The hotly anticipated Avengers: Infinity War trailer has finally landed – making us audibly gasp no less than EIGHT times. Here’s every time we noisily drew in air while watching.
1. Wong and Doctor Strange
Following a shot of a downcast and brooding Tony Stark and a bewildered Bruce Banner lying spread-eagled shirtless in a pit, looking like he’s crashed in Hulk-form through the ceiling of the Sanctum Sanctorum, comes the first shot to draw a gasp. Wong and Strange stand there, seemingly peering down at Banner, with Wong having spun fiery discs using Eldritch Magic. Awesome enough. But then they look at each other and… SHIVERS.
2. A Tender Moment
Next up, there’s a shot of Scarlet Witch and Vision tenderly touching each other’s faces. They both look very serious — is this a romantic moment or something more sinister? It’s certainly the first time we’ve seen him without red skin, which is interesting in itself. Either way, the focus is on the golden glowing Mind Stone embedded in Vision’s forehead. The film’s villain, Thanos, needs this for the Infinity Gauntlet, which, when it contains all six stones, will make him all-powerful. Later in the trailer, we see an attempt to claim the Mind Stone — and Vision does NOT look comfortable.
3. Spidey Senses
We defy you not to find your hair standing on end in EXACTLY the same way when you see Peter Parker’s arm hairs bristle on the school bus. It comes in on our gasp-o-meter just ahead of seeing him in the Iron Spider suit a bit later on. We’re loving seeing Peter growing into his superhero role and mastering his powers in this way — Spidey senses are a key strength of the Spider-Man we know and love. It looks like the Peter Parker we saw in the standalone Spider-Man: Homecoming may well have come of age in Infinity War. Just about…
4. Loki Handing Over the Tesseract
What we suspected of Loki in Thor: Ragnarok seems to have come to fruition in Infinity War. Remember the moment we saw him hesitate in front of the Tesseract in Odin’s trophy room? Well, it seems he did take it. The cuboid Tesseract holds the Space Stone. In the trailer, he seems to hand it over to Thanos. Could it be that he’s been working for the evil overlord all this time?
5. Black Panther Facing Off Against a Lizard
This is one fight we can’t wait to see more of. Black Panther, fully suited, grappling with a four-armed man-sized lizard? HELLO. Now, THIS is what we signed up for. It’s one of Thanos’s genetically engineered Outrider henchmen, incidentally.
6. Thanos Adding the Space Stone
Seeing Thanos drop the Space Stone into place next to the Power Stone in the Infinity Gauntlet is epic. Just before, we see an attempted extraction of the Mind Stone, suggesting he’s now got at least three of the six. We don’t see the thumb chamber fully in the trailer, so we don’t know yet whether this is filled or not. The Soul Stone has yet to make an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but Black Panther’s home of Wakanda could be where we find it.
7. War Machine!
Who doesn’t love Don Cheadle’s War Machine? Seeing him up and about — and flying in full battle mode no less — suggests he’s either fully healed after his Civil War ordeal or the suit is able to support him, allowing him to fight despite his injuries. He’s definitely looking badass.
8. Thor Meets the Guardians
And just when you thought things couldn’t get any more exhilarating, up pops Thor with his bad eye, enquiring: “Who the hell are you guys?” to the assembled Guardians of the Galaxy. Groot is all grown up, and Mantis offers a welcoming wave. The Marvel titans meet, and we’re salivating for what’s to come.
Avengers: Infinity War hits screens in the UK on April 27, 2018 and in the US on May 4, 2018.