Marvel's Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet (Earth-113599)

Marvel's Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet is a 2018 live-action superhero ensemble film produced by 20th Century Fox and Marvel Studios. It is the twenty fourth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a direct sequel to the events of Avengers: The Ultron Imperative, Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Thor: Ragnarok. It was released worldwide May 4th 2018.

Production
Marvel Studios had desired to do an adaptation of the famous Infinity Gauntlet storyline ever since The Avengers teased Thanos and the Space Stone. Plans for such an event were originally desired to begin taking shape sometime in Phase 2 but Kevin Feige had the idea that due to Infinity Gauntlet's massive scope and scale, the MCU films should simply build up to Thanos slowly. Only concluding at the end of Phase 3 when most of the original Avengers are planned to retire from their roles, in the meantime other Infinity Stones would be established throughout the films.

In Comic Con summer 2015, the Phase 3 slate was released with Avengers 3 and 4 being slated for release dates in May 2018 and 2019 respectively. Confirming the two stories would go hand in hand with each other and that Avengers 3 would have Thanos as the main villain. It was also announced that the May 2017 Phase 3 installment Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 would tie in heavily to the events of Avengers 3. Despite all of this hype the title for Avengers 3 would remain unrevealed until Autumn of 2016 where it was confirmed to be Infinity Gauntlet similar the story arc. It was also confirmed that the film would be exploring the fallout of the Avengers splitting in Civil War in addition to the Guardians of the Galaxy finally coming to the Earth. More casting announcements started to reveal just how large of a film Infinity Gauntlet would be, nearly every hero became slated to make an appearance. The only two film franchises missing were Ant-Man and Captain Marvel.

In 2016, James Cameron was hired to helm the massive project as Director, attached to both Disassembled and Avengers 4. However due to obligations for his many other associated projects Cameron was unable to commit to the filming schedule and needed to drop out. He was quickly replaced by Joe and Anthony Russo who had previously worked on the Captain America films and had proven to be able to handle large casts and complex story arcs, near perfect fits for both huge Avengers movies. Filming for Infinity Gauntlet began in mid 2017 with Avengers 4 being filmed directly afterwards, releasing on schedule May 4th 2018.

Cast

 * Chris Hemsworth as Thor


 * Robert Downey Jr. as Anthony "Tony" Stark/Iron Man


 * Chris Evans as Steven "Steve" Rogers/Nomad


 * Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk


 * Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow


 * Jeremy Renner as Clinton "Clint" Barton/Hawkeye


 * Josh Brolin as Thanos


 * Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Ebony Maw


 * Michael James Shaw as Corvus Glaive


 * Carrie Coon as Proxima Midnight


 * Terry Notary as Cull Obsidian


 * Angelina Jolie as Mistress Death


 * Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange


 * Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man


 * Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther


 * Chris Pratt as Jason Quill/Star-Lord


 * Zoe Saldana as Gamora


 * Bradley Cooper as Rocket (Voice)


 * Vin Diesel as Kanoot (Voice)


 * Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer


 * Pom Klementieff as Mantis


 * Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch


 * Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver


 * Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon


 * Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War-Machine


 * Rebecca Hall as Bethany Cabe/Rescue


 * Paul Bettany as Vision


 * Matthew McConaughey as Adam Warlock


 * Benicio Del Toro as Taneleer Tivan/The Collector


 * Tom Hiddleston as Loki


 * Katheryn Winnick as Brunnhilde/Valkyrie


 * Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Beta Ray Bill


 * Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta


 * Gwyneth Paltrow as Virginia "Pepper" Potts


 * Kerry Condon as Friday (Voice)


 * Benedict Wong as Kan Wong


 * Letitia Wright as Shuri


 * Daniel Kaluuya as W'Kabi


 * Danai Gurira as Okoye


 * John C. Reilly as Rhomann Dey


 * Cobie Smulders as Director Maria Hill


 * Kerri Green as Sui-San (Flashback)


 * James Brolin as A'Lars (Flashback)


 * Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (Cameo)


 * Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Cameo)


 * Zazie Beetz as Neena Thurman/Domino (Cameo)

Plot
The film starts with an establishing shot of a large, orange planet called TITAN. Thanos is seen walking on the surface with an empty Infinity Gauntlet passing dead skeletons hugging each other on the ground before making it to the abandoned ruins of a long dead city. There, Adam Warlock is seen wandering through the structures with his Karnic Staff in hand until Thanos calls out to him saying that marooning himself on Titan was clever, it truly was one of the last places he would ever look. Warlock says he feels the decay and malice of his nihilism run deep in this place. All life on the planet down to the microscopic level has been systematically exterminated. Staying here in spite of it has tested his faith more than he could ever know.

