, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth, Chadwick Boseman, Mark Ruffalo, and Joe Russo presented the D23 footage to the jam-packed crowd in Hall H. The footage inspired a standing ovation from the rabid SDCC fans.
On October 7, 2017, Marvel Studios held a unique photo shoot to celebrate their 10th Anniversary as an independent movie-making Studio with a gathering of nearly 100 of the men and women that had contributed to making the Marvel Cinematic Universe the most successful franchise in the history of cinema. The list of attendees included Stan Lee, Kevin Feige, Sean Gunn, Hannah John-Kamen, Scott Derrickson, Trinh Tran, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Victoria Alonso, Zoe Saldana, Jon Favreau, Evangeline Lilly, Chris Hemsworth, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Louis D’Esposito, Kurt Russell, Dani Gurira, William Hurt, Brad Winderbaum, Emily VanCamp, Louis Leterrier, Sarah Finn, Jon Watts, Tessa Thompson, David Grant, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, James Gunn, Dave Bautista, Angela Bassett, Chris Pratt, Ryan Coogler, Chadwick Boseman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeremy Latcham, Elizabeth Olsen, Joss Whedon, Hayley Atwell, Mitchell Bell, Paul Bettany, Laurence Fishburne, Peyton Reed, Linda Cardellini, Jonathan Schwartz, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Michael Pena, Mark Ruffalo, Brie Larsen, Stephen Broussard, Michael Douglas, Letitia Wright, Jeffrey Ford, Alan Taylor, Karen Gillan, Benedict Wong, Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden, Frank Grillo, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Michael Rooker, Ty Simpkins, Vin Diesel, Cobie Smulders, Samuel L. Jackson, Taika Waititi, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ryan Meinerding, Eric Hauserman Carroll, Craig Kyle, Pom Klementieff, and Nate Moore.
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On November 29, 2017, Marvel Studios released the first teaser trailer for Avengers: Infinity War. The trailer received 230-million views during its first 24-hours of release. Another teaser aired during the NFL’s Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018. This was followed by another trailer on March 16, 2018.
Avengers: Infinity War set numerous records at the worldwide box office. The film became the first Marvel Studios movie to gross at least $2 billion worldwide. It was the highest-grossing film of 2018, followed by Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, giving Marvel Studios the top two highest-grossing films of a given year for the first time. Avengers: Infinity War was furthermore the fourth highest-grossing motion picture of all-time. Avengers: Infinity War also broke the opening weekend box office record in North America with a $208-million haul. It also claimed the worldwide opening weekend record with $678 million. It took Avengers: Infinity War just 11-days to reach the $1-billion mark; another record. Avengers: Infinity War was Marvel Studios’ fifth billion-dollar film following The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, and Black Panther.
Following the release of Avengers: Infinity War, Directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo confirmed that Valkyrie, Korg, and Miek whisked several Asgardians away from The Statesman as Thanos made his move, and that all three of those characters survived Thanos’ Snap.
The visual effects of Avengers: Infinity War received widespread acclaim and honors, as it specifically related to the remarkable job that was done in bringing Josh Brolin’s Thanos to life in such a convincing manner. The film’s effects and the team behind them received awards and recognition at the Hollywood Film Awards, and from The Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society, the St. Louis Film Critics Association, the Visual Effects Society, and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association.
Robert Downey Jr and Scarlett Johansson were also honored at various Awards shows for their respective roles as Tony Stark / Iron Man and Natasha Romanoff / The Black Widow in Avengers: Infinity War.
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The Road to Infinity
Avengers: Infinity War was the beginning of the culmination of 10-years’ worth of characters and storytelling, and it was Marvel Studios’ 19th feature-length MCU project following Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume Two, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, and Black Panther. Several characters came together on-screen for the first time. The following is a short look at the plot devices and the key MCU characters as they existed heading into this movie.
The Infinity Stones
The Infinity Stones are the main plot device of Avengers: Infinity War. Six cosmic relics that date back to before the birth of the known Universe that represent the essential building blocks of existence: Space. Mind. Power. Reality. Soul. Time. These Stones can only be wielded by immensely powerful beings and are capable of granting god-like power to their handler if wielded together. The Space Stone is within the Cosmic Cube known as the Tesseract, which is in the custody of the Asgardian God of Mischief Loki, who took it from his late adopted father’s treasure room / weapon’s vault prior to the destruction of Asgard. The Mind Stone (once existing within the Cosmic Scepter) is housed within the Vibranium cranium of The VISION on Earth. The Power Stone is kept under the watch of the Nova Corps on the Planet Xandar; left in their custody by The Guardians of the Galaxy. The Reality Stone flows within the Aether and is in the custody of The Collector at Knowhere; left to him under orders by Thor, who retrieved the Stone from Malekith, King of the Dark Elves. The Time Stone is on Earth in the custody of Doctor Stephen Strange within the Eye of Agamotto. The location of Soul Stone remains a mystery.
