Marvel finally released the first Avengers: Endgame trailer Friday morning, causing a wave of fan pandemonium to spread across the web. In just a few months, we will all know what happens after a giant purple monster gets the ability to wipe out half of the life in the universe with just a snap of his fingers. Fans have been eagerly combing through the trailer to see if there's any information we can gather that can be applied to what we know from the comics.
One of the biggest positives (and negatives) of the MCU is that the inspiration for it all stems from paperback issues. Here's a few things from the comics and the Infinity War comic arc we're likely to see in Avengers: Endgame.
Pepper Potts to the Rescue!
The Endgame trailer starts with Tony Stark saying goodbye to Pepper Potts as his ship slowly runs out of resources and fuel. "Just for the record, being adrift in space with zero promise of rescue is more fun than it sounds," Stark says, setting up an inevitable storyline. We already know that the rescue armor is coming, thanks to a leaked picture of Gwyneth Paltrow in the suit. In the comics, Potts used the Iron Man-lite suit to take down Madame Masque, who made an appearance in Agent Carter show.
Will Nebula join forces with the Avengers?
With the end in sight, we can look to the Infinity War comic for clues as to how this game is going to play out. The MCU makes a lot of major changes to the original storyline. Adam Warlock hasn't made an appearance and the only god-beings Marvel has the rights to are the Celestials. The original Infinity Gauntlet series started in 1991 and is most of the inspiration behind the "Avengers in space" gimmick. Thanos collects all the Infinity Stones and culls half the universe to earn Death's favor. Death is a actual sentient being in the comics, who walks around in a black robe and sits at the edge of the universe. Thanos feels that the only way to earn her love is by gaining power. (Yep, in the comics he did it all to win over a woman.)
Once he collects all the Infinity Stones, the most powerful beings in the universe show up to try and keep him in check. The Living Tribunal, Eternity and even the planet-munching Galactus pop up in to give Thanos a piece of their mind, only to get turned into a giant pile of rocks by Thanos and his gauntlet.
Every available Marvel hero, like Wolverine, Thor and Captain America show up shortly after, led by Adam Warlock (who is still nowhere to be seen in the MCU), only to get dispatched just as quickly. With half the universe dead and gods and heroes rendered powerless, Thanos feels he has won. But there's a problem: Death still doesn't want him. His final gift is to take his daughter Nebula and transform her into a zombified husk, neither alive nor dead. Gamora may have seemingly died in Avengers: Infinity War but at least she was spared her sister's awful fate in the comics.
Death is a natural force in the universe, and she does not love the idea of slaughter for its own sake. She turns away from Thanos and rejects his love. Thanos leaves his body behind to become an ethereal specter and reshape the stars. This gives Nebula a chance to claim the Infinity Gauntlet for herself and become all-powerful. Thanos returns back to his mortal body, realizes he screwed up and joins forces with the heroes take down Nebula.
The end of the comic sees the stones scattered across the universe and Thanos moving to a random farm planet to take some time off. At least, until the following year when the Infinity War storyline started and an evil Adam Warlock, named Magus, gets the gauntlet for himself. Some speculate that Magus could be the villain of Guardians 3 , but we haven't read Gunn's script.
The comic could point toward some major plot points in Endgame . Nebula hasn't been snapped out of existence in the movies, and it would be an interesting twist to see her grab the gauntlet for herself. She seems to be heading to the good side of the MCU and the death of Gamora might be what pushes her over the edge. Maybe she joins up with the heroes and gets her butt kicked, turning into a husk of her former self, like in the comics. As Thanos gloats about his victory, she grabs the gauntlet off his wrist and forces her father to take her out. The gauntlet could be destroyed in the shuffle, forcing the Infinity Stones to be spread across the universe.
Avengers: Endgame comes to theaters April 26.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Steven Asarch is a tech reporter for Newsweek currently based in New York City. In high school, he started stand-up ... Read more