Thanos informs him the fates of his people were well deserved. They're all at peace resting in the cold embrace of Death. Warlock is so enraged by his comments he charges at Thanos with the Karnic Staff and the two get into a drawn out fight. The Mad Titan eventually getting the upper hand and smashing Adam into the ground. As he begins trying to crawl away with his busted leg, Thanos says that for so long they've been in a struggle of life or death. But to what end he asks, the fundamental law of the universe is that all things must come to end. Dread it, run from it, destiny still arrives. It's finally here, "or should I say, I am". Thanos then picks up the Karnic Staff and breaks it in half with knee, crushing the top in his hand revealing it to encase the Soul Stone. He then adds it to the base of his Infinity Gauntlet as Adam looks up in horror. Warlock assures Thanos she will never love him and the Mad Titan grabs Adam by the head and uses the Soul Stone against him, saying goodbye to his "old friend" as he disintegrates into dust.

Adam's remains blow away in the wind as Thanos looks to his Gauntlet and Soul Stone muttering under his breathe, "one down, five to go."

AVENGERS: INFINITY GAUNTLET

Months later on XANDAR, the entire planet is shown to be in chaos completely overrun with Outriders and Q-Ships who have destroyed nearly everything. Inside the Nova Corps Headquarters the situation is equally bleak. Thanos is shown to be inside along with his four children Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, and Cull Obsidian. Maw is preaching to the fallen Corpsmen that they might be suffering now, but that what is happening to them is mere mercy. Freedom from the prison that is life, Thanos will bring them home to their Mistress Death, the one who was there for their beginning and will be there in the end. Corvus and Proxima are bickering to each other about who killed more people, Corvus insists he had more but Proxima says he's delusional. Thanos interrupts their argument to say he was counting, and they were both equal. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be. Rhomann Dey on the ground bleeding out asks him if he thinks this isn't murder, because half of them are still alive. Thanos says life gives death meaning, the sacrifice is in vein if there's nothing to lose. The passion becomes lacks any spark if none bare witness. Afterwards, Cull Obsidian approaches Rhomann Dey and crushes him with his brute strength.

Corvus Glaive takes out his spear and cuts open the Vault which houses the Power Stone inside. Thanos adds it to the Infinity Gauntlet and Ebony Maw tells him with the Nova Corps slain, there is no order who can stand in the way of their crusade. They will all be gods, the Mad Titan corrects him insisting he will be god. All of the children begin to leave while Thanos uses the Power Stone to create purple cracks deep within the crust of the planet. As the Dark Aster and all of the Q-Ships emerge from the atmosphere Xandar breaks into multiple fractures in a large purple explosion. Thanos walks to his throne and sits down on it, telling his children there are three other Infinity Stones with known locations around the universe, two of them are on Terra, they must find them and bring them back to the Dark Aster while he searches for the third on his lonesome. Then together they will look for the unaccounted for Time Stone. Ebony Maw proclaims Terrans are primitive small beings, they will be easy to take from.

The camera then shows outside of the Dark Aster and through space before finally reaching ASGARD. Thor is inside the Palace where Brunnhilde is informing him that Xandar has been destroyed by the Black Order along with all the Einherjar and Valkyrior reinforcements they sent to aid the Nova Corps. The Rune King observes that the glimpses into the future he saw with the Tablet of Time are all coming to pass. Beta Ray Bill informs him speaking of the Time Stone, it's only a matter of time before Thanos comes to Asgard looking for it. They need to hide the Time Stone somewhere. Thor responds he was thinking the same thing, explaining that he created a contingency in the event it ever got this far. Thor then cracks open the Tablet of Time, revealing the Infinity Stone inside and tells Valkyrie to escort it where they discussed. He then asks Beta Ray Bill to temporarily take over his duties as King. Bill asks where he's going and Thor insists the Mind and Space are on Earth which puts them in danger as well. He needs the warn the Avengers of what's to come and help them prepare. As Rune King he swore to protect the Nine Realms from all threats including the Infinity Stones, he will end this danger by whatever means necessary. Thor then summons the Bifrost to EARTH.

The New Avengers are in the Upstate Facility. Hulk is seen transformed in a special elastic jumpsuit reading Zen and the Art of Nuclear Physics while lifting weights. In the same room, Clint, Rhodey and Vision are playing cards together and eventually get a notification that someone broke into the Facility. All the New Avengers stop what they're doing and go lounge to investigate, only to see Thor making himself at home. Hulk casually transforms back into Bruce Banner and greets him, Thor quipping he wasn't expecting that. Vision asks what Thor is doing here and the God of Thunder informs them there’s great crisis brewing worse than any of them can imagine, and it's coming right to Earth, an alien threat named Thanos. When Hulk hears that name his face turns pale and he starts muttering that this can’t be happening. Hawkeye asks if he knows who this is and Hulk claims says when he was on sabbatical in space for a year, he knew a Thanos. Rhodey says for those who don’t know, who is Thanos and what does he want.

Thor claims he'll explain everything when the rest of the team arrives, Bruce says the Avengers had a falling out are split up. Cap, Natasha, the twins, they’re gone. Thor is disappointed by this and asks what of Stark. Rhodey says he's in the city, but they can call him. In NEW YORK Peter Parker is seen being escorted into Avengers Tower by Bethany Cabe until being greeted by Tony Stark. Peter claims that he's excited for this internship and Tony quickly confesses that there's no internship, he knows about him being Spider-Man. Peter staunchly denies it but Tony insists it's fine, he won't tell anyone. He talked to his Mom about it and wants to make him an Avenger. Peter asks even after punching him in the face, Tony claims what happened in Stamford was a great test run, that the Spider-Man he built had a lot of impressive specs on it. But with an actual budget of more than a dollar, it could be great. Stark then shows him the new Iron Spider design he made for him. Peter is flattered, but rejects it claims he'd rather stay on the ground and keep being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Tony tries to argue but Bethany gets a notification that Thor's back and the Avengers need to them Upstate right now, it's urgent.