Thanos
Thanos has existed within the shadows of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, biding his time and manipulating select events while searching for the Infinity Stones, which he hopes to unite and wield their collective power courtesy of his golden Infinity Gauntlet, forged for him by the Dwarves of Nidavellir. Thanos believes the known Universe to be overpopulated and he seeks the Stones so that he can Balance the Universe with the mere Snap of his fingers. In the meantime, Thanos has waged war throughout the Cosmos, decimating countless worlds with his deadly armies of cybernetically enhanced creatures such as the Chitauri and the Leviathan, murdering 50% of the population of most of the worlds he invades. From these worlds, Thanos has adopted select children and raised them to be fierce and powerful warriors. Among these children are his daughters Gamora and Nebula, their sister Proxima Midnight, and their brothers Corvus Glaive, Cull Obsidian, and the Ebony Maw. Despite a ruthless campaign and extensive search and study, Thanos has only managed to ever hold one Infinity Stone. That was the Mind Stone. Thanos actually lent this Stone to the Asgardian God of Mischief Loki following Loki’s fall from Asgard. Thanos offered Loki rule over the Earth in exchange for Loki procuring the Tesseract for him, assuring dire circumstances should Loki fail him, which Loki did, thanks to the intervention of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes: The Avengers. Thanos suffered a similar fate in his working relationship with the Kree Warlord Ronan. Thanos offered to annihilate Xandar in exchange for Ronan procuring the Power Stone for him, but Ronan betrayed Thanos. In the years since Thanos has discovered the location of each of the Infinity Stones, sans the mysterious Soul Stone, which he tasked his favorite daughter Gamora with procuring, only for her to fail in her quest. With the King of Asgard: Odin dead, Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme having recently died as well, and Thanos now aware that Gamora knows the location of the Soul Stone, the Universe is ripe for the picking and destiny awaits.
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Tony Stark / Iron Man
The Armored Avenger continues to finance the operations of The Avengers, working in compliance with the Sokovia Accords, but to say his team has diminished would be a gross understatement. The Avengers are at this point comprised of just Stark himself, a crippled James Rhodes, and an absent-minded VISION. Tony has not seen or heard from Thor nor Bruce Banner / The Hulk since the Battle of Sokovia and the passing of the Sokovia Accords landed Iron Man on the other side of a conflict that pit him against Captain America, Hawkeye, The Falcon, The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, and Wanda Maximoff. The aftermath of an emotional battle at an Airport in Germany landed The Black Widow on the other side of the conflict also. Knowing The Avengers need warm bodies and mutual ideals, Tony has been on a steady search for other potential heroes, with young Peter Parker / Spider-Man emerging as the leading candidate to someday become a valued member of the team. Tony and Peter have agreed that for the time being, Spider-Man should keep things small and grounded, however. In the meantime, Tony has used nanotechnology courtesy of his associate King T’Challa to create his most advanced Iron Man armor yet (the Mark 50) and has gotten engaged to the love of his life Pepper Potts with a marriage pending.
Steve Rogers / Captain America
Leading the other side of the conflict that tore The Avengers apart is Captain America, a man that was once the living embodiment of blind patriotism, only to find himself in a world that is decades removed from the time from whence he came and having become embittered with the government that he once so loyally served. Steve has been labeled a criminal by governing bodies and is a wanted fugitive, not only for his stand against the Accords, but for his collaboration with the fugitive Winter Soldier, his breaking of Sam Wilson and Wanda Maximoff out of imprisonment, and his continued Avenging alongside the wanted fugitive Natasha Romanoff. Steve is now more cynical than he ever imagined he could be. He no longer takes pride in the uniform he wears, and he no longer has a shield. What he does have is an undying intolerance for villainy, three dear friends in The Falcon, The Black Widow, and Wanda Maximoff, a trusted ally in King T’Challa / The Black Panther, and a clear conscience, having come clean with Tony Stark regarding the deaths of his parents at the hands of his very best friend. Rogers and Stark are not on speaking terms, but Cap did leave Tony with a pre-programmed phone to reach him on if Tony were ever to need him.
Iron Man’s Pro-Registration Avengers
Iron Man’s team of Sokovia Accords supporters was comprised of James Rhodes, The VISION, Spider-Man, The Black Panther, and The Black Widow. Rhodey was paralyzed following an errant shot from The VISION, but Tony has provided him with state-of-the art prosthetics that not only allow him to walk upright, but to continue functioning as War Machine when needed. The VISION meanwhile has made his romantic feelings for Wanda Maximoff his primary concern, taking sabbaticals that grow increasingly longer in order to spend time with her. Tony knows what The VISION is doing but has decided against making a confrontation out of it. Having conquered The Vulture and declined a chance to join The Avengers, Spider-Man continues to fight crime in New York while pursuing his heart’s desire: fellow Midtown High student Michelle Jones-Watson. Also, his Aunt May now knows that he is Spider-Man. The Black Panther has returned to Wakanda where he has risen to the Wakandan Throne following the death of his father and an attempted coup by his cousin. He has furthermore opted to share Wakanda’s advanced technologies with the world and has formed a friendship with Steve Rogers built on mutual respect.
