12 Questions That ‘Avengers: Infinity War” Needs To Answer

11. How Does Bruce Banner/The Hulk Get Back To Earth (And Is Valkyrie Okay)?

The post-credits scene of Thor: Ragnarok showed the ship carrying the God of Thunder, Bruce Banner, and the rest of the Asgardians coming into contact with a mysterious, much bigger ship that is highly suspected to belong to Thanos. Now, we already know this doesn’t end well for our heroes, as Thor is left bruised and beaten floating through space in the aftermath. What isn’t clear is what happens to the rest of the crew, particularly Bruce and Valkyrie.

We do know that Bruce eventually makes his way to Earth, as we not only see him reunited with Natasha but fighting alongside Captain America and Black Panther’s team in Hulk form. Valkyrie’s fate remains a mystery but considering how good Tessa Thompson was in Ragnarok, it’s unlikely that this will be the end of the road for the character. Regardless, we’re excited to see how this specific scene plays out (mostly to see Thor get stomped by Thanos).

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10. Will Cap Get His Old Shield Back?

There are a few heroes making their return in Infinity War sporting new looks, but none more so than Steve Rogers (Chris Evans).  Now rocking an (admittedly awesome) beard and having given up the Captain America name in the aftermath of Civil War, Infinity War is set to showcase a different side of Rogers than we’re used to seeing. One major change is that Cap (we’re still calling him that, don’t @ us) will be without his trusty vibranium shield this time out, having left it in Tony Stark’s possession following their fight in at the end of Civil War.

Fortunately, it seems as if Cap will be just fine without it, as the recent Super Bowl spot shows him getting a fancy, high tech arm shield thing from Black Panther. We can go ahead and assume that this device is also made out of vibranium given how much of the powerful metal Wakanda has at its disposal, which means that it should be just as reliable as Cap’s old shield. Still, it just doesn’t feel right to see Steve Rogers without his classic red white and blue shield and we have to assume that he’ll get it back at some point in the movie. Our guess is that Tony will hand it back to Steve personally, symbolizing their renewed bond after their bitter breakup in Civil War. Tears will be shed by everyone.

http://www.blastr.com/sites/blastr/files/Captain-America-Civil-War-concept-art-1.jpg Source: blastr.com

9. What Happens To Vision?

Every Avenger is in danger in Infinity War, but none more so than Vision. Ever since he “came to life” in Age of Ultron, Vision has essentially been living on borrowed time and it all has to do with that stone on his forehead. As we know, Vision is in possession of the Mind Stone and with Thanos on a quest to retrieve all six Infinity Stones … well, you can guess where this is going. Indeed, Infinity War’s marketing has left no question that Vision is in danger, as the first trailer even shows someone (probably Thanos) trying to extract the stone right from Vision’s forehead.

While it’s unlikely that Thanos will not get his hands on the Mind Stone, let alone all the Infinity Stones, it’s hard to imagine Marvel broadcasting Vision’s death like this. There has to be more to this, so while we’d be shocked if Vision were to die in the immediate aftermath of losing the Infinity Stone that gives him his powers, how could he possibly survive without it?

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8. Will Thanos Get All The Infinity Stones?

When discussing Avengers: Infinity War, it’s taken as a given by many that Thanos will eventually wield the power of the Infinity Gauntlet with all six stones mounted on it. But what if he never actually gets them all? As we know, the Marvel Cinematic Universe plays fast and loose when it comes to honoring the source material and Infinity War the movie is going to play out much differently than the Infinity Gauntlet comics arc on which it is based. In the latter story, Thanos completes the Infinity Gauntlet and uses it to wipe out 50% of life in the universe to “prove” his love for his mistress Death and then usurps Eternity (the embodiment of the entire universe). Considering how rather over the top that whole storyline is, it’s hard to imagine the movies going down that same road but anything’s possible.

Even with only half the Infinity Stones at his disposal, Thanos is pretty much unstoppable, so giving him all six just feels like overkill. That being said, it’s unclear whether the Infinity Stones are more or less powerful than their comic counterparts, so perhaps a full-powered Gauntlet isn’t quite on the same power level in the MCU. Either way, Thanos will become increasingly more powerful and terrifying with each new Infinity Stone he acquires, so it’s going to be interesting  to see how Infinity War conveys that power as it ramps up over the course of the movie and (we assume) Avengers 4.

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7. What Other Enemies Will The Avengers Face Besides Thanos?

Thanos is without a doubt more than enough for the Avengers on his own, but no supervillain of his caliber works alone, so you can be sure that the Mad Titan will be invading Earth with an entire army at his disposal. But what is that army going to look like? We already know thanks to the trailer footage showcasing the war in Wakanda that Thanos has a large army made up of indeterminate races, but it’s going to be pretty boring if Thanos is the only named character fighting the Avengers.

We’ve already gone over which villains we’d love to see return in a supporting role as part of the Mad Titan’s posse but a few likely candidates are Cate Blanchett’s Hela (who, as the Goddess of Death, could stand in as Thanos’ Mistress Death) and the Red Skull, who many have long suspected could make a return at some point after being sucked through a portal at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger. It’s also highly likely that Infinity War will introduce us to the Black Order, a group of five of the universe’s most powerful warriors that are essentially Thanos’ personal hit squad.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/11/thor-ragnarok-hela-cate-blanchett-design Source: Vanity Fair

6. Is Steve Rogers Going To Die?

This rumor has been floating around for years. In fact, Marvel originally toyed with the idea of having Steve Rogers killed off in the third Captain America movie but fortunately, clearer heads prevailed. Still, given where Infinity War sits on the timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it feels like we could be positioned for a number of notable character deaths, with Steve’s name near the top of the list. The reason for this is twofold and has to do with both Marvel Comics storylines and real life considerations. As Marvel fans will no doubt be aware, Steve Rogers has been killed off in the comics before and the event led to his best friend Bucky Barnes taking up the mantle of Captain America.