At the Avengers Facility again, Thor is explaining after the Big Bang six concepts that made up existence Space, Time, Reality, Power, Mind, and Soul were forged into concentrated ingots called Infinity Stones that contained great power in whatever concept they represent. Tony asks Thor say his name again and Bruce tells him Thanos, he's a plague who goes to planets and wipes out half the population. The last person who needs an Infinity Stone, much less all six of them. Tony realizes this is the endgame, everything he's prepared for has lead up to this moment. Bethany asks where the Infinity Stones are and Thor claims the Mind Stone is with them right now in Vision’s head. They all look at him and Vision realizes his mere existence is putting the world in danger, he’s sorry. Thor says it’s not just him, the Tesseract that the Masters of Evil used is the Space Stone. Clint asks how they’re going to find that and Thor insists he knows a wizard that he can help.

In the streets EDINBURGH, Natasha Romanoff is walking undercover with dyed blonde hair. She looks both ways before entering an abandoned train station where the Secret Avengers are all meeting up. Black Widow says that she's sorry for being late, just had to make sure she wasn't being followed. Falcon tells her maybe she can help him talk some sense into Pietro. Quicksilver says S.H.I.E.L.D. turned their backs on them, why do they have to risk their freedom going undercover to fight as "Secret Avengers". Falcon responds asking if he seriously thinks the world doesn't deserve heroes just because of some mistakes made by the government. Pietro asks what about what they deserve, showing the metal braces still around his legs. Someone tells both Sam and Pietro to stop arguing, Steve Rogers than walks out of the shadows revealed to now have a beard and an aged costume. He exclaims that if someone is out there hurting innocent people he's not going to stand by and let that happen, no matter where they're from or who they are, not anymore. If anyone wants out the door is right over there, but Nomad isn't going anywhere. Natasha says she's on Steve's side always and Falcon claims he's the same.

Pietro looks to Wanda and asks her to back him up, and Scarlet Witch tells him that she doesn't know what to think anymore. The Secret Avengers all unaware that Wanda is telepathically communicating with Vision via the Mind Stone. Instead of using words to express their love to each other they're able to talk empathically, through only their emotions. Suddenly, a portal opens in the train station and Doctor Strange walks through telling all of the Secret Avengers that they need to come with him. Nomad demands to know what this is about and Strange introduces himself before saying the fate of the universe is at stake, he and Thor need all the help they can get. Black Widow is surprised he knows Thor and Strange begins to practically beg them to come with him. Nomad says they don't have much to lose and all come into the portal to VARANASI in the Sanctum Sanctorum. The Secret Avengers all sit down while Doctor Strange says that a nihilistic warlord named Thanos is preparing to attack Earth. Black Widow asks how this is any different than the countless other alien threats they've had over the years, Wong claims that Death follows him like a shadow. Of all the worlds Thanos has set his sights on practically none have been able to resist. Doctor Strange adds on he wants to transcend mortality using cosmic relics called Infinity Stones, and if he collects them all he'll be able to do that and cause Death on a scale hitherto undreamt of.

Nomad says he's heard enough, they're in, what does he need them to do. Doctor Strange says he needs to find the Tesseract and "this" lovely lady can help him do it (pointing to Wanda). Quicksilver asks what they'll be doing and Wong says the Sorcerer Supreme needs her to help contain a universal threat, respect that! Pietro is about to get up and yell but Falcon and Black Widow hold him down. Strange insisting he just needs some help with the incantations to locate the Tesseract, if she doesn't want to it's fine. Wanda insists it's no problem and Strange says terrific, before they both suddenly teleport into another room in the Sanctum. Doctor Strange begins crafting the clairvoyance spell with Wanda's help as she's constantly knocked off balance by Stephen's constant teleporting. The spell forges nicely and Stephen asks her if she's ever thought about trying to use Mutant ability to practice traditional sorcery. Wanda insists she didn't know that was an option, Stephen responds saying he can tell her all about it over coffee someday. Wanda blushes and says she's in a relationship.

Doctor Strange responds with the Vision, they're communicating through the Mind Stone. He picked it up the second Wanda got here. How long does she thinks they can keep that up. Scarlet Witch says excuse me and Strange insists Vision is a synthezoid, essentially an advanced computer powered by a rock, a relationship like that is hard to sustain. Wanda says no offense to Stephen but she doesn't care what he thinks. Strange responds those are just the facts, Thanos is after the Mind Stone and computers... can be breakable. The spell finishes being created after he says that and Strange is able to locate the Tesseract at the bottom of the pacific ocean, teleporting it right into his hand. In SPACE, the Guardians of the Galaxy are flying in the Benatar while listening and singing along to Rubberband Man. Star-Lord tells Drax to sing along and the camera reveals him to be fast asleep in spite of the commotion. Kanoot, now grown into a child, hands Rocket a drawing of the Guardians that make them all look bad. The Raccoon simply tells Kanoot it's "great" and passes it off to Gamora.