Captain America’s Anti-Registration Avengers
When discussing Captain America’s team of Sokovia Accords disputers, I have to start with Iron Man’s team and The Black Widow. Natasha Romanoff swerved Stark and his team by physically assaulting The Black Panther and allowing Captain America and The Winter Soldier to escape Germany. Once Secretary Ross received word of Widow’s betrayal, she rose to the top of his Most Wanted list alongside Captain America, The Falcon, and Wanda Maximoff. After dealing with some personal matters in Russia and successfully eluding Ross, Romanoff reunited with Rogers and Wilson, and they continued to work as Secret Avengers, moving in the shadows to stop serious threats when they arose. Wanda Maximoff worked select missions with Cap, Falcon, and Widow (all four were members of the New Avengers team that came together following the Battle of Sokovia) while courting The VISION, with whom she’d grown deeply in love. Wanda and The VISION find themselves in a sort of Romeo and Juliet scenario as lovers caught in the middle of an ongoing dispute. The other three members of Cap’s team were each off the board. Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Clint Barton / Hawkeye both made deals with Secretary Ross that relegated them to house arrest and a conditional agreement that they will not involve themselves in crime-fighting nor mingle with any of their former friends and teammates that had been labeled fugitives. The Winter Soldier meanwhile has been taken in by the Nation of Wakanda with King T’Challa using all of his resources to rehabilitate Bucky and free him from his Hydra programming. Rogers and Romanoff have both changed their appearances, with Steve growing out his hair and his beard, and Natasha cutting her hair short and dying it blonde.
Thor and The Hulk
Thor and The Hulk were the two founding members of The Avengers that were not involved in the superhero Civil War. Neither has been seen on Earth since the Battle of Sokovia. The Hulk left the battle – and Earth – in a Quinjet, getting sucked into a portal and transported to the Planet Sakaar on the other side of Space where he became a popular champion in a series of gladiatorial games overseen by the eccentric Grandmaster. Thor meanwhile embarked upon a quest to learn more about the Infinity Stones after receiving a mystical vision pertaining to the Cosmic relics. Thor’s quest ultimately took him home to Asgard where he discovered that his adopted brother Loki had covertly stolen the Throne. Thor then discovered he had a sister named Hela and following the death of his father and Hela’s return, Thor found himself on Sakaar where he was pitted against The Hulk in one of Grandmaster’s games. Thor had his Hammer crushed, his hair cut off, and his eye ripped out, and he witnessed the physical destruction of Asgard along with the death of his sister, after which he found himself at long last accepting the Throne of Asgard and restoring the bond he shared with his mischievous brother Loki. King Thor and what is left of his people are in Space on a ship that used to belong to Grandmaster, setting a course for Earth. Unbeknownst to King Thor however, Loki procured the Tesseract prior to Asgard’s destruction and for Loki, it is all about to come around.
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Doctor Strange and Wong
Doctor Stephen Strange is now a Master of the Mystic Arts and has taken up residence at the New York Sanctum Sanctorum where he works closely with fellow accomplished sorcerer Wong. After vanquishing the extra-dimensional threat Dormammu in Hong Kong, Strange has filled his time with unrelenting study of all of the information available to him in an effort to become the capable sorcerer that the late Ancient One christened him to be. Strange is of course in possession of the Time Stone, which he wears around his neck, encased within the Eye of Agamotto. Strange now has an astounding comprehension of how the Universe works and has mastered a variety of complex spells and magics. In fact, despite having never suited-up as an Avenger, Doctor Strange is now one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes; unsung though he may be.
The Guardians of the Galaxy
Some four-years or so have passed since The Guardians of the Galaxy conquered Star-Lord’s father, the Living Planet known as Ego, and mourned the loss of Yondu. The group have grown to look at each other as family during this time. Star-Lord and Gamora are in a relationship, and they serve as the parental figures of the group. Rocket likewise serves as a father to Groot II, who has now entered what could be described as his teenager years. Drax meanwhile remains driven by his quest to slay Thanos, the entity responsible for the deaths of his beloved wife and child. Drax shares a brotherly bond with the wide-eyed Mantis. Together, The Guardians travel the Universe in search of people (jobs) in need of their unique brand of heroism.
Nebula
After becoming an honorary member of The Guardians of the Galaxy during the team’s fight against the maniacal Ego, the adopted sister of Gamora has set out on a mission to kill their father Thanos in search of revenge for the years upon years of torture he subjected her to, deviously replacing parts of her flesh with mechanical prosthetics as punishment whenever she failed him. Nebula first set out to betray Thanos when she aligned with Ronan against him, and in the time since, her vendetta landed her with unlikely allies as she came to terms with her feelings of affection for her sister and the unique bond they share.
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My Avengers: Infinity War Review
Avengers: Infinity War was a masterpiece. I can’t think of any other way to start this review. It was not only (at the time) my most anticipated motion picture ever, but it was also (at the time) the greatest / best / most satisfying movie that I had ever seen! And hey, I get that superheroes aren’t for everybody, and all things movies are subjective, but my goodness, did I ever love every single moment of this film!!! For fans of the comics, or just for fans of the MCU, this movie had nearly everything that any of us could have wanted! Critics may not have lined-up in droves to praise it, but for fans, this was damn near perfection. The only thing that kept it from being perfect in fact for me was that it ended on a cliffhanger and that some people never got to see how it all ended!
