The day for earth’s mightiest heroes to team up and take down the almighty Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War is here! The superhero movie came to the big screens on April 27.
As the Marvel fandom knows, this Avengers movie is going to be huge: all remaining heroes will join forces to create one of today’s greatest cinematic crossovers.
Even some of the most die-hard Marvel fans can’t keep up with all the heroes featured in Infinity War, which makes sense since the Avenger franchise began with the first Iron Man movie in 2008. And here we are, 10 years later…
To make things easier, I’ll break it down for you: Here’s the important background information that will help you understand Infinity War, and what to expect in the new movie. If you’re feeling extra ambitious, here’s a list of all Marvel movies in the order they should be watched leading up to watching the new film.
*Spoiler Alert, for obvious reasons*
First things first: The heroes
To help break it down and refresh your memory from Captain America: Civil War, I’ll list the heroes by whose side they were on: Captain America or Tony Stark. Team Cap featured Bucky Barns, Falcon, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and Scarlet Witch. Team Iron Man consisted of Black Widow, Vision, War Machine, Spider-Man, and Black Panther. All of these characters will be in the upcoming film, plus Thor and Hulk who were not in Civil War. But wait, there’s more!
Let’s not forget Doctor Strange, the new characters from Black Panther (Okoye, Shuri, M’Baku, and Ramonda), and the Guardians of the Galaxy crew.
Where we’re at in Marvel Universe
Let’s start with Iron Man, shall we? We last saw him in Spider-Man: Homecoming when he took Peter Parker under his wing and ended up inviting the young hero to join the Avengers. Parker respectfully declined so he could remain “your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.”
We last saw Steve Rogers in Captain America: Civil War, where his stance on the Sokovia Accords divided the team of heroes drastically. In case you don’t remember, Avengers: Age of Ultron ended with the Russian city of Sokovia falling to pieces (Seriously. The city was flown into the sky and then dropped). After this drastic incident, the United States Congress wanted to pass legislation that would require all superheroes to register with the government, thus limiting when the heroes could jump into action. Stark supported this, but Cap was strongly against it, sparking a dramatic fight between all heroes. Civil War ended with Cap dropping his shield and limping away with his partner-in-crime, Bucky Barnes.
We last saw Thor and Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok after they reunited on the planet of Sakaar. They teamed up and were joined by an army to take down Hela, Goddess of Death. So badass.
King T’Challa was last seen in Black Panther when he took down his rogue cousin, Erik Killmonger, who attempted to take over Wakanda. After the battle and death of Killmonger, T’Challa decided to share Wakanda’s advanced technology and resources with the rest of the world.
Bucky, AKA “White Wolf,” was cured of HYRDRA’s brainwashing by T’Challa’s little sister, Shuri. His bionic arm was also replaced by one made of vibranium. We know this because of the post-credits scene at the end of Black Panther.
Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot were last seen in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 after they saved the galaxy a second time from Peter Quill’s father, Ego. In the first movie, they took down Ronan who had an Infinity Stone. Remember that, because the stone plays a key part in the upcoming movie. The first Guardians movie ended with the stone safely kept away by the Nova Corps on Xandar.
If you have watched the trailer for Infinity War, you may have noticed that Black Widow now has blonde hair instead of red. This is because, at the end of Civil War, she switched sides to team up with Cap, and the two of them have been operating in secret in the years between Civil War and Infinity War.
Doctor Strange last made an appearance in Thor: Ragnarok. I’ll admit that I haven’t seen Doctor Strange yet, so bear with me on what I know about him. Strange’s greatest weapon is another Infinity Stone, known as the Time Stone. Again, remember this.
Scarlet Witch and Vision were last seen in Civil War, as they were on opposing sides; Wanda Maximoff on Team Cap and Vision on Team Iron Man. Vision has one of the infinity stones in his head, thus making him a major target in the upcoming movie. Oh, and the two of them are very much in love now.
War Machine and Falcon were last seen in Civil War as well, where War Machine took the worst hit in the battle that left him unable to walk. But thanks to state-of-the-Stark technology (see what I did there?) Rhodey was able to regain use of his legs. Sam Wilson remains loyal to Captain America, through thick and thin. #BestFriendGoals
Ant-Man last appeared in Civil War on Team Cap, but he has another movie coming out in July. When we first saw him in Ant-Man, we learned that he was trying to escape his criminal past and redeem himself as a hero, but unfortunately, he is a fugitive again along with the rest of the members on Captain America’s side. As for Hawkeye, we all thought he retired from The Avengers after the birth of his third child in Age of Ultron, whose middle name was Pietro in honor of Wanda’s twin brother who died in battle. RIP. But then Clint Barton returned to aid Cap in Civil War. We’re not sure if these two heroes will play a huge part in the upcoming movie.
Related: “Attention Scary Movie Lovers: John Krasinski’s New Film ‘A Quiet Place’ Is a Must-See”
So here’s what to expect in Infinity War
I’m preparing myself to have my heart ripped out and slashed to tiny bits of pulp because heroes are going to die. If watching them fight each other in Civil War made you cringe and want to jump in to stop it all, then you may not be able to emotionally handle this new movie. Realistically speaking, Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr.’s contracts with Marvel are coming to an end. So as much as I hate to say it, we will probably see Thanos destroy Cap or Iron Man … and I’m not ready.
The overall plot of Infinity War goes like this: All the movies have been leading up to this grand finale fight against Thanos, who’s just an overall jerk obsessed with evil power and killing. He’s on a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, which if obtained, will make him virtually unstoppable. He has crafted an Infinity Gauntlet, which is that gold glove you see him wearing in the trailer. You can read more on the Infinity Stones here, but to summarize: They are pretty gems that are wicked powerful.
If Thanos gains control of these stones, he can take over the universe, and no one wants a psycho to be in the position of power (sound familiar?). It’s up to these superheroes to team up and take him down before it’s too late — no matter the cost.