Where Everyone Stands Before ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (Updated)

Lauren Gallaway
Movies Marvel
Movies Marvel

With Avengers: Infinity War on the horizon, we have a lot of questions about where certain heroes are in the timeline. It’s crazy to think that the last time we saw Steve Rogers was back in 2016. 2016, that was two years ago! The same goes for Black Widow, Hawkeye, Ant-Man and Falcon. We saw Tony Stark, Pepper Potts and Happy a little more recently, in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but that was still almost a year ago.

While we’re not going to cover every single character in Avengers: Infinity War, let’s take a look at a few characters’ last known whereabouts in the MCU.

Give This Man a Shield

Last seen in 'Captain America: Civil War.'

Arguably the coolest moment from the trailer was Black Panther saying “Give this man a shield,” to Captain America. Well, there were A LOT of cool moments, but this one was amazing, especially considering where Cap last left his signature accessory.

We last saw Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, in his third solo film, Captain America: Civil War. In his final stand-off against Tony Stark, Cap buried his shield into Tony’s chest, thus deactivating Tony’s Iron Man suit. Cap pulled his shield out of Stark’s armor and went to pick up Bucky, who was badly wounded and missing his arm. Tony, however, told Cap that he wasn’t worthy of carrying the shield, since his father made it (and Bucky killed his father). Cap dropped the shield on the ground and left with Bucky. Ouch.

At the end of the film, Cap rescued Scott, Sam, Wanda, and Clint from General Ross’ “anti-Avenger” containment prison and sent a cell phone to Tony, “in case you need us.” Cap then put Bucky into cryosleep in Wakanda, with the help of Black Panther. Vibranium comes from Wakanda and was used to build Cap’s first shield. Whether or not he’ll get another shield made out of that material remains to be seen.

Bucky With the Good Arm

The White Wolf is in Wakanda now.

In the trailer, James Barnes AKA Bucky, is running with Captain America and a group of warriors from Wakanda. Cap is leading the charge with Black Widow, Black Panther and Okoye at his side. Hulk and the Wakandans are behind them. Bucky is sporting a sweet new arm. Bucky first lost his arm in Captain America: The First Avenger. Hydra built him a new one and called him the Winter Solider. Sadly, Tony Stark ripped off that metal arm in Civil War.

Judging from the post-credit scene in Civil War, Bucky and Cap have been recuperating in Wakanda. The Wakandans must have found a way to deprogram Bucky and build him a new arm. Based on the trailer, his new arm is slimmer, sleeker and a darker shade of metal. It would be rad if his arm was remade with vibranium, like Cap’s original (and hopefully new) shield.

As of the events of Black Panther, we know that Bucky has been healing up in Wakanda and that he has a new nickname: White Wolf. In the comics, the White Wolf was T’Challa’s adoptive brother. It will be interesting to see Bucky take on this role in Avengers: Infinity War and any films going forward.

War Machine Flies Again

He knew any mission could be his last.

In addition to Hulk and co., Cap is not flying solo. Both Falcon and War Machine can be seen flying above the group. The last time we saw Colonel James Rhodes AKA War Machine, he was recovering from a spinal injury on the Avengers training base at the end of Civil War. If you recall, he was shot out of the sky by Vision‘s blast. While this was an accident, is almost cost Rhode his life.

Rhode was undergoing experimental therapy, provided by Tony Stark. It’s possible that Rhode is able to walk and fly again because his body has been integrated into some kind of upgraded War Machine suit.

Romanoff, a Blonde?

Undercover again?

Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow. She is always a mystery. We currently don’t know her whereabouts, which might be why she dyed her hair blonde. While she was originally fighting on Tony Stark’s team in Civil War, in the end she chose to let Cap and Bucky go free. Tony warned her that Ross knew what she did. Did that decision put her in contempt of the Sokovia Accords? Did she have to go on the run from General Ross? It’s possible that, since she’s on the run from Ross, she cut and dyed her hair and has assumed another identity in Avengers: Infinity War, possibly under the alias of Yelena Belova.

Say Hello to the Iron Spider

He's ready to be an Avenger.