For instance, the MCU was one of the few things that I had in common with my mother. She loved Black Panther and Thor and Loki got on her nerves and she wasn’t the biggest Spider-Man fan, but she watched every movie (even Doctor Strange to my surprise, as she was very religious) and she enjoyed every one of them in some way or another. Chris Hemsworth made her fall in love with Thor and Black Panther made her appreciate the MCU on another level entirely! In fact, it was her favorite movie of all-time and I’m pretty sure she would have married Chadwick Boseman if she could have! Anyway, it was SO cool to be able to share this fandom with her! We didn’t like the same music. We didn’t share the same religious philosophy. We didn’t even like the same TV shows. But we both loved Marvel movies (which I introduced her to), and it was wonderful to share this common interest with her be it at the theater or in my living room. My mom LOVED Infinity War and she watched the film with a sort of childlike wonder in her eyes the first time that she saw it. She popped for seeing Thor and The Guardians of the Galaxy together, and she almost came unglued when the drums started beating and the word “Wakanda” flashed on the screen! She even cried for Loki and for Spider-Man and for Wanda Maximoff at the end and don’t even get me started on what happened with T’Challa! Avengers: Infinity War made her laugh. It made her cry. It made her wince and smile and think. I cherish the memory of watching it with her the couple of times that we did, and that’s what I’m getting to with this rambling: my mother never got to see Avengers: Endgame. I know that sounds really trivial to some. It’s not like “she never saw the Grand Canyon”, or “she never went to New York”, or whatever. But she was admitted to the hospital during the first days of the release of Avengers: Endgame. We were supposed to go see the movie on the Wednesday following the Saturday that she was admitted, and she never came out. She died weeks later. I’d have given almost anything to have been able to watch Endgame with her like we were supposed to. The last movie we ever watched together ended up being Thor: The Dark World, and we watched it in the ICU unit of the hospital on a very small television set that allowed us to, if only for 2-hours, escape the situation. I never brought myself to actually tell my mom how things ended up going down in Endgame because I wouldn’t let myself believe she’d never see it. I kept holding it over her head like a crazy man, saying “You’ve got to get better so we can go see Endgame.” But I never got that moment. God, it’s surreal to think back on all this time later, but I’m so very thankful for the moments that I did get; moments that far transcended movies and Hollywood or whatever, but yeah, I’m thankful for the ones that movies and Hollywood and Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige did provide; little moments and memories that made our relationship better. This is among the (many) reasons that I love the MCU so much. It has given me so many moments and memories with the people in my life that I most cherish and that makes me eternally grateful.
On a somewhat less personal note, I have similar feelings involving the late, great Jon Schnepp, who passed away on July 18, 2018. I never met Jon Schnepp, but I absolutely adored him. I watched any show that he appeared on (mainly Collider Heroes) and followed his career online wherever I could because I LOVED his passion! Jon Schnepp loved superheroes. He loved being a nerd. He was unabashed and unashamed in his fandom, and I don’t think I’ve ever watched a single video of him telling everyone watching why they should or shouldn’t love something during which I didn’t smile. Jon Schnepp made me happy and proud, and he entertained me in so many ways and man, his death hit me really, really hard. I know it pales in comparison to the loss that his family and friends experienced, but on my little corner of the internet here, I want to let anyone reading know how so very inspiring he was to me and how much I enjoyed his contributions to the world around him. Jon loved Infinity War and he damn sure loved Doctor Strange from everything I’ve ever seen or read. He had his theories and his observations pertaining to the films and what would come next, and it sucks that he never got to see what did come next, because it was freaking awesome, and I think Jon Schnepp would have loved it. Jon made some wonderful tributes and commentaries following the death of Steve Ditko on June 29, 2018; shockingly less than 3-weeks before his own death. Jon loved Jack Kirby and he loved comics and I just hope there really is some sort of afterlife where Jon is seated between Kirby and Ditko debating the philosophies of superhero comics and movies over a pint of the finest ale and maybe, just maybe I can someday go there too and have a drink with the great Jon Schnepp. If you’ve never seen or heard Jon Schnepp, I encourage you to go to YouTube and type his name into your search box and delight in his uncanny fandom. He was taken from us far too soon.
Last but certainly not least, we also lost Stan Lee on November 12, 2018. How do I even dare try to articulate the impact that Stan Lee had on my life!?! It’s impossible! So many things that I enjoy in this world are either directly or indirectly because of Stan Lee. Along with revolutionizing the comic book genre in the early-1960’s, Stan was a writer, actor, and ambassador for Marvel, and when we lost him, we lost perhaps the biggest Icon in the history of the genre. Stan Lee left a void that will never be filled within the comic book community and he co-created countless Marvel characters and concepts including Ant-Man, The Avengers, The Black Panther, The Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Peggy Carter, Sharon Carter, The Daily Bugle, The Danger Room, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, Dormammu, Ego the Living Planet, The Falcon, The Fantastic Four, Fin Fang Foom, Jane Foster, Nick Fury, Galactus, Giant-Man, Goliath, The Green Goblin, Groot, Hawkeye, Heimdall, Hela, The Hulk, The Inhumans, Iron Man, J. Jonah Jameson, Edwin Jarvis, Kang the Conqueror, The Kingpin, Kraven the Hunter, The Kree, Laufey, Loki, Magneto, Man-Thing, The Mandarin, Aunt May, Mephisto, M.O.D.O.K., Baron Mordo, Mysterio, Doctor Octopus, Odin, Harry Osborn, Norman Osborn, Pepper Potts, Quicksilver, Rhino, Franklin Richards, Ronan the Accuser, Betty Ross, Thunderbolt Ross, The Sandman, The Scarlet Witch, The Scorpion, The Sentinels, The Howling Commandos, She-Hulk, The Shocker, Sif, The Silver Surfer, The Sinister Six, The Skrulls, Spider-Man, George Stacy, Gwen Stacy, The Super Skrull, The Supreme Intelligence, Surtur, Thor, Tigra, The Tinkerer, Uatu the Watcher, The Vulture, Adam Warlock, The Warriors Three, The Wasp, The Watchers, Mary Jane Watson, The X-Men, Professor X, Yon-Rogg, Yondu, and Baron Zemo. Stan’s biggest impact on the MCU besides creating so many of the characters that have defined the Universe, was of course his many cameos. He totaled 22 MCU cameos, having already filmed his scenes for Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame before his death. It’s truly a shame that Stan Lee didn’t get to see Endgame, he sure would have loved seeing all those heroes come together at the end of the film! Stan Lee was 95-years old.
