*This post contains potential spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War. Nothing said here, in prediction of plot and such, should not be taken as fact. It is all purely speculation. This post also contains spoilers for all of the past movies in the MCU.
Earlier today, the very first trailer for #Avengers: Infinity War dropped and we saw our first glimpses into the grand finale of the #MCU. We see everything from #JoshBrolin’s Thanos, to the newly bearded #CaptainAmerica (portrayed by #ChrisEvans), to the confirmation of the Black Order. In this post, I will be breaking down Easter Eggs, explaining some of the references to the #Comics, speculating as to some of the plot points. I will not be going through the trailer in order of scenes but instead in groups of locations, characters, and events.
Check out the trailer here.
Infinity Stones: Explained
There are six infinity stones in total: The space gem (in the Tesseract from Captain America: The First Avenger), the soul gem (which we have not yet seen), the reality gem (the Aether from Thor: The Dark World), the time gem (in the Eye of Agamotto from Doctor Strange), the power gem (in the orb from Guardians of the Galaxy), and the mind gem (in Loki’s sceptre from The Avengers).
The space gem (fourth along) is currently in the possession of Loki and gives the user the power to manipulate space, allowing the user to teleport to any location in the universe. The soul gem (far right) has not yet been seen on the big screen but is likely to be with Adam Warlock (who’s cocoon was seen in one of the many end-credit scenes from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) and is sentient; it has a desire to collect souls. It can also revert beings to their natural state, protect its wielder from soul-based attacks, and render a victim of a hit unconscious. The reality gem (second on the left) was first seen in Thor: The Dark World and was on Asgard (until the end of Thor: Ragnarok – now we have no idea where it is) and gives the user immense strength and durability along with subjective influence over the universe.
The time gem (second on the right), as we saw in Doctor Strange is in possession of Stephen Strange himself and gives the user the ability to manipulate time. The power gem (third on the left) was first seen as the orb in Guardians of the Galaxy and is now in the possession of the Nova Core. It gives the user the ability to manipulate energy and increases the user’s physical abilities. Finally, the mind gem (far left) is currently in Vision’s head, providing him with sentience, and gives the user the ability to manipulate the minds of others (as we saw Loki do in The Avengers) and enhances the user’s mental abilities.
Thanos: Explained
Thanos first appeared in Iron Man #55 in 1973 and is part of a race called ‘the deviants’, an offshoot of ‘the Eternals’, a race created by the celestials. He was born a Titan with advanced physical and mental abilities, thanks to a mutation. Thanos then fell in love with Mistress Death (and competed with Deadpool for her in a later Comic series) and grew stronger through their relationship. In order to show his devotion to Mistress Death, Thanos set on a path of pure destruction. The Infinity Gauntlet would be the most effective way of doing this.
Black Order: Explained
The Black Order is a league of aliens gathered by Thanos to help him in his mission of destruction. The group consists of five villains (discluding Thanos): Proxima Midnight (far left and top right), Corvus Glaive (bottom right and left image far right), Ebony Maw (above left image third from left), Supergiant (left image second from right), and Black Dwarf (left image second from left).
Proxima Midnight has superhuman strength, speed, and endurance as well as being near-indestructible. Corvus Glaive, husband to Proxima Midnight also has enhanced strength, speed, and stamina and is immortal as long as his Glaive’s blade is intact. Ebony Maw is of Super-Genius Class Intelligence and, while does not have any powers as such, is very skilled at persuasion to the point that he could convince anyone of anything. Supergiant is omnipotent, meaning he has the powers of mind control and possession. Finally, Black Dwarf, brother to Corvus Glaive, has superhuman strength, density, and durability, meaning his skin is unbreakable.
Iron Spider and The Spidey Sense
At the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, we saw the reveal of the ‘Iron Spider’ suit (right). It is pretty obvious that, after turning down a place in the Avengers, Peter will find out about Thanos’ intentions (presumably after seeing the ring thing) and change his mind. He will then be given the new suit and will proceed to discover what it can do. The biggest feature in the Iron Spider suit that we have not yet seen on screen is the Waldoes – four mechanical arms that reach out from the back of the suit and are controlled mentally by Peter. The suit also has a security feature that stops anyone else wearing the suit and many other features (though we have already seen this in his first suit in Homecoming so I am curious as to what will be new to this suit in the film other than the new look).