The last time we saw Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Homecoming, he was asked to make a choice: go public with his identity and become an Avenger, or stay anonymous and go back to school. Peter chose school, like the good boy that he is, but in doing so, he passed on a wicked new Spidey suit designed by Tony Stark.

In the Avengers: Infinity War trailer, Peter is wearing the suit. Either Tony gives it to him anyway, or, they reach a compromise. Perhaps Tony lets Peter stay in school AND become an Avenger. Either way, he looks RAD.

Like Father, Like Son

Now he really is the 'Son of Odin.'

If you saw Thor: Ragnarok, you know that Thor lost his eye to Hela. It was a painful, shocking moment, but it also made sense, since his father, Odin, also lost an eye to a great enemy. We last saw Thor leading the new Asgard aboard a Sakarian ship with Loki, Heimdal, Valkyrie and Korg.

In the Avengers: Infinity War trailer, Thor is picked up by a group of familiar faces: the Guardians of the Galaxy. He humorously asks, “who the hell are you guys,” which is a perfect greeting for the Guardians. If you’re wondering why Thor is in space alone and not on the Asgardian ship we saw at the end of Thor: Raganrok, the next section might tell us why.

Loki Finally Gets the Tesseract

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Loki with the Tesseract -- which he clearly nicked from his dad's gaff.

If you saw Thor: Ragnarok, you would know that Loki had an opportunity to take the Tesseract from Odin’s vault just before Asgard fell. While we didn’t see him grab it, we all know that he did. SO. Where does this leave our trickster prince? Now he can finally give Thanos the Tesseract, which of course, was his goal in the first Avengers movie. What a way to bring everything full circle. We even see Thanos put the blue stone into his gauntlet, so we know Loki surrenders it in the film. Doesn’t he ever learn?

There are also a few other characters to catch up with, specifically the group that Cap broke out of prison in Civil War, like Wanda, Scott, Sam and Clint. We do see Wanda in the trailer, twice, first with Vision (who looks human, WTH?) and with Cap, when Black Panther mentions the shield. We don’t see Ant-Man in the trailer, perhaps his role is bigger in Avengers 4? And Clint aka Hawkeye? He might be on house arrest with his family, but we know he suits up at some point with a new uniform and a sweet mohawk. We can’t wait to see the film!

Lost in Space

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The Guardians greet Thor.

The last time we saw the Guardians, they were mourning the loss of Peter’s father figure Yondu. The film left them in the galaxy, traveling around and providing their “little bit of good, little bit of bad” services. Based on the Infinity War trailer we know that they run into Thor. Who knows where in the galaxy that takes place. We can assume Thor is the one who tells them that Thanos has the Tesseract and that he’s heading to Earth. Interesting that the one thing the Guardians and the Avengers do have in common is Thanos.

Straight Outta Wakanda

Black Panther in 'Captain America Civil War.'
Black Panther in action.

Black Panther was the most recent Marvel to come out, so we should all generally remember where T’Challa, Shuri, and Okoye stood at the end of that film. In a mid-credit scene, T’Challa told the world about Wakanda. The nations borders were opened and a new dawn was on the horizon for the once hidden city. As for T’Challa and Shuri, they were last seen in Oakland, setting up a trust fund for youth in the neighborhood where Killmonger grew up.

Based on the trailers for Infinity War, it looks like most of the fight will lead to Wakanda. All bets are on the Soul Stone still being hidden there.

The Mad Titan

Thanos and The Black Order
Thanos and The Black Order.

Thanos — the villain of this film — is also the person whom we haven’t seen in the longest amount of time. We know that he lost the Tesseract during the first Avengers film, along with the Mind Stone. Then, during Guardians of the Galaxy, he lost the Power Stone.

The last time we saw Thanos was during a mid-credit scene after Avengers: Age of Ultron, back in 2015. He grabbed the gauntlet and said “Fine, I’ll do it myself.” That means he has spent the better part of three years figuring out how to get the stones. There was a glimpse of his ship, the Sanctuary II, at the end of Thor: Ragnarok, so he could be catching up to Thor and the other refugee Asgardians just in time for Infinity War.

Avengers: Infinity War hits screens worldwide April 27, 2018.

Lauren Gallaway
TV editor at FANDOM. Creator of The Marvel Report. Journalist, Comic-Con reporter, Podcaster.