The filmmakers responsible for the MCU knew Thanos was coming long before we did.
There are moments throughout Marvel's movies that go by in the blink of an eye, but are
actually very important to the big picture - we just didn't know it yet.
Here’s your Spoilers ahead!
Warning we are saying what’s important to Endgame - we think - but we aren’t spoiling
specific plot points to Endgame.
We’re just using the clues from past films.
So you’re safe... unless we’re right about everything, and if so… oops!
It's an easy thing to forget: Behind his high-tech armor and sarcastic facade, Tony Stark is
still only human.
He's not physically the strongest of the Avengers that would be the Hulk, obviously — but
Stark certainly has the strongest personality.
"Security breach..."
“Phil! Come in.”
"Phil?"
"I can't stay."
"His first name is Agent."
Tony Stark's plucky personality makes it easy to forget that he's ultimately fallible.
Rather than being all wit and one-liners, Tony struggles with a feeling of powerlessness
after the Battle of New York, and it's a feeling that we would never have associated with such
a powerful figure.
In Iron Man 3, Tony has flashbacks to the black maw of the wormhole that he never thought
he'd come out of.
His knowledge of the reality of what's out there in space especially civilizations with
bigger, badder weapons haunts him, plaguing him with PTSD flashbacks and nightmares.
In Avengers: Age of Ultron, this fear of the danger lurking in space manifests in the nightmarish
hallucinations that Scarlet Witch subjects him to.
Tony sees Black Widow, Cap, Thor… all of his friends... broken and dead.
"You… couldn't…
save… us.."
In a way, this turns out to be a vision of the future.
In Infinity War, as hard as he tries, Tony is unable to stop Thanos from getting the
final Infinity Stone needed for the big Snap.
He watches in horror as his friends fall around him, while he stands powerless.
We probably can't convince you to watch Thor: The Dark World if you haven't already.
And if you have watched it, a single viewing is probably enough.
The plot is a tangled web, and Thor is honestly kind of insufferable.
"At least pretend to enjoy yourself."
But while The Dark World is among the weakest entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
the movie does a phenomenal job of introducing the nature of the Infinity Stones and teasing
their future importance.
Thor and his girlfriend, Dr. Jane Foster, are thrown into an age-old conflict between
Asgard and the Dark Elves.
Long ago, the elves had sought to conquer the Nine Realms with the power of the Aether,
a red-tinged force created from the Reality Stone.
It was sealed away by Odin's own father, but it was unleashed when the Nine Realms aligned.
Then, it infected Jane.
They're only able to destroy the Aether when it's fused with Malekith, the leader of the
Dark Elves, but the Reality Stone remains.
In a post-credit scene, it's officially called an Infinity Stone:
"The Tesseract is already on Asgard.
It's not wise to keep two Infinity Stones close together."
Because Asgard is already guarding the Space Stone, they send the Reality Stone to the
Collector, who we find out has his own goal of collecting them all.
Being a superhero isn't your average nine-to-five.
You have to fight bad guys all over the world, face down death on countless occasions, and
deal with overpowered co-workers who have anger issues.
We're looking at you, Hulk.
Keeping all that in mind, there's a good reason why the Avengers aren't really the sort of
people to settle down and start families… except, of course for Hawkeye.
Clint Barton lives a double life: out in the world, he's a deadly archer and agent of SHIELD.
But at home, he's a husband and father..
In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Clint surprised everyone by taking them to his homestead and
safe house, where his wife and kids live.
That's where he was holed up under house arrest during the events of Infinity War, which explains
his notable absence from the film's posters.
Now, do you know what a Checkov’s [check-off’s] Gun is?
Basically if a gun appears in act one someone should get shot in act 2.
Well… there’s a reason Clint’s family was all smiles in Age Of Ultron and every
trailer for Endgame showed an Angry “Ronin” style Clint Barton.
Do the math....
Wakanda may be an isolated nation that hides its secrets from the world, but that doesn't
mean we hadn't heard about it before Black Panther.
Wakanda previously refused aid from other countries, and its people rarely venture outside
of its borders.
That's why it's a huge international incident when civilians, including Wakandan scientists
on a goodwill mission, are killed in the crossfire between the Avengers and Crossbones' terrorist
crew at the beginning of Captain America: Civil War.
"Our people's blood is spilled on foreign soil."
Captain America's shield is made from the strongest material in the world: vibranium.
As a former weapons manufacturer, Tony Stark is well aware that Wakanda is the only one
place you can get vibranium.
It's highly valued on the black market, where disreputable arms dealers like Ulysses Klaue
[KLAW] operate.
We meet Klaue just before he loses an arm during an encounter with Ultron in Age of
Ultron.
When we see him again in Black Panther, he's replaced the appendage with a robotic prosthesis,
which makes him all the more dangerous… or at least more badass.
The MCU was packed with references to Wakanda long before we ever saw the place for ourselves
in Black Panther.
Tony Stark and Steve Rogers don't always get along.
In fact, it's their disagreements that ultimately tear the Avengers in two.
"You've been busy."
"And you've been a complete idiot.
But that doesn't mean they're not friends, and friends always have each other's best
interests at heart.
