1. Infinity Gem/The Collector
And here it is: out of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe references contained in Thor: The Dark World, here's the one that will have everyone talking, given that it provides fans with their first look into the world of Guardians of the Galaxy. Fans have been rightfully nervous about this movie ever since it was first announced, but I think time has eased those nerves somewhat and everyone is starting to get excited about the possibilities. In the first of two post-credits scenes, then, we see Sif and Volstagg, two of Thor's trusty companions, approaching a strange and mysterious character known as the Collector, as played by Benicio Del Toro with flamboyant charm. With what we can only presume is the "Aether" (the mystical force that drives the plot of The Dark World) in their possession, the pair ask the Collector whether he will safeguard it in his collection, concerned that it is not a good idea to keep the artefact in the same place as the almighty Tesseract (in Asgard). The Collector agrees, of course, and - as the pair leave - mutters: "One down... five to go." What we can assume from this comment, then, is that the Collector is out to find the Infinity Gems, which - in Marvel comic book lore - consist of six magical artefacts that - when brought together via a special glove - imbues the user with unlimited and implausibly insane powers. Given that the Collector is set to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, we can also presume that the story will hinge around his attempts to find and locate the remaining gems.
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