By Chris E. Hayner on May 20, 2018 06:41 am
Infinity War makes some massive changes to things established elsewhere in the MCU
There's no doubt about it, Avengers: Infinity War is the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most massive entry yet. It's packed with characters, plot developments, game-changing moments, and a massive cliffhanger that leaves a year for fans to cope with everything they've witnessed. This is where we warn you to stop reading if you've yet to see the movie, as we are going to dig into some heavy spoiler territory. That's not all Infinity War is packing, though. In addition to the death, destruction, and insanity that unfolds throughout the nearly three-hour movie, there are also some major changes made to MCU canon. Things established in previous movies throughout Marvel's 10-year streak of superhero adventures are altered to better fit the story of Infinity War. There's little doubt that these changes will impact the MCU for years to come, given the movies Marvel already has on the way. However, there are still two movies to come before Avengers 4 takes over theaters. Both Ant-Man and The Wasp will likely carry heavy implications for the next Avengers movie, given how the characters from both films are likely to play a major role. While Ant-Man himself didn't factor into Infinity War at all, thanks to the deal he cut with the government, Captain America, Thor, and the rest of the surviving Avengers are going to need all of the help they can get their hands on in Avengers 4. That's also, most likely, where Captain Marvel will come into play. In the movie's post-credits scene, Nick Fury sends out a distress message to the female superhero that's getting her own standalone film in 2019--just in time to introduce fans to her before she swoops in to help save the day in Avengers 4. Come along with GameSpot as we take a look at what, exactly, has been changed in Marvel's latest outing. Additionally, you can see our look at every character that died in Infinity War, as well as those that didn't end up in the movie at all.
Scarlet Witch's disappearing accent
When first introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Scarlet Witch, like her brother Quicksilver, had a thick Eastern European accent. When she returned in Captain America: Civil War, her accent wasn't quite as strong, but it was still there. If you've seen Infinity War, though, you know the accent is practically nonexistent. You can hear it very briefly toward the end of the film, but other than that it sounds like actress Elizabeth Olsen has ditched it for good.
No more eyepatch
Thor losing his eye was one of the pivotal moments of Thor: Ragnarok. It also signaled a new, Odin-style look for the character, along with his haircut and losing the cape. It was a long time coming for a hero that hasn't really changed his physical appearance since the character was first introduced in 2011. However, Infinity War didn't waste much time in giving Thor his eye back--someone else's false eye, to be clear--making the eyepatch a thing of the past.
Out with the hammer, in with the axe
Another major development in Ragnarok was the destruction of Thor's hammer, Mjölnir. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige explained upon the movie's release that it was one of the things the studio wanted to change about Thor as the character evolved. In the movie, Thor was able to embrace his powers without a hammer to do the heavy-lifting. Infinity War went back on that particular development, though, as he now has the Stormbreaker axe to harness his energy.
A long-forgotten villain isn't quite so dead
When Captain America: The First Avenger first hit theaters in 2011, many fans lamented at how unimportant the villainous Red Skull ended up being. He was dispatched by Cap in the movie and never heard from again--until now. According to Infinity War, instead of dying, Red Skull actually ended up becoming the protector of the Soul Stone. That brought him and Thanos together for one devious sequence in the movie, as the former HYDRA leader led the Mad Titan to his next Infinity Stone.
Rhodes gets his legs back thanks to technology
Following the events of Civil War, Rhodey was left paralyzed after the War Machine suit crashed from a very high altitude. The end of the movie shows him using a pair of mechanized leg braces to help him learn to start walking again. Fast forward to Infinity War, where there's no sign that he once lost the ability to walk. The braces have seemingly cured him of any paralysis.
Hulk isn't very nice to Bruce Banner
In Ragnarok, it's established that Bruce is losing control over when he reverts back to his normal self from the Hulk, alluding to the big green guy being at the wheel, instead. It's such a big piece of the story that he spends a portion of the film refusing to go green, for fear he would never be Bruce again, before finally relenting. For Infinity War, though, the tables have turned. Throughout the movie, Banner tried desperately to transform, but it's Hulk who refuses. Why? It's never really explained. Perhaps he's just humiliated by the smackdown Thanos lays on him at the beginning of the movie.
You're the Iron Spider now, like it or not
As fans know, Infinity War isn't the first time they've seen the Iron Spider costume. At the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter Parker is offered the suit by Tony Stark. He turns it down, though, opting to stick to his neighborhood and learn the ways of a superhero. However, now there's no turning back. He has the suit and he's been to space. Returning to his old costume would be silly.