This post has gotten much more personal than I intended, but these feelings and these losses are part of my experience with Infinity War, and I think about these things every time that I watch the movie. Nonetheless, this is a movie to be celebrated and I for one, despite some regrets, felt that the divisive cliffhanger was what defined this film as a true masterpiece.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Avengers: Infinity War picks up just about where Thor: Ragnarok left off. Thanos has come for the Tesseract. The movie opens with ominous music and an urgent distress call as the MCU logo and montage rolls. The distress call is voiced by none other than Thor Director Kenneth Branagh and he is begging for someone to come and defend what is left of the Asgardian people from Thanos and his Children. Inside the ship, we learn that Thanos has been wreaking havoc. Thor and Heimdall are both badly injured and countless Asgardians have been slain. The Ebony Maw is reciting the praises of his adopted father while Loki has been given a dire choice: either give Thanos the Tesseract, or watch Thanos kill Thor. I should also note that Thanos is already wearing his Infinity Gauntlet and is already in possession of the Power Stone, having decimated Xandar off-screen. Thanos uses the Power Stone to torture the God of Thunder and though Loki tries to pretend that he doesn’t care, his fear and emotion get the better of him and he begs Thanos to stop. Thor reasons that the Tesseract was destroyed with Asgard, but of course Loki has it, and he unveils the Cosmic Cube to the Mad Titan, prompting Thor to utter “You really are the worst brother”, which was sort of funny, but really, there is nothing funny about what is going on here. Loki assures his adopted brother that the son will shine on them again, prompting Thanos to assure Loki that his optimism is misplaced. Loki has been stalling Thanos though, and with the words “We have a Hulk” (used by Tony Stark against Loki in The Avengers) The Hulk emerges to take-on Thanos! From there, Thanos absolutely dominates The Hulk! Not only does he cause Hulk to whimper, but he also presses Hulk over his head and violently slams the Green Goliath to the ground before turning his attention back to Loki.
Having seen this, a desperate Heimdall uses what is left of his strength to summon the Bifrost and send Hulk to Earth to warn The Avengers of what’s coming. Heimdall is stabbed to death for his actions and Thor swears revenge, but things only get worse from there. A somber Loki does his best to lure Thanos into a false sense of security so that he can deliver a killing blow to the throat of the Mad Titan, but Thanos sees it coming and counters, grabbing Loki by the neck and lifting him in the air. As Loki struggles to breathe, he manages to proclaim that Thanos will never be a god, provoking a sinister smile from the Mad Titan. Thanos then crushes Loki’s neck, killing the God of Mischief. Thanos drops Loki’s limp body in front of Thor, crushes the Tesseract, and inserts the Space Stone into his Gauntlet. Thanos then makes a casual exit via the Space Stone and The Statesman explodes, leaving Thor adrift in Space, surrounded by the corpses of his people.
On Earth, The Hulk crashes through the roof of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, landing in a pile of rubble and reverting back to Bruce Banner. Doctor Stephen Strange and Wong confront Banner, who warns them that “Thanos is Coming!”
Cue The Avengers logo and theme!
Staying on Earth, we catch up with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, who are on a walk where Tony is discussing the notion of having a child with Pepper. Their friendly debate is soon interrupted by Doctor Strange (emerging through a portal), who informs Stark that he is urgently needed. Tony isn’t so sure about the whole wizard thing, but a solemn Bruce Banner soon walks through the portal and hugs his closest friend, prompting Tony to go back to the Sanctum with them. There, Wong and Strange explain the Infinity Stones to Tony, and Banner explains who Thanos is and just how dangerous he is. Tony doesn’t need much convincing on the danger side; this is what he has been fearing and dreading since the Battle of New York. All Banner has done is given his nightmares a name. Tony casually suggests destroying the Time Stone, but Strange insists that this is a not an option. There is some great stuff here between Robert Downey Jr and Benedict Cumberbatch and seeing them on-screen together in these roles was everything I hoped it would be! The quartet agree upon the urgency of finding The VISION before Thanos comes for the Mind Stone. Tony informs the others that The VISION is off the grid, however. He suggests that Steve Rogers can probably find The VISION, but of course, making that call is not an easy thing for Iron Man and Bruce discovers just how much has changed since he was last on Earth. The Avengers as he knew them are no more. Regardless, Tony pulls out the pre-programmed phone that Steve left for him, but before he can make the call, the Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian arrive to Earth, sending New York into a panicked frenzy. Tony suits up as Iron Man and Wong and Strange join them, but Banner finds himself unable to transform into The Hulk. As the battle ensues, we shift over to Peter Parker, who is on a field trip with his classmates. Peter’s spider-sense goes off and he asks Ned to make a distraction for him so that he can slip out of the bus and suit-up as Spider-Man. Spider-Man then joins the fight against the Children of Thanos and I love Tony’s casual explanation of what it is that is going on “That guy’s from Space and he came here to take a necklace from a wizard!” So good!
