Steve Rogers' beard may have been the talk of the internet after the Infinity War trailer
dropped, but it was those gauntlets he's wearing that really got me intrigued and I know a
lot of you guys were excited about them too!
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, it's Jan here, and today I'm examining the clues in the Infinity
War trailer and the comics to reveal what kind of shield we can expect to see Cap use
in Avengers: Infinity War.
And I think you're gonna to be pretty psyched about this cool upgrade!
Just before I get into that, if this is your first time here, I do regular comic book movie
and theory videos, and today I'm kicking off a new round of my superhero giveaway for all
my subscribers.
I'll explain the details and reveal the winner of the first giveaway later in this video.
OK, so going into Avengers: Infinity War, we need to remember that last time Captain
America had his shield was during his bitter showdown with Iron Man at the end of Civil
War.
Tony Stark, who felt betrayed that Steve Rogers covered up the fact the Winter Soldier murdered
his parents, angrily told Steve the shield didn't belong to him and that he didn't deserve
it anymore.
Cap abandoned the shield and went on the run after that.
And I think in Infinity War, we'll see Cap operating without a shield for a little while,
for example, he doesn't seem to have one here when he catches Proxima Midnight's spear and
he's just using his fists against this Outrider.
However, in that epic shot of Cap leading the charge in Wakanda, we can see he's acquired
some cool new arm gauntlets which are a big clue to his new shield.
The colour and style of Cap's new arm shields and the fact they have what look like claws
on them indicate they're some cool tech made in Wakanda.
In fact, unlike the MCU where it's Tony's father Howard Stark who made Cap's shield,
in a number of Marvel comics, it's actually Black Panther who provides Cap with his shield.
But, although it's T'Challa who says the awesome line, "get this man a shield" in Infinity
War, I think it will be his sister, Shuri, who will be the person responsible for Cap's
new arm-shields.
Why do I think this?
Well, because she's a genius who's spent many years researching vibranium and developing
technology, and Kevin Feige said, 'she runs the entire Wakandan design group'.
Also, if you look back at the Black Panther trailers, you'll see Shuri sporting some pretty
fierce vibranium-based weaponry on her own arms in the form of two Panther-style blasters
that she developed herself.
In fact, I wonder if that smart Wakandan tech we see on Cap's arms could make a shield materialise
in a similar way to how Black Panther's suit appears here in his first solo film, or similar
to the hard-light shielding we've seen Black Panther use in the comics.
If this happens it wouldn't be the first time we've seen an energy shield on screen in one
of Marvel's properties.
In the TV show Agents of SHIELD, Coulson can activate an energy shield using his prosthetic
hand, and in the animation Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, Captain America and Black
Widow's son, James Rogers, used an energy shield designed by Tony Stark.
As for Cap himself, he's used various energy shields in the comics.
In the mid-90s, Sharon Carter gave him an experimental plasma shield which was activated
from his wrist and which could repel small arms fire.
A couple of years later in the comics, Carter gave Rogers a glove which could project a
photon force field.
This photonic shield simulated a vibranium matrix, so that it could store and deflect
energy back to an enemy.
In other versions, as well as defensive properties, the shield also offered possibilities for
attack.
And it's been able to fire energy blasts as well as transform into weapons.
One of the cool things we've seen on screen is how Cap has thrown his shield around, using
magnetic elements to call it back.
We might not get that from a new shield, but in the comics, later versions, such as the
zero point energy shield, can be thrown at an enemy and then upon impact they disintegrate.
And then a new shield can be created from the energy generator in a matter of seconds.
I hope we do still get to see a version of Cap's shield that he can throw as it's given
us some memorable moments so far in the MCU.
The look of Cap's gauntlets in the trailer also makes me think of the Captain America:
Steve Rogers series.
In those comic books, Cap has a triangular shield, which can be split into two parts
so he can attack a baddie with one half and still protect himself with the other, and
it also has an energy blade which can be used to cut through things.
So, why do I think this could be the basis for Cap's new shield in Infinity War?
Well, if you look closely at this epic team shot in Wakanda, you can see that Cap's gauntlets
have a triangular shape to them and there are also several claws, which could be used
for cutting, like in the comics.
And given he's got two arm gauntlets, and he's in Wakanda, the home of all things super-high-tech,
this makes me think that those two objects on his arms could likely transform into a
shield.
A possible wrinkle in this theory is that in Spider-Man: Homecoming, when Happy Hogan
was arranging the move of tech from the Avengers Tower, he mentioned a prototype of Captain
America's new shield.
I still think that Cap's new arm shields do look Wakandan.
So, I wonder if the new shield that Tony made will actually end up in the hands of Bucky
Barnes either in Infinity War or in Avengers 4.
In the comics, Bucky does take on the mantle of Captain America and there was already a
nod to that when the Winter Soldier caught Cap's shield in the second Captain America
solo movie.
If you've seen my Infinity War trailer breakdown video, then you'll know that we see Tony Stark
holding a small phone that looks like the same one Cap had FedExed to him at the end
of Civil War.
Which means we'll very likely see a reunion between Tony and Steve at some point in Infinity
War or Avengers 4.
Now, what kind of shield do you think Cap will get in Infinity War?
Or do you think the trailer's misleading us and it's actually Bucky who'll get the shield?
And are you worried it's Cap who Tony Stark is crying over in this cryptic shot in the
trailer?
Be sure to leave me a comment with your thoughts and subscribe for your chance win a cool superhero
Funko Pop.
The winner from the first round of my Infinity War giveaway is on screen here, so send me
a private message with your details so I can get the prize sent out to you.
If you enjoyed this don't forget to hit that like button, and if you haven't seen it check
out my breakdown of the new Infinity War Hulkbuster, Thor and Soul Stone leaked scenes by tapping
the screen here.
Thanks for watching and see ya next time.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!