During the events of Captain America: Civil War, that's what divides Iron Man and Captain
America: each man thinks he knows what's right for their super-powered friends.
Fast-forward to the end of the movie, after they're been able to punch the ever-loving
heck out of one other and feel a little better.
Despite their many differences, they still support one another.
Tony receives a package, and inside is a cell phone and a letter, which reads in part:
"We all need family.
The Avengers are yours.
Maybe more so than mine."
It's the line about family that weighs heavily on Tony's future.
The post-credit scene shows a young Peter Parker experimenting with web shooters, and
in the following films we see that Spider-Man is something of an adopted son to Tony.
Cap's words resonate even further considering the conversation Tony and Pepper have in Infinity
War.
“Last night, I dreamt that we had a kid.
It was so real."
We all need family… right?
After the big Snap, and after countless worlds start crumbling into dust, the Mad Titan himself
is taken to a red-tinged plane where nothing exists, save for a familiar-looking arch and
the silhouette of a little girl.
It's Gamora — the same young Gamora that Thanos met when he killed half the people
on her planet.
She asks him what his victory cost.
Not looking the least bit triumphant, Thanos grimly replies:
"Everything."
But what does that mean?
Of course the scene emphasizes the fact that Thanos really did love Gamora, but the moment
is about more than mere reminiscence.
In order to get the Soul Stone, Thanos had to sacrifice the soul of somebody he loved.
He sacrificed Gamora, and her soul was claimed by the Stone.
With the power of the Infinity Stones, Thanos wiped out exactly half the population of the
whole universe.
All those souls have to go somewhere — in the Marvel universe, anyway.
They go to the Soul World, a pocket dimension in the Soul Stone itself.
So…
Gamora’s in the Soul Stone, that what it meant, right?
That might be important later.
When the first Thor film was released in 2011, magic still wasn't a part of the Marvel Cinematic
Universe only science.
Sure, Tony Stark made a flying metal suit and an artificial intelligence so smart that
it could backtalk, but that wasn't actual magic just good old-fashioned engineering.
Well, Thor changed all that… sort of.
In a rather romantic scene with Dr. Jane Foster, Thor explains that what people call "magic"
is the same thing as science back where he comes from.
Norse mythology interprets the Nine Realms as branches of the world tree, Yggdrasil,
but we would think of them as planets.
"Hahaha…
… Tell me more."
The rainbow bridge Bifrost creates wormholes in which Asgardians travel, and Asgardians
aren't gods.
They're a super-powered race of aliens who just so happen to look a lot like humans.
We didn't know it back then, but this explanation paves the way for other planets and other
civilizations to come into play in the MCU.
Asgardians were the first alien species introduced in the MCU, but later films would add the
Chitauri, the Kree, and the Skrulls, to name but a few.
In some form, The Tesseract has shown up in a number of Marvel films, serving as the MacGuffin
in not one, but three movies.
In Captain America, we learn that it was originally brought to Earth by Asgard, only to be stolen
by Nazis and HYDRA.
In Captain Marvel, it was given to Project PEGASUS by Howard Stark with the goal of making
a lightspeed engine.
It was stolen by Loki in The Avengers… only to be taken back to Asgard and stolen again
by Loki in Thor: Ragnarok.
But another Infinity stone had been hiding in plain sight.
Loki's scepter is special for a reason, and not just because it's the season's must-have
accessory that perfectly matches his horned helmet.
Gifted to Loki by Thanos, the scepter isn't just any old alien weapon.
It actually contains the Mind Stone, which is why it can be used for mind-control and
general evildoing.
Once Loki is carted away in chains to Asgard, SHIELD studies the scepter and is able to
discern that it had some kind of connection to the Tesseract.
Then it's stolen by HYDRA and used to give powers to test subjects like Scarlet Witch
and Quicksilver.
When the Avengers get their hands on it again, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner discover that
within the scepter… something is thinking.
"I mean this could be a… it's not a human mind, but…I mean, look at this."
Yes, it's the Mind Stone, which is then used to create Vision in order to keep the power
away from Ultron.
Got that?
Good!
Let's not forget how important the Guardians of the Galaxy series has been in tying together
the plotline of the Infinity Stones.
Despite taking place far, far away from Earth, the films have introduced key players and
background in the struggle for the Stones.
What's also important to note is that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 may have introduced the
most powerful character in the whole MCU.
Nope…
We're not talking about Ego.
His power pales in comparison to the mighty force cocooned in golden pipes by the Sovereign.
The second Guardians of the Galaxy film starts with Rocket doing what he does best stealing.
And stealing batteries, no less.
"What were you thinking?"
"Dude, they were really easy to steal."
"That's your defense?"
"Come on."
This draws the wrath of the Sovereign, who make it their mission to destroy the Guardians.
Failing to do so by more conventional means prompts the Sovereign leader, High Priestess
Ayesha, to create a new weapon: a new being, more powerful, more beautiful, and more capable
of destroying the Guardians.
She decides to name it Adam.
And comic readers already know: Adam Warlock is one of the most powerful characters in
Marvel's comics.
Rocket's sticky fingers may have lead to the creation of the most powerful being in the
universe.
"Uh-huh."
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