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Despite their best efforts, which included stranding Cull Obsidian elsewhere, Spider-Man, Wong, and Stark fail in their quest to keep Strange out of the custody of the Ebony Maw, but Stark gives chase, arming Peter Parker in his Iron Spider suit during the process. Stark is both baffled, angered, and a little impressed to discover that Parker has boarded the Maw’s ship, and it is Peter who comes up with the plan to dispose of the Maw and free Strange from his tortures. From there, Strange begrudgingly agrees with Stark to go to Titan and take the fight to Thanos there. Stark christens Peter an official Avenger (a very proud moment for the young Spider-Man), and Strange assures Tony that he will not hesitate to allow Stark or Parker to die if it comes down to them or the Stone. Back on Earth, Bruce Banner discovers Tony’s pre-programmed phone and prepares to call Steve Rogers.
Elsewhere in Space, The Guardians of the Galaxy answer the distress call sent out from The Statesman, but they arrive far too late to prevent the massacre. They do happen upon the still living Thor however and bring the God of Thunder aboard their ship. The stuff here between Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord is amazing and hilarious, but through all of that banter, Thor informs The Guardians of what Thanos has been up to. This news deeply troubles Gamora, who in her fear, makes an urgent request for Peter to promise to kill her if there is any danger of Thanos finding out what she knows. Gamora knows all about Thanos’ mission and what he plans to do when he gets the Stones, and she knows that she is his only path to the Soul Stone. Peter begrudgingly makes this promise to Gamora and then, Quill, Gamora, Drax, and Mantis head to Knowhere to try and cut Thanos off from acquiring the Reality Stone while Thor, Rocket, and Groot II venture to Nidavellir to enlist the services of the Dwarves in the creation of a new weapon to replace the shattered Mjolnir. When the quartet of The Guardians arrive to Knowhere, they find that Thanos has already arrived and is in the midst of interrogating The Collector. Quill tries to formulate a plan of attack, but an overanxious Drax prompts Gamora to make a sudden and swift move of her own, quickly confronting and then stabbing and apparently killing her adopted father. The trauma of what she has just done brings Gamora to tears, but she soon realizes that everything they’d seen since arriving to Knowhere had been an illusion. Thanos already had the Reality Stone and The Collector’s Museum had already been destroyed. Thanos swiftly incapacitates Drax and Mantis and then takes custody of Gamora. As Star-Lord approaches, one of the tensest scenes in MCU history ensues as Gamora begs Quill to keep her promise to him, with Thanos daring him to do so all the while, knowing what Gamora has asked. Through a steady stream of tears, Gamora and Quill pledge their love to each other and Quill, true to his word, pulls the trigger of his blaster. Thanos turns the blast to bubbles however, and after declaring that he “likes” Quill, Thanos leaves with both Gamora and the Reality Stone.
Back on Earth, Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive arrive in Scotland in search of the Mind Stone. They invoke a fierce battle with The VISION and Wanda Maximoff, critically wounding The VISION by taking out his phasing abilities. It’s apparent that Wanda and The VISION are in over their heads, but they soon receive an assist from Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Sam Wilson! The Secret Avengers successfully fend off the attack by the Children of Thanos and then venture back to New York to reconnect with Bruce Banner and meet-up with Rhodey. Secretary Ross (via Hologram) orders Rhodes to arrest Rogers, Romanoff, Wilson, Maximoff, and even The VISION, but Rhodey dismisses the orders and welcomes them all with open arms. After everyone is caught up to speed on the threat of Thanos and his quest for the Infinity Stones, The VISION suggests the Stone in his head should be destroyed, reasoning that Wanda (who received her powers from the Mind Stone) had the power to do it. Wanda is repulsed by this notion and adamantly refuses, prompting Banner to reason that there may be a way to remove the Stone without destroying The VISION. Steve then declares that he knows a place where perhaps that very thing could be done, and the reunited New Avengers venture to Wakanda along with Bruce Banner.
Back in Space, Thanos takes Gamora back to Sanctuary II where he unveils that Nebula is in his custody and is in the process of being painfully tortured. As Gamora vows she doesn’t know where the Soul Stone is, Thanos chastises her for lying to him and accesses Nebula’s memory files to reveal video footage of Gamora telling Nebula that she did in fact find the Soul Stone. Thanos cranks up the torture on Gamora’s sister until Gamora finally admits to knowing where the Stone is (Vormir) and agrees to take Thanos there. After they leave, Nebula escapes custody and contacts The Guardians, informing them that Thanos will be heading to Titan and to meet her there.