No Hawkeye or Ant-Man
Infinity War managed to explain the absences of Hawkeye and Ant-Man with a simple line. They cut deals with the government and went home, where they're now under house arrest. How, exactly, that works, is a bit confusing. Civil War ends with Steve Rogers arriving to break his friends out of jail. Did those two just stay behind in hopes that the government that turned on them would start treating them nicely?
Tony Stark and his glowing heart
After Iron Man 3, Tony Stark underwent the surgery to have the arc reactor removed from his chest, leaving future Iron Man suits to be powered by a built-in source. Cut to Infinity War, where Tony has developed nanotechnology for his new suit and it's all powered by, you guessed it, an arc reactor. It's unclear exactly how this new reactor--and the suit it contains--are attached to Tony, but it certainly doesn't seem to be something he can quickly remove.
Thor's fake Infinity Gauntlet
Fans first saw the Infinity Gauntlet in Thor, then again in Ragnarok, when Hela declared it was a fake. While that clears up how Thanos has the real deal, there's a problem. In Infinity War, it's revealed that Eitri created it for Thanos on Nidavellir--meaning it didn't exist in Thor and there would likely be no fakes. That's one little plot hole the movie never addresses.
That other Infinity Gauntlet
Likewise, Infinity War never explains how Thanos already has the gauntlet in the Avengers: Age of Ultron post-credits scene.
Thanos's motivations in Avengers vs. Infinity War
In a post-credits scene from Marvel's Avengers, The Other tells Thanos that humans are stronger than they thought. "They are unruly and therefore cannot be ruled," he tells the Mad Titan. Is Thanos trying to rule over Earth or wipe out half of its population? Clearly, by the time Infinity War rolls around, the villain has his plan in place. It seems like it was a very different one than earlier in the MCU, though.
By Chris E. Hayner on May 20, 2018 06:40 am
Avengers: Infinity War is missing some very important characters
Avengers: Infinity War boasts an enormous cast--it's bursting at the seams with characters both new and old. It features existing members of the Avengers teaming up with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the people of Wakanda. With a villain as powerful as Thanos to deal with, it makes sense that such a powerful group of individuals would be needed to stop him. But what about all of the characters who still didn't managed to make the cut for the big new movie? This is where you should stop reading if you haven't seen the movie, as we're about to dive pretty deep into spoiler territory--consider yourself warned. It could easily be argued that Infinity War included too many characters for its nearly three-hour running time. However, there were some faces fans had their hope on that were nowhere to be found. Instead, the Marvel Cinematic Universe faithful are forced to wait a year to see whether or not Thanos turned them to dust of if they'll be able to join the fight in Avengers 4. After watching Avenger: Infinity War too many times to count, GameSpot has come up with the definitive list of characters we were sad to see didn't take part in the battle against the big, purple jerk. Some of them seem like smart and powerful additions to the crew; others are named Korg and we love him too much to leave him out. Separately, there have been enough questions about one Guardians of the Galaxy side character--Kraglin--to warrant an official answer from James Gunn. Spoilers: No, he's not in the movie, but that doesn't mean he died during the four-year gap between Guardians 2 and Infinity War. We don't yet know most of the faces we'll see in 2019's Avengers 4--whatever it ends up being called--but the cast may have some room for expansion after Infinity War killed off so many characters when Thanos snapped his fingers. Avengers 4 arrives in theaters on May 3, 2019.
Valkyrie
Last seen in: Thor: Ragnarok While at least half of the surviving Asgardians were wiped out by Thanos in search of the Tesseract--and half of those turned to dust when the Mad Titan snapped his fingers, in theory--many fans were expecting Tessa Thompson's breakout Ragnarok character to play some role in the right for the universe. Hopefully, that changes in Avengers 4.
Grandmaster
Last seen in: Thor: Ragnarok It's hard to know where Infinity War could have fit Grandmaster in, but every MCU movie needs a taste of Jeff Goldblum now. Given that he's the brother of the Collector--whose death is alluded to in the film--a case can be made for him to appear.
Hawkeye
Last seen in: Captain America: Civil War Hawkeye was the sad question mark looming over Infinity War. He's an original member of the Avengers who didn't appear. The movie explains his absence with a throwaway line--he's under house arrest--but it really wasn't enough. All of existence was at stake.
Laura Barton
Last seen in: Avengers: Age of Ultron You might not have expected Laura to appear in the film. However, the actress who plays her, Linda Cardellini, appeared in a promotional photoshoot for the film. If Hawkeye is still under house arrest, chances are she'll show up soon.
Ant-Man
Last seen in: Captain America: Civil War As with Hawkeye, Ant-Man is on house arrest during Infinity War. Which is unfortunate, because he would have been a useful weapon against Thanos.