Mantis says they're being hailed by Yondu Udonta and Rocket tells her to put him on. Yondu shows up on the projector shouting to the Guardians long time no see, waking Drax up. Jason playfully responds that they've been busy actually doing good deeds and making some sweet, sweet units while they do it (Gamora reminding him that isn't the point). Rocket asks what Yondu wants and he tells them how he was checking in on Adam Warlock like he said he would ever now and again. But can't find him anywhere, and his walking stick or whatever is all busted up. Gamora becomes startled by that and asks if the Soul Stone is still inside of it. Yondu asks her if he saw a damn Infinity Stone out in the open the first thing he would do is hail them!? All the Guardians exchange glances to each other and Rocket says they'll call Yondu back disconnecting the hail. Kanoot says "I am Kanoot" and Jason responds he's right, it has to be Thanos. Gamora muttering that her father finally did it, he had a plan when he finally killed Adam and got his hands on the Soul Stone, he would use it get the other Stones out of their hiding places, and once he has them all balance the universe. Drax asks if she means kill half of all living creatures. Rocket mutters that the Guardians go off the grid for one year and this is what they come back to.

Star-Lord tells everyone this is a perfect opportunity. Jason begins putting on a deeper voice telling them they'll be the most cherished warriors in the Galaxy if they're able to stop Thanos in his crusade for the Infinity Stones, envied by all with enough riches and glory to last them a lifetime. Gamora asks if he's making his voice deeper and Drax answers he's trying to sound cooler but Jason insists no he isn't, this is his normal voice. Mantis says he just did it again and Kanoot agrees. Rocket meanwhile finds out that Thanos decimated Xandar and took the Power Stone already. Star-Lord in his regular voice says then they have to go warn the Collector! He had the Reality Stone in his museum, and if there's no reports of Thanos or his goons sacking Knowhere that means they have a chance to protect it. He practically begs Rocket to travel there and Gamora insists it would be wrong to sit out of this when they all know Thanos better than anyone. Rocket says fine, but the Collector better not treat him like an animal. Drax comments they all already do that.

In Avengers Tower, Tony asks Bruce about Thanos and what happened when they met. Bruce explains that he kicked the crap out of the Hulk without even breaking a sweat, not even Blonsky or Ross could do that. Tony says how he knows Bruce has made a lot of progress in his anger management, but that maybe if push comes to shove he could go all out when Thanos comes knocking on the door. Bruce says that's out of the question, he's the happiest he's ever been having Hulk under control. He can't just throw that away for a battle he might not even be able to win. Tony says the idea of a threat from outside this world has been in his head ever since he flew into that wormhole. If they're not all bringing their best and keeping all their bases covered, it just makes it that much more likely they all lose. The Avengers need every weapon in their arsenal right now, more than ever.

Vision is seen being escorted by Thor into a special holding cell, insisting he and the stone will be safe in here. Vision sits down and Thor is about to leave but instead has a seat next to him. The God of Thunder assures Vision that he has been alive for over a thousand years and has fought twice as many enemies as that. All wanted to commit unspeakable acts all over the Nine Realms but none succeeded even when fate decreed they should. Destiny is malleable and they can win so long as they have the strength to do what needs to be done. Thor promises Thanos is the latest in a long line of tyrants that will fall to the Rune King of Asgard, he will not let the entity lodged into Vision's cranium end their world so long as he continues to fight axe in hand. Thor then summons Mjolnir and proudly holds it to his chest. Vision asks him what if he's wrong and Thor says then all he has done getting to this point has been for nothing. He pats Vision on the back and slowly walks outside, the Synthezoid then begins using the Mind Stone to start emotionally communicating with Scarlet Witch.

At the Sanctum Sanctorum, Wanda is receiving his messages until Doctor Strange tells the Secret Avengers they need to rendezvous with Thor and the New Avengers and discuss what to do with the Tesseract. Nomad says that's not a good idea, Stark is trouble and he'll only get in their way. Doctor Strange responds with respect, everyone alive is in danger right now, it doesn't matter who he's talking to or not. Black Widow asks why they can't just handle the Tesseract on their own and let the New Avengers deal with Vision. Wanda speaks up to Natasha saying she agrees that strength in numbers is important here. Suddenly, everyone in the Sanctum suddenly begins to hear noise and commotion going on outside. Strange and Nomad open the front door only to see a Q-Ship parked in the middle of Varanasi. Stephen uses the Eye of the Living Tribunal to hide the Tesseract in another dimension and tells Wong to protect the Sanctum before teleporting all the Secret Avengers in front of the Q-Ship. There, Ebony Maw and Proxima Midnight are walking the streets. Maw preaching to the civilians that they will all soon be returning their Mistress Death.

