At this point everybody knows that the first and fourth instalments in the Avengers series Infinity War Parts One and Two will finally involve Thanos coming to hunt down the Infinity Stones for himself, the purple cosmic tyrant first seen three years ago at last coming face-to-face with the superhero team. Most signs point to the classic Infinity Gauntlet comic book series providing the basis for that upcoming two-parter's plot. The storyline involves Thanos shoving all of the Infinity Stones onto his titular glove (seen in the Age Of Ultron mid-credits cameo), wielding the power of the universe in his hand and basically being able to reshape reality in any way he sees fit. In the comics, that involves wiping half of the life in the universe out of existence. Which meant that, for a brief moment, half the famous Marvel heroes were dead. It's a scene not unlike that dream Tony Stark had at the start of Age Of Ultron, brought on by Scarlet Witch; could it have simply been his worst fear or, like Thor's vision, a premonition? Is that scene, in fact, the first glimpse of Infinity War? You'd like to think that a moment which saw Captain America, Black Widow, The Hulk and co torn to shreds and left dying in the middle of space, whilst the Chitauri attack Earth again, was something more than a bad dream. But who knows, eh?
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