The Wasp
Last seen in: Ant-Man While Hope van Dyne's Wasp alter ego hasn't been properly introduced yet--it was teased in the Ant-Man post-credits sequence--Infinity War could have been an intriguing way to integrate her into the MCU. Think of what Captain America: Civil War did for Spider-Man. Now the question remains of how Ant-Man and the Wasp fit into Marvel's timeline after Infinity War.
Hank Pym
Last seen in: Ant-Man It's not so much that fans were expecting Hank Pym to show up and be part of the fight against Thanos. Instead, it's that they were told as much by Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier). In an interview to promote the film, Stan claimed he filmed a battle scene that included Michael Douglas as Hank. Perhaps he was mistaken and it was actually for Avengers 4.
Janet van Dyne
Last seen in: Ant-Man As with her on-screen husband, Sebastian Stan also teased that Michelle Pfeiffer would be in the massive battle scene as Janet van Dyne, mother of Hope and the original Wasp. And yet, there's no mention of her anywhere in the film.
Korg
Last seen in: Thor: Ragnarok Like Valkyrie, Korg garnered quite a few fans in Thor: Ragnarok. What's more, he survived the destruction of Asgard and was last seen traveling through space with Thor and the rest of the gang. However, he's not mentioned when Thanos destroys the ship or at any point after that. He's definitely not dead, though. Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, has confirmed that much.
Miek
Last seen in: Thor: Ragnarok Much like his big buddy Korg, Miek is alive and well--for now, anyway. It's just unclear exactly where he's at. Our money is on wherever Korg wound up.
Sharon Carter (Agent 13)
Last seen in: Captain America: Civil War The last time Sharon Carter was in the picture, she was making out with a fugitive Captain America after helping him steal government property. However, she went back to her job at the CIA. Sharon could have been an interesting source of information for Cap and the rest of the team--given that the CIA knows everything. Alas, there is no mention of her anywhere in the film.
Happy Hogan
Last seen in: Spider-Man: Homecoming Pepper Potts, who made a cameo in Spider-Man: Homecoming, got a nice moment in Infinity War. What was missing, though, was Happy Hogan. After playing some sort of mentor to Spider-Man and acting as Tony Stark's right-hand man for so long, it felt strange to not see him in the movie.
W'Kabi
Last seen in: Black Panther The Wakandan absences are the most noticeable in the movie. W'Kabi, for instance, is one of the country's fiercest warriors--and he serves at the hand of the king. While that didn't work out when Killmonger was reigning, it's a little surprising he didn't end up back on the front lines with his entire nation in danger.
Nakia
Last seen in: Black Panther Likewise, where was Nakia? In Black Panther, she showed herself to be quite a fierce warrior--which is something the Avengers and Wakanda could have used more of. While it's possible she was on assignment in another country, her not being there was glaring.
War Rhinos
Last seen in: Black Panther Yes, the vibranium-plated rhinos in Black Panther were silly and the CGI that brought them to life wasn't the best. However, when you're fighting a power as massive as the Black Order, why wouldn't you send them into battle to mow the enormous monsters down?
Phil Coulson
Last seen in: Agents of SHIELD Sure, Coulson has been largely banished to the Marvel TV universe. However, Clark Gregg has been announced to be bringing everyone's favorite SHIELD agent back to the big screen in Captain Marvel. Would it have been so hard to have him in the car with Maria Hill and Nick Fury during the post-credits scene?
Nova Corp
Last seen in: Guardians of the Galaxy When they were last seen, the Nova Corp was taking care of the Power Stone on Xandar. Of course, that's before Thanos came to town, took the stone, the decimated half of the planet. Still, that doesn't mean members of the Nova Corps didn't survive--specifically Nova Prime.
Kraglin
Last seen in: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Though Sean Gunn appeared in Infinity War as the motion capture performer responsible for Rocket--as he's done in both Guardians movies--his character Kraglin was nowhere in sight. That's a bit concerning, given that he was last seen cruising through space with Star-Lord and the rest of the gang. Thankfully, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn promises Kraglin is alive and well. The MCU isn't done with him yet.
Adam Warlock
Last mentioned in: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn made it clear before the movie released that Adam Warlock would not appear in Infinity War. Still, given the character's connection to the Infinity Gauntlet in the comics, many fans expected he would be where the Soul Stone came from. Looks like you'll have to wait for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to get a look at Adam.
The Defenders
Last seen in: Marvel's Defenders Yes, the Netflix shows take place in the MCU. No, they never crossover and probably never will. If it didn't happen in Infinity War, the biggest entry in the MCU yet, it's never going to happen. Let's all collectively agree to move on.
Shuri
Last seen in: Avengers: Infinity War Alright, this is a cheat. Shuri was in Infinity War. How could she possibly be on this list? Because there simply wasn't enough of her. While operating on Vision is an important role to play in the movie, the viewing public demands more of this amazing character.
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