Strange teleports all the civilians out of the area and Proxima takes out her weapon and is about to attack but Maw stops her, addressing Strange as a "Stonekeeper" and tells him if he gives up the Tesseract he will have a fair chance to be spared by Thanos' culling. Strange says he isn't really a betting man and Quicksilver responds "that means get lost, Voldemort". Ebony Maw simply replies by asking if this chattering animal speaks for Strange and Nomad says they're all equals here, they're trespassing on this planet and to consider this their final warning, leave now. Maw says they're exhausting and tells Proxima to take the Tesseract by force then, she takes out her Gravity Stick and prepares to attack until Black Widow shoots a venom blast at her and Scarlet Witch telekinetically throws Proxima into the wall. Falcon unlatches his wings and starts flying to Ebony Maw who uses his black tongue and mutters for Falcon's wing to stop working and they do exactly as he says. He then tells the pavement on the ground to turn into spikes and lunge towards the Stonekeeper. They do as the black tongue commands but before any of the spikes can hit Strange he opens a portal and redirects them right back to Maw, scratching his face. The two of them engage in a supernatural battle while Nomad begins trying to fight Proxima Midnight hand to hand and getting quickly overpowered. Quicksilver tries to use his super speed which only works for a second before collapses in the mud, cursing his disabled legs.

Pepper Potts is at an Ultrasound appointment with a hologram of Tony Stark standing next to her. She asks him if he seriously couldn't take one day off to see his child for the first time. Tony shown to be inside Avengers Tower managing the holographic software telling her this is just as good. He can see and hear everything, be in two places at once. Pepper rolls her eyes and the Physician begins holding the transducer to Pepper's stomach as a baby appears on the sonogram. Telling her and Tony that it's a boy and totally healthy. Tony tries to hold back tears of joy claiming she's right, he should've been there in person. Pepper asks her husband if that name they liked, Morgan, can still work for a boy. Tony says they can name it whatever they want, no matter what he's all theres. The hologram disconnects and Hawkeye is revealed to have been standing by the door listening in the whole time congratulating Tony and asking him why he didn't tell the other Avengers. Stark claims that they never asked, and Clint says if he ever needs tips on diapers or dealing with sleep deprivation, he's gone through the ringer twice, he'll be there. Tony thanks him but says he wouldn't want to have him or Laura deal with another infant. Clint though insists that in a weird way he kind of misses it.

Inside of the containment unit, Vision is pacing quietly until Corvus Glaive quickly cuts through the protective layer and jumps inside using his spear to try and pry the Mind Stone directly from Vision's forehead. Fortunately, Vision manages to stop him and blasts Corvus into the other room. The Child of Thanos harshly responds by stabbing Vision in the gut with his spear and then calling the Q-Ship tractor beam to fly them both out the window. All the New Avengers assemble and Clint asks how that thing got in here. Thor says that doesn't matter, they need to protect the Mind Stone! Tony then taps his arc reactor unleashing his Nanotech Bleeding Edge Iron Man armor over his body and tells Thor he's way ahead of him, flying right after the Tractor Beam. Peter Parker in a Taxi sees Corvus and Vision flying over ahead and tells the driver pull over, quickly climbing up the wall to high ground. Iron Man is eventually able to blast Corvus out of the tractor beam while he and Vision crash land in Central Park.

Iron Man goes after them but Cull Obsidian is revealed to be there too and he along with Corvus both fight Tony until Spider-Man webs by and helps out. Quipping to Tony that he didn't think they'd be seeing each other again so soon. Iron Man warns him to look out and Peter starts getting overwhelmed by both Children of Thanos instead. Tony realizing Spider-Man could be killed starts to panic but gets an idea, telling Friday to enact the Iron Spider protocol. This causes a package to launch from Avengers Tower to Central Park releasing a Nanotech Spider-Man suit for Peter to wear over his regular homemade one. With his new Iron Spider powers Peter is able to resist Corvus Glaive and Cull Obsidian's attacks. The Bifrost is then summon to Central Park by Thor teleporting the New Avengers there instantly. Rescue flies over to help Vision while Iron Man, Spider-Man and War-Machine fight Corvus Glaive and at the time Thor, Hulk and Hawkeye take on Cull Obsidian.

In Varanasi, Ebony Maw uses his black tongue in creative ways to dispatch Black Widow and Nomad out of his way and while he struggles against Scarlet Witch, is able to beat her as well. Proxima Midnight uses her gravity stick to pull Falcon out of the air and brutally beat him against the ground. Maw finally subdues Doctor Strange stabbing him with multiple sharpened pieces of glass, demanding to know where the Tesseract is. Stephen tells him nowhere in this Dimension and Ebony Maw says his abilities aren't all derived from his own magic, this trinket around his neck for example, is perfectly susceptible to the black tongue's influence. Maw grabs the Eye of the Living Tribunal and tells it to reveal the dimension the Space Stone is kept and return it. It does as told and the Tesseract lands on the ground being gently picked up by Ebony Maw before telling Proxima they must return to the ship. Nomad sees the entire event unfold and tells the Secret Avengers they need to follow them, leading everyone to where the Q-Ship is parked and while it's engines warm up Wanda is able to telekinetically force an opening for all of them to sneak into. After getting inside the Secret Avengers feel something as the Q-Ship physically begins to transcend out of the atmosphere and into space at warp speed. Doctor Strange slowly gets up and looks into the sky, muttering under his breathe they have no idea how screwed they are.

