MARVEL’S ‘INFINITY WARS’ IN SPACE? I HAVE MY DOUBTS.
By now, most of us are fully aware that Marvel has announced that Infinity Wars will be split into Part 1 (May 2018) andPart 2 (May 2019). We also have a general idea of the characters that will be involved, but we’ll go through that soon. What we’re not totally sure about is where this great battle will take place.
During Avengers: Age Of Ultron, we saw a glimpse that Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) put in Iron Man’s (Robert Downey Jr) head of his teammates all beaten down. Even Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) was badly hurt and nearly unconscious, andCaptain America’s (Chris Evans) shield was cracked in two. The glimpse seen in Avengers: AoU appeared to be in space, most likely at Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) Sanctuary. So far, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is – or at least, his supporting characters are – the only Avenger to have been in other parts of the MCU galaxy. We’ve seen Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) meet The Collector (Benicio Del Toro) at the planet, Knowhere, so we know they’ve been far out there.
We know now that Hulk will be in Thor: Ragnarok, which puts another Avenger off of Earth and into a new Realm. Otherwise, the only other Avenger to even come close to leaving the Earth’s atmosphere was Iron Man when he redirected a nuclear missile. And he fell from the sky passed out.
Before going further in that speculative direction, who are we expecting to be in Avengers: Infinity Wars Part 1 and Part 2? In the upcoming Marvel movie, Captain America: Civil War, we’ll be introduced in some way or another to Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who are expected to join the Avengers soon. Dr Strange(Benedict Cumberbatch) has his own movie coming out soon afterwards, and Ant-Man’s (Paul Rudd) already being searched for by Falcon (Anthony Mackie) to help Team Captain America so we can expect them to be Avengers going forward as well.
One unknown character will be Captain America, or more specifically, Steve Rogers. Chris Evans’ contract is supposed to end after CA: Civil War, but Evans’ may extend it now that he’s enjoying his role more. Fans have been expecting theCaptain to die in Civil War, Evans to retire (at least for a bit) from acting, and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) to pick up the shield and carry on as the next Captain America. Because Evans may extend his contract, the characters’ fates are now more difficult to determine. One, if not both characters, will make it to Infinity Wars.
The Guardians Of The Galaxy are hopefully going to join the Avengers by Part 2 but at this time, it’s only rumors. 11 months ago, director James Gunn said GotG will have nothing to do with the Avengers but the rumors are still going on. IfCaptain Marvel (undetermined) is coming, she could lead Star Lord (Chris Pratt) and his team to join the Avengersagainst Thanos. We hope this happens, and Drax (Dave Bautista) does still have a bone to pick with Thanos, so it’d make sense to include them.
Then there are the Netflix characters. Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and an undetermined Iron Fist will form the team known as The Defenders, which is a more street-level team. There’s a rumorthat this team will also be featured in Part 2.
It’s important to remember that Infinity Wars Part 1 is likely going to be the new Avengers post-Civil War. The regular team members we’re used to may come back in Part 2 to help against Thanos, however. Oh, and if Black Bolt (Vin Diesel) and the rest of The Inhumans tie into Part 2, then the cast is going to be absolutely huge.
Going back to figuring out where this massive fight will take place, we could look at the comics. Most fans already expect that, the movies will follow the comics in the sense that the big battle will take place in space. I’m not so sure, and here’s why.
Hulk might be able to withstand the inhabitable nature of space as long as he doesn’t become Bruce Banner. Iron Mancould conceivably create a suit that can keep him, and War Machine (Don Cheadle) safe in space. Vision (Paul Bettany) is an Android, so he’s fine. In fact, Iron Man could give a suit to Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and any of the other characters for space exploration, if he’s even a part of Part 1. Dr Strange or Scarlet Witchcould also focus his magic on helping the team breathe in space, but then what?
But what’s more likely to happen? If Thanos uses the Infinity Stones and sends the Avengers into space to fight him, then they’ll probably not be ready for it. All Thanos would have to do is teleport them through space and let them die just trying to hold their breath. It’s one of those examples of a scenario that’s easy to get away with in comic books but may not transfer to the big screen easily. For the Avengers to be able to have any fighting chance against Thanos in space, they’d all need to be suited up like astronauts. Spider-Man’s webbing is useless, Hawkeye’s more useless as is Black Widow. Star Lord proves that humans on Earth 616 still can’t just survive and fight in space like they would back on Earth. You see he needs his oxygen mask and mini jets to get around and not just freeze and die.
And then what about the Defenders? Those street-level heroes who aren’t exactly buddy-buddy with the likes of theAvengers and most likely won’t be until Part 2 if the rumor is true. So unless Part 2 is coming back to Earth, Daredevil and the others are completely useless and won’t stand a chance in space.
Meanwhile, Star Lord, being human, can survive and fight on Earth. So can Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel. The rest of the GotG can probably do the same since Krees have been on Earth before. Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. has already introduced the Inhumans so they too can survive on planet Earth and fight. Presumably, Thanos can as well.
As well, Thanos needs to collect the Infinity Stones. He’ll have to visit Knowhere, then Asgard, and Xandar, as well as other places. Oh and if he wants that Stone in Vision’s head, he has to visit Earth as well. He’s already close to Xandar and Knowhere. He’s not likely going to start at Earth and go back out into space dragging the Avengers along with him.
Let’s also not forget Marvel’s movies have not strictly followed comic book canon.
I don’t think the great battle is going to happen in space. I think the closest we will see of the team being beaten up in space is that Scarlet Witch vision Tony Stark had in Avengers: AoU. Maybe a couple of the team members will be zapped in space, battle a few Chitauri or something, and head back to the main fight. But I think while Marvel uses other movie properties to explore their greater universe, the Avengers titles will remain Earth-based.
