The Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen some massive events take place over the course of the last decade, but nothing quite like Avengers: Infinity War. The long-awaited trailer for the highly-anticipated blockbuster just dropped online, and it has us more excited than ever to see what happens when Thanos (Josh Brolin) comes to town.
Now that we have our first official footage from Infinity War, we can finally dive in and discuss the coolest moments from this first trailer. To kick things off, let's address the fact that things don't look so good for the MCU's oldest hero.
Tony Battered And Bloody
The first major shot from the Infinity War trailer isn't exactly triumphant, as we get a look at Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) looking more battered and bloody than ever before -- in an environment that doesn't necessarily seem to resemble Earth. Tony has been dreading the arrival of Thanos ever since Avengers: Age of Ultron and the sheer amount of physical and emotional distress that we see Iron Man in during this brief shot seems to hint that his sense of guilt is once again creeping up on him. And to think, that's just how the trailer starts.
Vision In Human Form
When the first Iron Man debuted, Paul Bettany probably never imagined that he would one day appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the flesh. However, it looks like Vision has received a massive makeover since we last saw him in Captain America: Civil War, and he is inching ever-closer towards becoming a real person -- and not just a synthetic being brought to life by an Infinity Stone. How he comes to life remains a mystery, but we are all in to see what Joe and Anthony Russo have cooked up for this character's future.
Blonde Black Widow
Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff has gone through some notable transformations over the course of her tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the changes to her physical appearance in Avengers: Infinity War seem to be the most profound to date. No longer sporting the long red hair that has become her trademark, Widow is now rocking a short, blonde haircut, as well as a suit that seems a bit more armored and tactical than anything that we have seen her wear before. Given the impending arrival of The Black Order, it makes sense for her to get an upgrade.
Stark And Banner Visit The Sanctum Sanctorum
The beauty of an Avengers movie is the fact that we get to see different franchises cross over and blend ideas with one another. That idea is alive and well when Tony Stark and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) visit fan-favorite Doctor Strange locale: The Sanctum Sanctorum. There, the two science bros will likely have to put their preconceived notions about modern technology and medicine aside as they watch Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong) show them the world of the mystic arts. The introductions probably won't last long, however, as things are about to go down in New York.
Peter Parker Develops Spider-Sense
This was one of the most talked-about bits of footage when Infinity War first showed off a few scenes to a select group of audiences over the summer. One of the most notable omissions to the MCU version of Spider-Man (Tom Holland) has been the fact that he doesn't have his trademark Spider-Sense to help him detect danger. Now it looks like he was just waiting for a significant enough threat to trigger the sensor. Infinity War is going to introduce the Spider-Sense, and that power will visually manifest itself as Peter's hair standing up on his arms.
Thanos' Ship Appears In The Sky
Remember when I said that Peter Parker's arm hair would stand up because of a significant threat to the planet? Well, this is what that threat looks like. Thanos is bringing a ship to Earth on his mission to obtain the Infinity Stones and complete the Infinity Gauntlet, and it seems like something ripped straight out of the pages of Marvel Comics. Spider-Man eventually suits up to take on the ship mano-a-mano but because Thanos will have the Space Stone at his disposal, how the ship factors into the story remains to be seen.
Loki Hands Over The Tesseract
Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has always been known as a trickster who is willing to play both sides. Given that well-established fact about his personality, it shouldn't surprise us that he's ready to hand over the Tesseract to an unseen party -- whom we can generally assume to be Thanos. That said, Loki seems to have turned a corner as a villain, so it's also easy to believe that this might actually be his way of saving the Asgardians still alive on the refugee ship at the end of Thor: Ragnarok. Neither option would surprise us at this point.
Thanos Finally Appears
We have seen Thanos appear several times throughout the course of his existence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but none of his appearances in any of the previous films have carried this much weight. The Mad Titan has finally arrived on Earth, and the simple act of walking through that portal (probably a result of his acquisition of the Space Stone?) is a gut-punch of a moment. The CGI work on Josh Brolin looks absolutely fantastic in this film, and it's clear that this is just the beginning of something much larger for the MCU's biggest and baddestvillain.
Iron Spider
This is something that fans have wanted to see on the big screen for years. At the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tony Stark gave Peter Parker his very own Iron Spider suit -- which the teenager superhero eventually turned down. However, with an unprecedented threat about to attack the people of Earth, it seems that Spidey has decided to rethink his refusal of the high-tech suit. We still don't know precisely how Spider-Man gets his hands on that outfit (did he go up to the Avengers HQ in upstate New York, or did Tony send it down to him?) but the upgrade looks great.
