Despite all of the many good guys and gals on display in Marvel’sAvengers: Infinity War, very few of them have any idea just what Earth and its mightiest heroes are in for with the arrival of Thanos. Luckily, the coalition of the planet’s defenders have Gamora (Zoe Saldana)–and to a lesser extent, Nebula (Karen Gillan)–available to give them the lowdown on the Mad Titan. And luckily for audiences and fans of the MCU who might not be as well versed in the comics' lore as some, thisnew trailergives Gamora the spotlight when it comes to explaining the ultimate antagonist’s incredible power and plans for world domination.
But there’s alotof other stuff going on in this new look, as you might expect considering that theJoe and Anthony Russo-directed film is the culmination of 10 years' worth of MCU stories and characters. It’s all been building to this … and it’s all about to pay off in a big–and probably bittersweet–way onceAvengers: Infinity Warhits screens on April 27th. If you want to go into that viewing experience as fresh as possible (I don’t blame you), you might want to go ahead and skip the following trailer breakdown since it takes a detailed look at the new reveals. But for the brave and the curious among you, let’s soldier forth.
Here’s the official synopsis forAvengers: Infinity Warif you need a refresher:
An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
Our boy Thanos has come a long way since being introduced as “that purple gentleman seated on a flying space throne.” Accompanying an intro featuring a topsy-turvy New York City, reminiscent ofDoctor Strange, we get the following lines of dialogue from Gamora, Thanos' adopted daughter, last surviving member of her race (thanks, again, to Thanos) and current Guardian of the Galaxy:
“The entire time I knew him, he only ever had one goal: To wipe out half the universe. If he gets all the Infinity Stones, he can do it with a snap of his fingers. Just like that.”
Tony Stark says, “Tell me his name again,” but we already know: It’s Thanos. And boy is he imposing in this new trailer.
That’s not to say our heroes don’t give it their best shot. Each of them is giving that “slow walk into the wind” scene, or a “raise your powerful fist into the air to summon lightning” moment (Did they digitally erase his new weapon for this trailer, or what?), all while gathering together in an incredible display of force. But as this trailer suggests, it’s not nearly enough to stand up to the might of Thanos and his Black Order.
We get brief glimpses of Thanos' annihilation of the green-skinnedZehobereipeople, along with the moment he takes Gamora into his service. The scene is accompanied by Thanos saying:
“When I’m done, half of humanity will still exist.”
That actually sounds like a pretty decent deal on Thanos' part, considering he could just exterminate everyone. But the Avengers aren’t taking that deal … or at least they’re going to try not to by concentrating their efforts in Wakanda for a last stand.
Battle in Wakanda
Black Panthermay have introduced Wakanda and set the stage for the warfare that’s about to break loose on the plains, but this trailer hints at just how massive that battle is going to be. It’s not the first time the isolated nation has been tested, but it might be the first time it falls. And from all accounts, the Avengers look to be getting the worst of it:
And Loki stands defiant–against our heroes or their foe?–alongside the members of the Black Order…
Loki and The Black Order
At first glance, it looks like Loki is on their side, and as we’ll discuss in the next section on the Infinity Stones, he likely plays a big part in Thanos' ultimate plan. However, it also looks like Loki is at the business end of Proxima Midnight’s spear. (No ordinary spear, this weapon was forged by Thanos and created using a sun trapped in space-time, meaning it behaved as a star, supernova, and black hole all at once. It’s a weapon that never misses, can impose incredible gravity/density upon its target, and has even managed to immobilize the Hulk… Comics are crazy.)
What’s easy to overlook here is the awesome introduction of Thanos' insane crew, the Black Order.Evan Valentinehas anepic explainer herefor more on their bonkers backstory, but I can’t wait to see Proxima Midnight, Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, and Black Dwarf on-screen; time will tell if Supergiant makes an appearance as well.
The Fate of the Infinity Stones
TheInfinity Stonesstar front and center in this trailer as well, and they’re presented in such a way as to act as callbacks to other MCU films.
In one scene, Thanos clearly gets his hands on the Tesseract, crushes it, and reveals the Space Stone; he can be seen plunking it into his gauntlet a little earlier on. This is the blue gem that can be seen in Thanos' gauntlet throughout much of the marketing material. You’ll remember that Loki had the chance to loot the Tesseract inThor: Ragnarok, and presumably he did so, either with the intention of delivering it to Thanos, or with the very Loki-like use of it as a bargaining chip to protect his own hide.
The purple Power Stone, previously under protection of the Nova Corps after the events of the firstGuardians of the Galaxy, is also in Thanos' possession, though it’s unclear if we’ll see just how much destruction he caused in order to get it. There’s one scene that features Thanos in his golden armor surrounded by destruction and he has but that one gem in his gauntlet at the time.
As for the other Stones, well, we get a hero shot of Doctor Strange using his glowing green Time Stone in his Eye of Agamotto, followed by Scarlet Witch throwing a concerned look at Vision, possessor of (and powered by) the yellow Mind Stone. The very next shot is an establishing shot of Wakanda, over which Stark is basically saying, “We have what Thanos wants, so that’s what we’ll use.” Wakanda has been theorized to be the location of the MCU’s “missing” orange Soul Stone, which could be the key to unlocking the gauntlet’s full potential and will likely be the last Stone recovered. (As for the red Reality Stone, that was last seen in the possession of the Collector, and he’s beenrealshady about it…)
It’s worth mentioning that we don’t get to see Thanos with a fully blinged-out and powered-up gauntlet–that would be giving away too much–but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that this highly anticipated movie ends with many of the MCU’s flagship heroes defeated (or dead) and Thanos standing victorious over a conquered Earth. Cue up the yet-to-be-officially titledAvengers: Infinity War - Part II.
More to Come …
For much, much more on all thingsAvengers: Infinity War, be sure to take a look at our recent write-ups, includingAllison Keene’s ongoing set visit coverage!