At the other side of the world in Central Park, the fighting continues while War-Machine asks if Spider-Man is now Iron Man Jr. or something and Peter insists that this was a gift, an unexpected one at that. Cull Obsidian is able to hurt the Hulk with his punches and Bruce begins to get almost get twice as strong by getting angry but forces himself to calm down and stop. Thor though manages to use his Rune King abilities to kill Cull Obsidian with a lightning based Mjolnir strike. Corvus Glaive shouts in agony when his brother dies and quickly escapes via Tractor Beam into his Q-Ship. The New Avengers start going to help wounded civilians while Tony asks Peter if he's insane coming into the middle of a fight like this. If he sees a bunch of aliens coming to the city he runs the other way. Spider-Man tells Tony that these aliens could level all of New York. Insisting that he can't be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there's no neighborhood to protect. Tony wonders if this means he's an Avenger now and Spider-Man responds if that what it takes to to do what's right and keep this awesome new suit, then yeah he's in. Thor talks to Hulk telling him that he knows he's been pulling his punches to try and keep the anger at bay, but that he needs to make sure his priorities are in order. Bruce insists that they are, he wants to stop Thanos but not lose himself in the process. Thor says that is his own choice, but there is a chance that a time might come in this oncoming war where that isn't enough, and if it ever comes between him and an Infinity Stone, the God of Thunder insists he will not hesitant to let him die. Bruce sarcastically says it's nice to know his priorities are in order and Thor says he's on the side of life, one sacrifice is nothing compared to what could come if they lose.

Doctor Strange is then seen opening a portal to New York. Thor greets the sorcerer and asks if he acquired the Tesseract. Strange claims it was stolen by Children of Thanos, Steve Rogers and his team tried to go after them, they're gone too. It then shows in space once again where the Benatar is landing in KNOWHERE. Rocket says that this place looks deserted, and Gamora then sees a bunch of corpses in a big pile and claims that Thanos was here taking her Godkiller Sword out. Drax shouts out they were too late, he escaped again! Star-Lord tells the Destroyer to calm down, Knowhere's a big place, he might still be here. Jason then asks Mantis to look around and see if she can empathically sense anything in the area. She does as told and claims she only feels anxiety and suffering, but there are two living creatures a few blocks over. Gamora realizes that's where the Collector's Museum is and Rocket takes out his oversized gun telling the Guardians to follow his lead. The Guardians of the Galaxy all sneak into the Collector's museum where Thanos himself literally has Taneleer Tivan pined down under his boot. The Collector insists that he doesn't have anything that could be useful to him but the Mad Titan claims he knows that the Aether was added to the museum years ago, asking once again where it is. The Collector says he sold it, thought it was worthless, he couldn't have known it was an Infinity Stone. Thanos proclaims he's not surprised by his foolishness in that regard. The Reality Stone requires great imagination, something that the curator of this pathetic collection would be sorely lacking. For that is why he is of the chosen to be slain.

Gamora in her hiding place begins to notice small red pieces of mineral floating around the Museum and manages to grab one showing Jason, telling him it's the Reality Stone. Tivan dispersed it through the air in tiny fragments to hide it from Thanos. She can assemble them and then use the Reality Stone against Thanos, finally kill him. Jason says he loves her so much right now and kisses her on the cheek. Gamora starts subtly attracting the other pieces of the Aether over like a magnet and Drax meanwhile, on the other side of the room didn't hear any what she or Jason said. He begins taking out his knives claiming that on this day, his wife and daughter will be avenged. Rocket tries to warn him to be quiet but Drax pushes the Raccoon and Kanoot out of his way about to attack until Mantis puts her hand on his head and forces Drax to sleep. He collapses on the ground but the sound of Drax falling gets Thanos' attention. He slowly walks forward before Star-Lord jumps out and attacks him, the Mad Titan though uses the Power Stone to incapacitate Jason. Gamora tries to stab him with the Godkiller Sword but he grabs it mid air and kicks her down. She drops the Aether shards she was collecting and Thanos picks them up, observing that perhaps Tivan was more intellectually gifted then he thought. His daughter was equally clever to observe it, always reassuring to know he raised her to value her mind alongside her fists.

The Zen-Whoberi responds saying that she only ever had one father in her life, and his name was Adam. Thanos snarls at her and uses the Soul Stone, claiming she's missing something inside of her, a little piece around the center. Adam would never confess it, but sacrificing one's own soul is the ultimate insult to life, he's proud of her for it. Thanos then quickly assembles all the Aether shards forming them into the Reality Stone and adding it to the Infinity Gauntlet. Rocket finishes buffering his gun modification and goes tries to shoot it at Thanos who uses the Reality Stone to turn the ammunition into water that spills out when the Raccoon pulls the trigger. Kanoot charges at him and Thanos warps reality turning him into blocks, Mantis looks horrified and Thanos does the same turning her into ribbons. They slowly start to come back together while Thanos looks around and announces for the sake of balance he'll spare them, this time. Soon they'll have nothing left but dust and blood. Reality then begins to warp around all the Guardians turning the entire world upside down for them as they all start falling endlessly.