A similar scenario seems likely to play out in the movies not only because it makes narrative sense, but because of actor contracts. Chris Evans will have fulfilled his contractual obligations to Marvel after the final two Avengers films, which means that he’d be free to walk away. Meanwhile, Sebastian Stan still has a number of films left on his own contract and considering that Captain America is a much more valuable franchise name than Winter Soldier, keeping him around as the new incarnation of Cap must make a lot of sense to Marvel. If this truly is the end for Steve Rogers, it’s sure to be an emotional one, especially since Chris Evans’ incarnation of the character is a fan favorite.

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5. How Did Thanos Get The Power Stone?

When it comes to the Infinity Stones in the MCU, five of out of the six are accounted for. The Tessaract or Space Stone is in aboard the Asgardian ship following the events of Thor: Ragnarok, The Aether/Reality Stone is in the Collector’s possession, the Mind Stone is in possession of Vision, the Eye of Agamotto/the Time Stone is with the Masters of the Mystic Arts, the Soul Stone hasn’t been found yet, and the Power Stone is being guarded by the Nova Corps. It’s that last one that is most concerning, as the Infinity War trailer shows that Thanos attains at least two of the stones over the course of the movie: the Space Stone and the Power Stone.

We’ve already touched on our prediction that Thanos will get the Tessaract from Loki, but what about the Power Stone? We can safely assume that Thanos took the stone from the Nova Corps by force, which means that if Nova Prime itself somehow survived an attack, we can probably write off the Nova Corps entirely at this point. Hopefully, we’ll get to see Thanos’ assault firsthand rather than having him simply tell someone about it.

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4. How Does Wakanda Play Into All Of This?

One of the most exciting things about Infinity War is that a good portion of it seems to take place in Wakanda. In fact, Black Panther’s homeland looks to be the setting of a full out war, with Captain America, Black Panther, and the rest of their forces taking on what we can only assume to be Thanos’ forces out on the African plains. We know that Wakanda is important due to its vast deposits of vibranium, but could the secretive nation house an even bigger power?

As previously mentioned, the location of the Soul Stone still remains a mystery heading into Infinity War, so it could turn up anywhere. Could it be located in Wakanda? It would surely help explain why such a large scale battle is happening there. Whatever the case, it’s exciting that we’re going to get to see more of Wakanda post-Black Panther, as that film firmly establishes the fictional nation and its inhabitants as some of the most interesting in the entire MCU.

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3. Will All The Heroes Come Together?

The Avengers are set to come together again after splitting apart in Civil War but at least for part of Infinity War, they’ll be separated into a few different groups. Based on what we can gather from the trailers, there’s Team New York — Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Wong, Bruce Banner, and Spider-Man; Team Lovers — Scarlet Witch and Vision in Edinburgh; Team Wakanda — Steve Rogers, Falcon, Black Widow, Black Panther, Bucky Barnes, and Okoye (though Hulk joins up with this one at some point), and Team Interstellar — Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Additionally, there are a number of characters whose whereabouts remain unknown, such as Ant-Man and Hawkeye, so it’s fair to say that Infinity War is going to be a sprawling affair with many different plates to keep spinning. Still, it would be no fun if certain characters (Iron Man and Star-Lord come to mind) never got to meet, so there’s a very good chance that Infinity War will bring together most, if not all of its heroes together at some point for one big epic team-up. How that will happen remains to be seen, but it’s hard to imagine the Avengers having any hope of defeating Thanos if they’re split up again.

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2. Will The War Go Beyond Earth?

Marvel is wisely keeping many plot details about Infinity War shrouded in secrecy, but we know the basic outline at least: Thanos invades Earth, the Avengers have to try and defend it. War ensues. Even though Infinity War will bring together the earthbound and cosmic sides of the MCU like never before, it looks as if most of the action will take place on Earth, at least judging by the trailers. But could the war between the Avengers and Thanos spill out beyond Earth’s orbit?

The opening shot of the first trailer features an unnamed orange planet that also appears to be the setting of a major confrontation, as we see Thanos walloping Iron Man and Spider-Man against an orange wasteland backdrop. It’s possible that this is actually still Earth, with the planet looking much worse for wear following the Mad Titan’s assault, but it could also be an entirely new planet we haven’t seen yet. How the Avengers get there remains to be seen, but we do know that characters like Doctor Strange and Thanos are capable of creating portals that could be used to teleport others. The planet could also be tied somehow to the last remaining Infinity Stone, the Soul Stone, the location of which still remains a mystery.

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1. What Do The Events of Infinity War Mean For Future Solo Movies?

Even though its being presented as a standalone movie, Infinity War is essentially the first of a two chapter arc set to conclude with the untitled Avengers 4 in 2019. However, two other movies are scheduled to be released between Infinity War and Avengers 4: Ant-Man and the Wasp in July and Captain Marvel in March 2019. These movies will have to contend with existing in a post-Infinity War world, which is significant considering the movie is set to shake up the MCU in a huge way … or will they?

It’s already been confirmed that Ant-Man and the Wasp is set prior to the events of Infinity War, which means that we can’t rule out the possibility of either character dying in Infinity War. And Captain Marvel is set primarily in the 1990s, so it’s decades removed from Infinity War. Which is all a long way of saying that we probably won’t see either movie suffer much fallout from the events of Infinity War; the movies coming after Avengers 4, on the other hand, are a much different story.

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