Meanwhile, Thor, Rocket, and Groot II arrive to Nidavellir to discover that the home world of the Dwarves has been decimated. Only Eitri remains and he informs the God of Thunder that it was he that oversaw the forging of Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet after which the Mad Titan murdered all of the other Dwarves, sans him. Thor urges Eitri to pull himself together and forge one last weapon, and Eitri agrees. Rocket and Groot II assist Eitri in the creation of Stormbreaker; a weapon that Eitri reasons is not only capable of summoning the Bifrost, but also killing Thanos. This is a really great sequence for Thor as a character, as he simply will not quit on getting this weapon forged. I also have to praise the wonderful scene in which Thor and Rocket share a somber conversation prior to their arrival to Nidavellir.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Thanos and Gamora arrive to Vormir, where they encounter The StoneKeeper / The Red Skull! This was a shocking moment and confirmed that The Skull really had been teleported across the Universe during his fight with Captain America in 1945, as many fans theorized. The Skull explains the rules for acquiring the Soul Stone to Thanos, and this is an incredible scene! A sacrifice is required. A soul for a soul. And what must be sacrificed is that which you love. Hearing this sends Gamora into a taunting laugh, as she realizes that Thanos can’t possibly obtain the Soul Stone, for he loves no one and nothing. Thanos then begins to cry, and Gamora taunts his tears until The Skull informs her that his tears are not for him. Thanos mumbles the words “I’m sorry, little one”, and grabs Gamora by the arm and flings her off the side of the cliff. Gamora falls to her death. The Mad Titan is overcome with emotion, and Josh Brolin should really be commended here for his performance, Zoe Saldana was great too! Thanos leaves Vormir with the Soul Stone and Gamora is dead. This was a victory, but it was no triumph. Thanos is en route to Titan.
On Titan, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Man arrive and are soon confronted by Star-Lord, Drax, and Mantis. This whole scene is incredible! There is a fight, there are laughs, and of course there are insults, and I would say this is the funniest scene in the film! After much debate, the six heroes decide to come together to stand against Thanos, but Doctor Strange soon discovers that the situation is far more dire than he imagined it to be. Using the Time Stone, Strange peers into 14,000,605 possible futures to conjure up a winning strategy. To his horror, Strange finds that there is only 1 single possible victory and seeing what he saw and what has to happen in order for it to be achieved leaves Strange stunned and nearly speechless. From there, Strange conceded to let Peter Quill come up with a plan of attack while he patiently waited to confront Thanos. When the Mad Titan arrived, that’s what he did. This is another wonderful scene, as Thanos, after quietly mourning the obvious death of the Ebony Maw, explains his mission to Strange, telling the story of Titan’s destruction. Strange listens intently but doesn’t buy Thanos’ self-righteous mantra, and Thanos is soon ambushed by the other heroes. Everyone throws everything that they’ve got at Thanos, and this is visually stunning stuff with Spider-Man swinging through portals and Star-Lord leaping atop mystical shields conjured by Strange. Thanos is detained after an assist from an arriving Nebula and then Mantis puts Thanos into a shallow sleep while Iron Man and Spider-Man frantically work to remove the Gauntlet from his hand. Being an empath, Mantis soon discovers that Thanos is in deep mourning and Nebula realizes that Thanos has the Soul Stone and that he has killed Gamora to get it. This sends Quill into an uncontrollable violent rage, and I loved Chris Pratt’s performance here. Thanos goes on to recover and after throwing a freaking moon at Iron Man, Thanos critically injures Stark, stabbing him with one of his own nano-weapons. Thanos then admits to knowing and respecting Stark and to knowing just how capable he is. Thanos even acknowledges Tony’s heroism, after which he prepares to execute a killing blow. Thanos is interrupted by Doctor Strange however, and Strange offers to give up the Time Stone in exchange for Tony Stark’s life. Thanos agrees, much to the chagrin of Iron Man, and Strange assures Stark that they are “In the Endgame now.”
Back on Earth, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, Bruce Banner, James Rhodes, and The VISION arrive in Wakanda where they are greeted by King T’Challa, Okoye, and Bucky Barnes. The VISION is taken to Shuri, and she confirms that she can remove the Stone without destroying The VISION, but that it’s a highly complicated process and that she will need a lot of time to do it. Sadly, this is something she just doesn’t have, as the Children of Thanos arrive. The armies of Wakanda unite with the other heroes to make a stand against the invasion. Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are side-by-side. Bruce Banner has suited up in Hulk-Buster armor. Natasha Romanoff is standing aside The Black Panther and M’Baku and a battle-hungry Okoye. The Falcon and War Machine will defend the air. Wanda Maximoff will defend Shuri and The VISION.
As the battle commences and the monstrous Outriders are unleashed by the Children of Thanos, the sight of King T’Challa and Steve Rogers running at full speed ahead of everyone else is glorious and from there, it’s blood and water and dirt and fire. And, just as the Outriders begin to take control of the battle, Thor arrives via the Bifrost, complete with Stormbreaker, Rocket, and Groot II!!! This is probably my single favorite moment from this film as Thor screams “Bring me Thanos!” and invokes lightning. There are so many great moments once Thor and Rocket and Groot II join the battle! I loved seeing Rocket make a go at Bucky’s arm for instance, and Steve’s response to the words of Groot II was hilarious.
Wanda Maximoff was soon provoked into the fight, and her move opened the door Corvus Glaive to go after The VISION. With The VISION on the field, a true sense of urgency overtook the heroes, and the Children of Thanos were consequently victimized. Bruce Banner killed Cull Obsidian. Wanda Maximoff joined forces with Okoye and Natasha to kill Proxima Midnight. And The VISION killed Corvus Glaive. The fight had taken a turn, but then … Thanos arrived from Titan with five Infinity Stones in his Infinity Gauntlet.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Everyone rushed in to attack the Mad Titan, but no one could even land an offensive blow. Steve Rogers managed to achieve a degree of resistance, which Thanos was noticeably taken aback by, but even Rogers could not hold Thanos back. Seeing the writing on the wall, The VISION realized what must be done, and informed Wanda that they were out of time and that it was time for her to destroy the Mind Stone. This was an incredible scene during which Paul Bettany and especially Elizabeth Olsen shined. Through uncontrollable tears and anguish, Wanda managed to hold Thanos off with one hand, while lighting The VISION up with the other, and ultimately, the Mind Stone was obliterated, and The VISION was destroyed.