Ebony Maw and Proxima Midnight are shown quietly operating the Q-Ship controls with the Tesseract stored behind them in a force field. The Secret Avengers are still stowed away on board overlooking the Tesseract, Black Widow commenting there's no way any of them can get through that protective shield. Nomad simply replies to her "then we fight" and jumps off the ledge down behind Maw and Proxima. All the Secret Avengers jump down too and Steve gets their attention, insisting they're just here to take back what's theres. Ebony Maw claims they're stubbornness is unjustified, for his powers far exceed theres. They all prepare to battle until Proxima begins using her Gravity Stick and Scarlet Witch blocks with her Telekinesis, the pressure builds up from both of them causing the Q-Ship to begin breaking and Maw warns his sister the Space Stone is more important than these idiots, let them die slowly. He shuts off the force fields and grabs the Tesseract teleporting both him and Proxima out of the Q-Ship. Quicksilver asks where they went and Nomad explains they used the Tesseract to teleport off the ship, they're gone. Falcon looks around before announcing that they all better get comfortable, there's no food or water anywhere on this thing and are about a billion miles from Earth. Wanda suggests they work the controls, try to go back the way they came. Nomad takes her advice but claims it's fingerprint locked, stuck on some sort of autopilot. Natasha sits down saying they're only hope to just wait and hope someone finds them...

In WASHINGTON D.C. T'Challa is walking outside of the Triskelion where he's greeted by Thor. The God of Thunder shaking his hand claiming that he's heard a lot of about Wakanda and the Black Panther responding he's heard the same of Asgard. Thor says that he wishes they could be meeting under better circumstances but T'Challa insists a a second alien invasion is as good a reason as any to make new friends. Tony Stark is walking in the lobby until coming across the Cloak of Levitation simply moving on its own startling him, before returning to Doctor Strange. He asks Strange what kind of technology he uses to do what he does. Atomic destabilizers built into his arms, Strange simply claims it's magic, no tech involved, sarcastically apologizing to him that he can't replicate it in the next Iron Man suit. Tony says he's been at this for eight years now and he's seen some crazy stuff, never magic though, because it doesn't exist. Everything can be explained with science even his "balloon animals". If he doesn't want to tell him that's fine, but don't insult his intelligence. Strange sighs and tells Tony if magic is too crude of a word for him, he can think of what he does as a program that manipulates reality's source code. There are dimensions all around them that make up existence and magic is the ability to harness the energy that holds them all in place. Tony at a loss for words, tell him they should probably head upstairs.

In the Director's Office, Maria Hill exclaims that the world's on fire. S.H.I.E.L.D., Asgard, Wakanda, Kamar Taj, and the Avengers all need to formulate an alliance to get things under control again. Tony says they already killed one of his lackeys, they just have to find and take out the others. Thor warns Stark Thanos has the largest army in the universe, they're called the Black Order and consist of genetically engineered killing machines called Outriders. They live for nothing but to kill and destroy any unfortunate souls they're unleashed upon. Strange says if they can't stop Thanos personally they just have to keep the Infinity Stones out of his grasp. Thor insists the Time Stone is already secure in the Nine Realms they can't keep the Mind Stone there as well, two Infinity Stone kept in such a close vicinity would be extremely unwise. T'Challa says then they need to take the Mind Stone to Wakanda, they are the most secure nation on Earth, it will be safe there. Doctor Strange responds to Black Panther he knows his country is incredibly advanced, but his magic can offer more than Vibranium ever could. Black Panther rhetorically asks what happened to the Tesseract under his watch. Strange says excuse me and T'Challa clarifies that he just wants a chance to help the world in the ways his forefathers never did. Wakanda opened its borders exactly for this reason, to offer aid in times of hardship. Thor adds on the Black Order already acquired the Space Stone which would give them access to universal travel, magic will be less than useful against the Tesseract's might.

Hill says another factor they need to consider is what's the most comfortable for Vision, the Synthezoid speaks up asking what if it didn't. He's been thinking recently about the Mind Stone and his own existence, he was created from a amalgamation between many different programs J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, Cyberspace, etc. The stone is just one part of that, if with they can remove it somehow they might still be able to preserve his base consciousness. Tony tells him no, he's wrong. When he was making J.A.R.V.I.S. he couldn't crack sentience. He was like Friday or Siri just lines of code that only existed as a response to something else, unable to survive on its own. Ultron couldn't make it work either, that's why he needed the Stone. That was the only way he could give Vision life at all, he can't exist without it. No Mind Stone, no Vision. Director Hill claims it's settled then, Vision goes to Wakanda and it becomes their center of operations until this blows over. Thor advises Black Panther that he and Strange and should escort Vision personally into his Kingdom, they're the most powerful and will be able to keep him safe under the event they're ambushed again. T'Challa says W'Kabi will escort them through the secret entrance but Doctor Strange insists that's not necessary creating a portal that teleports him, Thor and Vision out of the office. T'Challa asks what just happened and Tony says not to get him started.

