Avengers: Infinity War will pay off the Marvel Cinematic Universe's biggest narrative threads. Since the dawn of the interconnected MCU, a number of stories have been weaving throughout the lives of the superheroes and villains of Marvel Studios' shared universe. Infinity War poised to be the apex of the MCU as we know it, with Avengers 4 set to be the grand finale of the 22 film cycle.œEvery story that Marvel has told since Iron Man 1 finds a narrative thread in these next two Avengers movies. It is a culmination of all that storytelling, promised Joe Russo, Infinity War's co-director along with his brother Anthony. This is indeed a truly epic undertaking, to have Avengers 3 and 4 pay off plot points that have spanned across nearly two dozen movies, in some cases over the course of a decade. Avengers 3 is set to be a very busy film with lots of stories to juggle. While it's hard to know exactly what 4 will do without seeing Infinity War first, we do have enough info already to determine what threads Avengers 3 will deal with.Related: Avengers 4 Can Fix The MCU's Broken TimelineThe main thrust of Infinity War is a huge story involving the long-awaited (and dreaded) arrival of Thanos on Earth to assemble the six Infinity Stones. This will involve an estimated 76 characters fighting for or against the Mad Titan. Carnage is expected. Some characters will die. All will face their greatest challenge. As Thanos and his minions' attack our world, however, fans can definitely expect Infinity War to begin definitively resolving MCU's major plot points, with Avengers 4 perhaps using time travel to implement changes to the timeline of the MCU itself.But before time possibly goes topsy-turvy in Avengers 4, there are the biggest narrative threads Infinity War is expected to tackle:This Page: Will Thanos Assemble The Infinity Stones? And Can The Avengers Move Past Civil War?

Will Thanos Assemble The Infinity Stones?

The Infinity Stones have been the MCU's biggest MacGuffins, weaving throughout Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, and Thor: Ragnarok. In the AoU post-credits tease, when Thanos promised "Fine, I'll do it myself" as he donned the golden Infinity Gauntlet (which was empty of the mighty Stones), he meant it. It's taken him a few years but the Mad Titan is poised to fully carry out his threat at last and make his bid for ultimate power. Keeping Thanos from acquiring all of the Infinity Stones is the crux of the conflict of Infinity War.

As far as audiences have seen, the six Infinity Stones' whereabouts as Avengers 3 is set to commence are as follows: the Power Stone is on Xandar with the Nova Corps, the Reality Stone is in the Collector's menagerie on Knowhere, and the Space Stone is with Loki on the Asgardians' ship. Meanwhile, the remaining Stones are on Earth. The Mind Stone rests in Vision's forehead, the Time Stone is Doctor Strange's Eye of Agamotto, and the Soul Stone's location is unknown (but it is presumably in Wakanda). When Thanos comes to collect, fans can expect to see the peril that will fall upon Xandar and Knowhere for daring to safeguard Infinity Stones.

Related: Killmonger Creates A Big Problem For Infinity War

What actually happens when the Infinity Gauntlet is assembled is something Marvel Comics fans are well-aware of, but general audiences at this point can only imagine. Thanos will have a collection of god-like powers. He could potentially cause a level of calamity - not just physical but universal and across time and dimensions - the likes of which the MCU has never before encountered.

Can The Avengers Put Civil War Behind Them?

Civil War directors on Avengers: Infinity War setup

The Avengers split apart over the Sokovia Accords in Captain America: Civil War, with the members of Team Cap turned into wanted international criminals. Meanwhile, the Avengers have soldiered on under Tony Stark's supervision, though we're not exactly sure which heroes make up the team (especially after Peter Parker turned down active membership in Spider-Man: Homecoming). Nonetheless, after years of division, fans are chomping at the bit to see our heroes put aside old animosities and assemble once again. And that starts at the top of the MCU, with Tony Stark and Steve Rogers coming face-to-face at long last and resolving their differences (hopefully).

The state of the rest of the Avengers is also something fans are looking forward to. Civil War left many threads dangling: What became of Clint Barton's wife and family after Hawkeye ended his retirement and ended up a wanted fugitive? The Infinity War trailer indicates Wanda Maximoff and Vision's relationship has blossomed further, despite her own wanted status as a Team Cap collaborator. Has Peter Parker continued as a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man after Aunt May discovered his identity at the conclusion of Homecoming (which was set just 2 months after Civil War, while Infinity War takes place at least several months after Spidey's movie ended)? What about Tony Stark and Pepper Potts' engagement (and does Pepper still have her Extremis superpowers)?

Meanwhile, Nick Fury isn't expected to appear in Infinity War, but fans still want to know the state of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the movies. Could Fury or Maria Hill perform a last-minute rescue with S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier guns blazing, as they did in Age of Ultron? (Or is Fury absent from Avengers 3 because he's out hunting the Red Skull, as Samuel L. Jackson may have suggested in an offhand comment?)

Related: Marvel Actors Not Returning After Avengers 4

Tony Stark's fear of another alien invasion given to him in a vision by Scarlet Witch is what drove him to create Ultron as "a suit of armor around the world" for when the next invasion happens. Thanos is Stark's greatest fear given gigantic, purple, universe-conquering form. It will be most interesting to see how Stark, who uses his technology to grapple with his PTSD and other mental health issues, deals with the reality of his nightmare coming true.