The most surprising Spider-man related thing in the trailer, however, was the inclusion of the ‘Spidey-sense’ (left). This is effectively a sixth sense that allows Peter to feel danger coming. In the trailer, it is shown by the raising of Peter’s arm-hair. In the comics, on the other hand, it is portrayed as more of an inner feeling that he gets in all kinds of danger, small and personal or otherwise.
Wakanda Explained
If you haven’t been keeping up with everything in the MCU, you may not be clear as to the origin and introduction of Wakanda (if you have, feel free to skip this section and move onto the plot speculation). Wakanda will feature heavily in Black Panther (Feb 2018) and is most famous for having the most Vibranium in the world. Vibranium is a mythical material that most famously absorbs all kinetic energy (as seen in Cap’s shield) but also has various other properties that have allowed the Wakandans to become a very technologically advanced people.
Thor, Hulk, And The Guardians
Within the first 30 seconds of the trailer, we see where we will be picking up with the stars of Thor: Ragnarok. We see #Thor in the Milano (left), talking to the Guardians of the Galaxy and Hulk seemingly being found by Wong (Benedict Wong) and Stephen (Benedict Cumberbatch) (right) much like what happened in The Avengers (2012).
This would imply that, on their journey to Midgard/Earth something happens to the ship that housed all the Asgardians at the end of Thor: Ragnarok. The most likely reason for this is that Loki, haven stolen the Tesseract, is tracked down by Thanos and the Black Order with the aim of starting to complete the Infinity Gauntlet. This would explain how Hulk ended up falling from the sky again. It would also explain how Thor crosses paths with the Guardians. The major problem with this theory, however, is that it does not explain how Korg, Meek, and Heimdal survive – though maybe the three pilot the ship safely to the ground before Thanos takes the last infinity stone by force, seen at 1:06 in the trailer (below).
Everyone Else
Following the opening shots of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), we see Vision and Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) in what would seem to be their house (above). While this isn’t very interesting, it does show that we will spend a large amount of time with the two of them in character-building preparation for Vision’s death.
Regarding the other characters, we don’t really get a big introduction. Black Widow, sporting here new hair (I’m not a fan but let me know what you think in the comments), is introduced to the trailer without much thought and this is quickly followed by the nonchalant introductions of Bucky/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman).
The only remaining characters, however, do have emphasised introductions. Firstly, our introduction to Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) reveals his beard with an unusual amount of gravitas while revealing that he has, in fact, remained in Wakanda sense the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Secondly our introduction to #SpiderMan confirms that the MCU iteration of the young super-hero does have the infamous ‘Spidey-sense’.
NYC Floaty Ringy Thingy
I think we will most likely see Spider-Man’s return after the large ring-shaped ship descends over NYC. I am not sure as to what this ship is but suspect that it is designed to rip apart New York (though I highly doubt it will).
Preparing for Wakanda Battle
The next thing that would seem to happen is the Battle of Wakanda We see the Wakandan army suit up and get ready for battle as Cap, Bucky, War Machine, Black Panther, Hulk, Black Widow, and Falcon lead the fight. The biggest reveal in this sequence, however, is the group of animals rushing to counter the Wakandan forces. We also see a close-up of Black Panther fighting one of these animals and it would seem to be an Outrider, aliens genetically engineered to be parasite-assassins that are solely devoted to the needs of their creators or owners. I think this is likely because they feature in the very first panel of the Infinity comic arc and bare a strong physical resemblance (as can be seen above).
It would also seem like either the battle then moves onto another planet (presumably where the Guardians get involved) or simply takes place in the wreckage of New York. Either way, this would seem to be where we see the last of vision as Corpus Glaive takes the mind gem from his head.
In Summary
We pick up with the Avengers scattered around the universe and Thor and Hulk literally plummeting through space as Loki gives up the Tesseract to Thanos. The flying ring appears above New York, followed by Thanos. Meanwhile, in Wakanda, the Black Order have been sent to acquire the final infinity gem.
Final Theories
My personal favourite theory is that, in the above scene, Tony has taken off the suit in order to transport a badly beaten Peter Parker back to safety as he sacrifices himself to save Peter.
Another potential theory is that the ring destroys NYC and Thanos kills all the Avengers in the red-themed battle. Doctor Strange, however, uses the time gem and loses it due to how much he has, leading to another, more successful, battle. The time gem may also be part of the plan from the very beginning, with the Avengers knowing it would go south from the start.
Thor’s Ring
The two main questions that I have about the trailer is about the above scene with Thor holding together some sort of ring. I have absolutely no idea what this is but let me know what you think about it.
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readers of the lost arc 