Thor Pulling The Levers
Considering the post-credits scene from Thor: Ragnarok, all of the evidence points to Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) as the first hero to face off against Thanos during the events of Avengers: Infinity War -- which seems further corroborated by the fact that Thor will meet some favorite MCU heroes later in the trailer. We don't know exactly what's going on in this shot, but it looks like Thor will use his mighty strength to pull some enormous levers and keep his Asgardian refugee ship intact during his first encounter with The Mad Titan.
Cap Returns
The first shot of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in Captain America: Civil War was a shot of him emerging from the shadows to help his friends. Now, in Avengers: Infinity War, it looks like we will see an echo of that scene when he emerges to do battle with a member of The Black Order and save Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). We don't specifically know what Cap has been up to since he decided to go on the run, but it's clear that he's been moving fast and hasn't had time to pick up a razor to trim that beard.
Hulkbuster
Iron Man is a hero who prepares for any and every scenario, but there's only so much he can do to prepare for Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet. Faced with an unprecedented threat, it looks like Tony is once again going to bring out his Hulkbuster armor -- which was last seen during the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron in the battle to take down a rogue Bruce Banner. The use of Hulkbuster (or some similar version of the suit) means something big is happening so we can rest easy knowing that Infinity War's conflict will warrant its use.
The Battle of Wakanda
It looks like there is going to be no shortage of phenomenal set pieces in Infinity War, and one of the biggest of the bunch will be the Battle of Wakanda -- which will see pretty much every Avenger step onto a grassy plain to face off against The Black Order. The sequence shown in the trailer are awesome, but one of the coolest shots of the bunch is a quick glimpse of Cap getting his hands dirty as he throws punches at the alien threat and protects the people around him. Could this top the Battle of New York from The Avengers?
Vision's Mind Stone Is Stolen
Fans have been worried about Vision's safety ever since it became clear that Thanos was on the hunt for all of the Infinity Stones. Because the synthetic Avenger needs the Mind Stone in his forehead to survive, losing it to The Mad Titan seems like we could be looking at a possible death blow in this shot from the trailer. We've never seen Vision in this much pain, so the sheer amount of screaming in this sequence doesn't bode well for his future as a hero in the MCU. Could he be one of the Phase 3 deaths? Only time will tell.
Thanos Lights Up The Gauntlet
After our initial introduction to Thanos in the Infinity War trailer, we get a few more awesome glimpses of him willing the Infinity gauntlet against Earth's mightiest heroes. Of all of these cool shots, one of the most interesting is the shot of the gauntlet lighting up as he adds stones to it. At this point in the movie, we can confirm that he obtains at least two of the Infinity Stones -- with a possible third on the unseen thumb of the powerful glove. Now it's just a question of when and where he will obtain the other stones.
Bucky Is Thawed Out
When we last saw Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he was getting ready to take an icy nap under the protection of the good people of Wakanda. Alas, with Thanos clearly sending his army to Wakanda as part of his conquest, it looks like The Winter Soldier will once again find himself thawed out for a good, old-fashioned battle. Of course, Bucky seems ready for whatever Thanos is going to throw at him, as he brought one of the biggest guns that we have ever seen in the fight against the alien onslaught.
Falcon Firing His Guns
The fact that Bucky Barnes is coming back to help fight against Thanos doesn't mean that Steve Rogers' other best friend won't get in on the action as well. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) gets one of the coolest shots in this entire trailer as he soars over the Wakanda battlefield while firing his two machine pistols at anything and everything in sight. The Avengers are going to need some air support when Thanos' army comes to Earth with a thirst for conquest, and it looks like Falcon will have no trouble answering that call.
Avengers Charging Into Battle
One of the last shots that we see in the first-ever trailer for Avengers: Infinity War is a glorious image of Earth's mightiest heroes throwing caution to the wind and charging into battle side-by-side in the jungles of Wakanda. Not every hero is accounted for, but we get some serious fan-favorites like Hulk, Cap, Black Widow, Black Panther, and Falcon. We do not see exactly what they are charging at this moment, but its pretty evident that everyone involved is ready for a fight. Dear Marvel Studios, can this movie just come out already? Thanks.
Thor Meets The Guardians
Last, but most certainly not least, we get a slightly modified version of a scene shown off to audiences at D23 and San Diego Comic-Con over the summer. Thor (now missing one of his eyes after the events of Thor: Ragnarok) has been found by the Guardians of the Galaxy while floating through space, and it looks like a team-up is on the horizon. How long it will take Thor and the Guardians to get back to Earth remains to be seen, but it's clear that The Avengers will need all of the help that they can get.
Avengers: Infinity War is now racing towards its May 4, 2018 release date. Make sure to check out our Infinity War guide to get caught up on all of the film's nitty-gritty details and let us know your favorite moment from this trailer in the comments below!