Natasha Romanoff And Bruce Banner

Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff will indeed reunite in Infinity War. The lingering romance between them was seeded by Joss Whedon in The Avengers and then explored in Avengers 2. Many fans weren't especially taken with the idea of Black Widow and the Hulk in a relationship, especially since Natasha and Clint Barton have a mutual past that received a swerve when Whedon revealed Barton was married with children. Banner and Natasha were later separated at the end of Age of Ultron, with Thor: Ragnarok revealing that Hulk has spent the last two years as the Grandmaster's prized champion gladiator on Sakaar. Ragnarok showcased plenty of amusing callbacks to Banner's stalled love story with Black Widow, though, and this personal issue between the two outcast heroes begs to be resolved.

How Natasha reacts when she sees Bruce again and finds out where he's been is something Avengers 3 is going to make time for. She no doubt remembers all of the words to her "the sun's gettin' real low" lullaby, but whether the Hulk and the Widow can have any kind of happy ending together remains to be seen. With Black Widow in development for 2020, the details about Agent Romanoff's mysterious past and the "red on her ledger" may be saved for her long-awaited solo outing but there could still be a hint or two in Infinity War.

Related: All Of The Characters NOT Confirmed For Infinity War

Wakanda On The World Stage

After the events of Black Panther, Wakanda has ended its tradition of isolationism and has taken a greater role on the world stage under the leadership of King T'Challa. Black Panther is set just a couple of weeks after Civil War, though it's unclear exactly when in the succeeding timeline T'Challa made his address to the United Nations to reveal Wakanda's true face and humanitarian plans. However, we can surmise that the world has had several months at least to adjust to Wakanda's introduction as not only a first world nation but also as Africa's first global superpower in its own right.

Infinity War will be fans' first opportunity to get a glimpse of how Wakanda's new influence has begun to affect the world at large. The King not only shared Vibranium with the world, he signaled the opening of Wakanda's gates to outsiders. Bucky Barnes and Everett Ross were just the beginning; by the time Avengers 3 is over, more Caucasians in the form of the Avengers and aliens in the form of the Children of Thanos will have collectively entered Wakanda's borders than at any other time in its history. What state Wakanda will be left in after Thanos' forces attack, presumably to capture the Soul Stone, remains to be seen.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vs. Thanos

Family drama is an overarching theme in the MCU, but Thanos' family values are the worst in the universe. Thanos massacring the worlds and families of Gamora and Nebula is how they came to be under the Mad Titan's charge as his 'daughters'. As they matured, Thanos routinely pitted them against each other in combat, with Nebula becoming more deformed, mechanical, and deranged after each loss she suffered. When we last saw the faux-sibling interstellar assassins, they had just defeated Star-Lord's father Ego alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy but Nebula refused Gamora's offer to become a Guardian. Instead, Nebula chose to continue her quest for vengeance against Thanos. Now, years later (Guardians Vol. 2 was set only months after Vol. 1), all of their paths are set to converge on Earth, where their 'father' will be.

Another Guardian who has a serious bone to pick with Thanos (though he'd prefer very sharp knives) is Drax. The grey-skinned destroyer also craves vengeance against the Mad Titan for the murder of his family. Drax's single-minded desire for Thanos' blood will spike when he learns Thanos' location. This is what makes the Guardians of the Galaxy among the most interesting players in Infinity War: some of them harbor a deeply personal hatred of Thanos and are hell-bent on killing him. It's another matter entirely if any of them actually can, however.

Related: Will Nebula Get The Infinity Gauntlet In Avengers 3?

Asgard's Future?

Thor and Loki looking at each other in Thor: Ragnarok.

They not only lost their homeworld to Surtur in Thor: Ragnarok, but as of that film's mid-credits scene, the very future of Asgard is in doubt. Thor's reign as the newly-crowned King of Asgard was immediately interrupted by the arrival of Sanctuary II, Thanos' starship. As for why the evil tyrant came to pick the bones of Asgard clean, it's because Loki swiped the Space Stone from Odin's Vault before Asgard fell to the prophecised Ragnarok. Loki may have inadvertently doomed Asgard's survivors.

Infinity War should hopefully provide some answers to what becomes of Asgard's people, though we know from the trailer Thor is separated from them and meets the Guardians of the Galaxy while he drifts through space. We also know Bruce Banner/the Hulk, who was also on the ship, somehow crash lands on Earth. What we don't yet know is what part Valkyrie plays in Avengers 3, and what happens to Heimdall, Korg, Miek (who are not listed to appear in the movie).

The potential of Loki's redemption has been a slow burn throughout the MCU's history. Thor's words to his adopted brother in Ragnarok: "You'll always be the God of Mischief, Loki, but you could be so much more" sets the stage for the trickster to at last do something truly heroic in Infinity War - though such an attempt at redemption may have a deadly cost. Nonetheless, with no fourth Thor film currently announced, fans only have the next two Avengers sagas as indicators of what - if anything - is next for Asgard and its people. There's also the matter of whether Thor can ever get back Mjolnir - his enchanted hammer Hela destroyed in Ragnarok - or if the God of Thunder will wield a new weapon permanently after Avengers: Infinity War.

Next: Marvel's Phase 3 Timeline Is Completely Out Of Order

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