The Avengers had won.
Or so it seemed.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Using the Time Stone, Thanos rewound time around The VISION, reassembling the Mind Stone and restoring The VISION back to life. Thanos then grabbed The VISION by the throat and aggressively ripped the Mind Stone out of his Vibranium head. The VISION was no more. And Thanos had the Mind Stone. With the Gauntlet complete, Thanos prepared to wield his godlike power against the Universe, but then Thor flew in at the perfect moment and slung Stormbreaker at the Mad Titan, critically wounding Thanos. The God of Thunder then taunted Thanos while pushing Stormbreaker further into Thanos’ chest. This afforded Thanos the opportunity however to taunt Thor back with the words “You should’ve gone for the head!”
Thanos then Snapped the fingers of his Infinity Gauntlet together and exited the Wakandan jungle. From there, people all over Wakanda began to disintegrate into dust. Bucky Barnes, King T’Challa, Sam Wilson, Groot II, Wanda Maximoff, and Shuri (off-screen) among them. On Titan, Mantis, Drax, Peter Quill, and Peter Parker were all dusted (Spider-Man’s erasure was far and away the most emotional due to the outstanding performance of Tom Holland). Doctor Strange was also dusted, fading away with the words “Tony, there was no other way.”
And, as a post-credits scene showed, Nick Fury and Maria Hill were also “dusted.” In fact, half of all life throughout the Universe was erased by Thanos’ Snap.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Thanos had won, and appropriately, this movie ends with Thanos sitting quietly on his farm, smiling as he watches the sunrise on a “grateful” Universe.
I will never forget the feeling that I felt sitting in that quiet theater at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. There were sniffs and sobs but there was no one talking, and no one was standing, and no one was leaving. Everyone was in awe and in disbelief of what they’d just seen. My little boy was so pitiful watching Spider-Man get erased from existence and I was crying right there with him. This was Thanos’ story. This was Thanos’ movie. That’s why the cliffhanger was what it was. And it was so daring for Marvel Studios to end the film the way that they did with the villain winning and with so many characters being seemingly killed-off.
Heimdall. Loki. Gamora. The VISION. Bucky Barnes. T’Challa. Groot II. Sam Wilson. Wanda Maximoff. Shuri. Mantis. Drax. Peter Quill. Peter Parker. Doctor Strange. Nick Fury. Maria Hill. They were all victims of Thanos, and we’d learn in Ant-Man and The Wasp that Hope Van Dyne, Hank Pym, and Janet Van Dyne were victims of Thanos as well.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Before I wrap up here, I have to stress how so very good Josh Brolin was as Thanos in this film. Thanos had been built-up to almost mythical proportions as the Marvel Cinematic Universe grew, and Josh Brolin lived up to every single bit of the hype. He wasn’t just big and bad, he was driven by purpose and fueled with conviction. Thanos was a multi-layered villain whose story was relatable, even if you disagreed with his motives. Marvel Studios had made great strides with their villains leading up to this film, with Michael Keaton’s The Vulture, Cate Blanchett’s Hela, and especially Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger all getting over strong with audiences, but Thanos took what a villain can be to a whole new level. Everyone watching Infinity War understood Thanos. Many empathized with him. Some even agreed with him. Thanos’ greatest strength as a character was the emotional depth that Josh Brolin gave him. We see Thanos cry in this film. We see Thanos look weary and even burdened by his mission at times in this film. He is a murderous, kidnapping maniac yes, but he believes in his cause and even sees himself as a hero; the only entity that has the courage to do what must be done in order to restore balance to an overpopulated Universe. Perverse though it may be, Thanos is brave, courageous, and somewhat selfless; traits shared with some of our greatest heroes. He is also compassionate, as subtlety illustrated when he pats Wanda on the head in an effort to comfort her after she destroyed The VISION and as illustrated by his not killing anyone for fun or pleasure (sans maybe Loki) when he easily could have. Thanos came out of Infinity War as Marvel Studios’ greatest villain, and hey, that’s coming from probably the biggest Loki fan that there is.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Highlights of Avengers: Infinity War:
Thanos Acquires the Space Stone
Bruce Banner meets Wong and Doctor Strange
Tony Stark meets Wong and Doctor Strange
Tension Between Iron Man and Doctor Strange
The Iron Spider Suit
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Thor meets The Guardians of the Galaxy
Tension Between Thor and Star-Lord
Thanos Acquires the Reality Stone
Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Sam Wilson arrive to assist Wanda Maximoff and The VISION
Steve Rogers stands up to Secretary Ross
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Doctor Strange Meet Star-Lord, Drax, and Mantis
The Return of The Red Skull as The StoneKeeper
The Death of Gamora
Thanos vs Doctor Strange on Titan
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
The Battle of Wakanda in all its Glory
Steve Rogers meets Groot II
Rocket Covets Bucky’s Arm
Thanos vs Steve Rogers (if ever so briefly)
Wanda Maximoff’s Emotional Sacrifice in Destroying The VISION
The Snap
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Notable MCU Concepts and Characters Introduced:
The Ebony Maw. Corvus Glaive. Proxima Midnight. Cull Obsidian. Eitri. Vormir. Stormbreaker. The Snap.
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