So in the week before Comic-Con, San Diego, Disney held their own convention/press conference called D23. While there were a lot of things they put forward during this: Incredibles 2, or Aladin live action, the real thing that stole the show at the convention was the panel for Avengers: Infinity War. The third installment of the Avengers has had quite the bit of hype backed behind it as it brings together both the Earth Bound heroes that have built the cinematic universe and the cosmic heroes who stole our hearts in both installations of Guardians of the Galaxy, but moreover the film will pit the two groups of heroes against the big bad that has been built since the post credit scene of the very first Avengers: Thanos. Below is the description of the footage released (as they have not released the clip and probably won't anytime soon):
The trailer begins with a passed out and wounded Thor floating in space. Guardians of the Galaxy hit him as they are flying through space in the Milano. He’s stuck to the windshield and Rocket proposes using the windshield wipers to wake him up. Thor is brought into the Milano, wakes up, and says, “Who the hell are you guys?” There’s a cut to Loki holding the Tesseract. Shot of Spider-Man on a bus, arm hair stands up – confirming Spidey sense. Iron Man working with the Guardians. Thanos arrives to battle Avengers. Spider-Man shown wearing new suit from end of Spider-Man: Homecoming. Cut to Peter with mask off saying, “I’m sorry,” to Stark. Thanos battling Doctor Strange, Star-Lord, and Iron Man. Shows Captain America in new (Nomad?) suit with a beard. Black Widow is now blonde. Thanos pulls pieces of the moon to Earth to toss at Avengers. Logo.So first thing's first, from what it sounds like, this footage was incredible. Honestly, I am a bit jealous that I didn't get to experience it first hand, along with most of the internet. That being said, as great as it sounds, there are some things that didn't make it in the trailer that I hope to be in the movie (Disclaimer notice: I am not going to lie there might be a bit of favoritism toward a star spangled character here, so a lot of these points may have a bit to do with Captain America).
Along Came A Spider
Okay, so there is clearly going to be a lot of Spider-man in this film, which is great. While the trailer only showcases his interactions with one Avenger in particular (understandably so), Tony Stark, there is another I want him to interact with. "Along Came a Spider" is in reference to the very underrated show: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. During this episode, they debut Spider-Man and he is helping Captain America out, and the two working together is magic on screen. Honestly it might be one of my favorite episodes, however, this is not the only or most famous interaction between the two. In fact, the very famous speech that Steve makes during Civil War (that they use as Peggy Carter's Eulogy in Captain America: Civil War) about the importance of standing firm and unflinching on what you see is right, regardless of the views of the public, is a speech he gave to Spider-Man that inspires Spider-man to joining Cap's side of the conflict. While their 30 second encounter in Civil War, bonding over New York is great, it's not what makes these characters work so well. Both Peter and Steve come from a world where values determine right and wrong, they are both very similar in that way and so they naturally mesh well as characters. I think Spider-man might have the most singular crossovers with Cap than any other marvel character (a claim that I will not hold as fact as while there are a LOT of them I am not exactly sure) for that reason. Spidey and Steve are just two kids from the big apple trying to do right be the world and at the end of the day they became who they did because of their understanding of responsibility to giving back to the world.
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| I don't usually put 3 images up like this but this whole exchange should be read to really appreciate what I am talking about |
An Avengers World
So this is merely a moment in the arc from Johnathan Hickman's 2012 crossover event: Infinity. It's just a badass little moment where the Avengers have led the galaxy to victory and you get this amazing homage to the Iwo Jima photo, except it's a bunch of aliens raising a pole with the Avengers "A" on it, giving meaning that the Avengers is not an exclusionary concept, that all are welcome regardless of country, gender, race, or planet.
Steve Rogers vs Thanos
This one I feel is a desired moment for essentially the entire comic book community. The amount of times this image from the classic Infinity Gauntlet arc appears on forums and message boards is countless. I feel that of all the things that I put on this list, this is most likely to happen as the Russo brothers (the directors of the film) have such a deep love and understanding of Captain America. This moment is the one where Steve Rogers, despite being very much outclassed by the Mad Titan in terms of raw power, stands to him face to face and declares his defiance. It's one of his most iconic stands in comics, and it is certainly a must have in this movie.
Black Panther Takes Down Dwarf Star
Okay so Black Panther was a show stealing character in Civil War, and his film coming out here in the next year might be one of Marvel's most anticipated features. So, it's understandable that anyone would want some more of the awesomeness taking a part of the third outing of the Avengers. This one is another throwback to Hickman's Infinity, as at the D23 expo they also unveiled the statues of the Black Order, or Cull Obsidian (the name I preferred) who were also introduced in that same 2012 arc. The Cull Obsidian are Thanos' lieutenants and are sent to earth to scour the infinity stones for Thanos. Dwarf Star was sent to Wakanda, where he got taken down single handed by Black Panther. While the Wakandan army took on Dwarf Star's forces, T'challa fought Dwarf star one on one and frankly kicked his ass to an embarrassing degree. I mean the other lieutenants wiped the floor with the people they came across and Dwarf star was forced to retreat by one dude in a Panther costume. Good work T'challa, let's see it in film format now.
Celestial Drinking Party
So one of my favorite scenes from any Avengers film was in the 2014 sequel Age of Ultron where the Avengers are having a party, having drinking competitions with Stan Lee, and everyone is trying to lift Thor's hammer. It's great to see this team have a personality outside of the whole saving the world bit. If you haven't already been able to tell, I have a lot of love for Johnathan Hickman's Infinity as most of these things on this list are pulled directly from that book. In it there is a scene, in outer space, where Thor approaches a resting Cap with two glasses of presumably alcoholic beverages, and offers a great story on the local populous claiming them too strong for mortal consumption. Thor then says that he replied to the aliens that they didn't know Steve Rogers and offers him a glass. It's touching, it shows the respect that Thor has for his earthly comrades, and again shows the team having a personality, that the job isn't who they are 100 percent of the time. You combine this scene with Guardians of the Galaxy members and you could have a pretty great time with it.
Last but not least:
Who Will Wield the Shield?
One of the things that is a key proponent to the footage description, is that Steve Rogers is fully bearded and out of his Captain America attire. This has brought many to speculate that he has gone "Nomad" an identity Steve had after the iconic hero ditched his shield due to the Richard Nixon Watergate scandal. However, we also know that Chris Evans will only appear in one more film (minus potential cameos) as Captain America/ Steve Rogers, the question is: What are the Avengers without a Captain America to lead them. Captain America has been the soul of the avengers for so long, that an Avengers without him just doesn't feel right. However, Steve is not the only man to have been Cap, and there are two big stars of these films that have taken up the mantle: Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson. While I have nothing against Sam Wilson, and have actually thoroughly enjoyed the Sam Wilson run as Cap, I believe the more natural choice in terms of Narrative going in full circle would be Bucky. Bucky became Cap in the comics after the death of Steve during Civil War, Steve had written in his will asking Tony to ensure that Bucky not return to the life of the Winter Soldier, and they (Tony and Bucky) could see no better way in ensuring that then having Bucky take up the mantle of his friend and mentor. Bucky led a Secret Avengers team through a lot, including a Skrull invasion and the take down of Norman Osborne's Dark Avengers and H.A.M.M.E.R (S.H.I.E.L.D as run by Norman). With Thanos being the big bad of this film, and with a death toll being expected from this film, there is an opportunity for the next Captain America to take a stand and take the mantle of his predecessors.
Well this has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you enjoyed and we will see you again soon!
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