The Avengers: Infinity War trailer debuted earlier today, and it more than lived up to the hype. Our long wait to see the trailer has only snowballed upon seeing it into a greater anticipation for the movie itself. The trailer gave us a lot of great moments and there is more than enough to dissect. While we have already looked at who shows up in this trailer and who doesn't, it is also interesting to look at who shows up where. This movie appears to be loaded with set pieces, but the trailer focuses on two primary battles: one in New York and one in Wakanda. The Avengers team was split up following Captain America: Civil War, and this trailer shows the heroes will once again be split up, with the battle being fought on two fronts. However, Bruce Banner is the only one who shows up in both. The question is why.
When we last saw Bruce Banner at the end of Thor: Ragnarok, he was aboard the ship carrying the Asgardian refugees, and he was still in his Hulk form. He was concerned in that film that if he returned to his big green state, he may not be able to go back, but we see early on in this trailer that his fears were unfounded. Banner shows up in human form, having seemingly crashed from space into Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. There he meets up with Tony Stark, Doctor Strange and Wong. It seems that they are the first to greet Thanos when he arrives, along with Spider-Man, who is nobly trying to punch above his weight. While we never see Bruce Banner enter his Hulk form in the New York shots, we see him as both himself and his green alter ego in Wakanda.
Thanos' forces battle the bulk of the Avengers team in Wakanda in what could be the latter half of the film. It is likely that the final Infinity Stone is hidden in the African nation, and it is up to Cap and Co. to protect it. It makes sense to send your biggest gun and all your resources to protect that stone and keep it from Thanos' gauntlet. But if the battle has moved to this front, why is the Hulk the only one who makes the trip? We clearly see in the trailer that Spider-Man and Tony duke it out with The Mad Titan, so it is possible that they are out of commission when the war moves to the next phase.
There is also the question of how Bruce Banner winds up in Wakanda when no one else seems to. It could be that Doctor Strange magically transports him there, but it is also possible that he hitches a ride in the Hulkbuster armor. While we never see Tony Stark in Wakanda, we do see the Hulkbuster armor, as well as a shot of Bruce Banner standing next to a piece of it. Does Bruce Banner use the Hulkbuster armor as a means of transport, as well as a way to put off turning back into the Hulk? Or is he now having the opposite problem of being unable to assume the green state? Regardless of what happens with the Hulkbuster, we do see the Hulk in all his green glory at the end of the trailer in a magnificent shot, charging forward with Avengers and the Wakandan army.
Hulk may play a key role in keeping Thanos from acquiring all of the Infinity Stones in a single film before what Kevin Feige calls, "a finale" in Avengers 4. But so far it looks like Bruce Banner is the only Avenger who winds up facing the Mad Titan's hordes on different continents in Avengers: Infinity War, so it will be interesting to find out why that is. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend as we take a fine-toothed comb to every frame of footage from the Avengers: Infinity War trailer and get you prepped for the movie to hit theaters on May 4, 2018.