Millions of years ago on TITAN once again the planet is shown to be colorful and fully inhabited by a race of humanoid people called Eternals. They're all shown living peacefully and inside a medical facility Sui-San is in labor being comforted by her husband A'Lars. Despite the medical droids using all of their advanced Eternal medical technology, Sui-San is still in extreme pain giving birth, A'Lars telling her it will all be worth it when they see Thanos for the first time. They all finally hear crying until the baby is born with purple skin and unusual features. Sui-San and A'Lars ask what's wrong with their son and the Medical Droid diagnose him with Deviant Syndrome. Sui-San says she can't raise this monster and tries to kill the baby but A'Lars stops her, saying irregardless if he's a Deviant Thanos is still their son, and they can't kill him. Sui-San says they'll keep him, but she'll never love him, A'Lars claims nobody will. Years pass as it shows Thanos as a child frail and starving locked inside of a cellar chained to the wall begging for his ration of food. Sui-San outside the door hears his pleas but simply ignores him.

Thanos falls to the ground and begins to slowly die from hunger, until seeing a beautiful woman standing over him that he's enamored by. She gently places her palm on Thanos' cheek and tells him it's alright, she's here to help him move on. Thanos says she's his savior and tries to touch the woman grabbing her breast, the second his flesh makes contact they start communicating with each over through emotions, the Deviant child feeling love for the first time. The woman looks startled claiming he shouldn't be able to do that and Thanos begs her to hold him again. The woman gets up and without saying anything leaves despite Thanos calling out for her to come back. He then finds the strength to physically break out of his bindings and exit the cellar. It then shows in the wilderness of Titan, two teenagers named Sogarth and Loktus have snuck off to make out. Thanos that same night is exploring the outside for the first time taking in the fresh air until seeing Sogarth and Loktus in the distance, without a second thought he grabs a stone off the ground and proceeds to violently beat them. The teenagers soon wake up bound and gagged in the cellar next to Sui-San with Thanos preparing surgical blades. He tells all of them he'll never forget this moment and proceeds to violently stab all three of them each kill allowing him to feel empathically communicate love to the woman once again.

All of this is revealed to be witnessed by Thanos on the Dark Aster using the Reality Stone to relive his past. He exits his quarters and only to see Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive waiting for him in the throne room. Thanos demands they show him the stones. Maw takes out the Tesseract and bends down on one knee, proclaiming that he bows before his grandeur as no other being since Tryco Slatterus, the legendary Champion of the Universe, has one had the nobility to wield four Infinity Stones. Thanos picks up the Tesseract and crushes the casing in his fist, adding the Space Stone into his Infinity Gauntlet. The Mad Titan then looks over at Corvus Glaive asking if Cull Obsidian's sacrifice was worth it, if that it was it took to bring the Mind Stone here. Corvus claims Cull was a casualty, not a sacrifice, apologizing to his father. Thanos comments Cull will find peace in Death's embrace, but Corvus failed their family. That cannot go unpunished. It will be him this time. He grabs Corvus by the arm and begins dragging him into torture chamber, Proxima telling her brother she's sorry for what's about to happen. Thanos places him in a holding device and begins using the Power Stone to torture Corvus to the point of near death. While he's second away of dying Thanos places his hand on his head and starts empathically feeling and communicating his love to the woman from his past. The holding device brings Corvus back to life and Thanos notices the feeling begin to disappear. Thanos uses the Soul Stone to try and keep it going until he notices himself transported into the Idyllic Soul World.

There, he's laying in the shallow water staring up into its orange sky until getting up to see Adam Warlock standing over him. Thanos calls out his name and Adam simply observes that he used to dread this place, but after leaving the world he once knew behind, all he can see is beauty. Thanos chuckles claiming he didn't think he'd give up so easily. Adam reminds Thanos that he's dead, all that stands before him is the raw unfiltered soul of the man he once knew. Losing his life has been truly enlightening. At his core he doesn't feel hope, dread, empathy, or even awe, "I only feel you". On Knowhere, the Guardians finally stop falling and all slowly get up. Rocket comments that was a complete disaster and Jason responds with a sarcastic "you think?". Gamora points Thanos hasn't won yet, there are Infinity Stones on Terra, they can go there and protect them, this time they'll be ready. Jason quickly tells her no and Gamora asks why not and Jason says he hasn't been on Terra since he was nine years old, he can't go back. They should just find the Time Stone and protect that instead.

Gamora says the universe is two steps away from collapsing and he doesn't want to help stop it because going to Earth would be uncomfortable for him. Rocket adds on saying no one knows where the Time Stone is anyway, if they're serious about stopping Thanos from getting the other Stones they have go to Terra, there's no other way around it. Jason yells out to just drop him off with Korg then until this is all over. Because he's not setting foot there no matter what. Gamora wonders if he's seriously this petty and Jason insists he doesn't have a choice. Rocket asks what that means and Mantis places her hand on Jason's shoulder explaining that he feels near paralyzed with anxiety over the prospect of having to relive the pain of going to the place where his mother died and having all the Guardians, who look up to him as a hero, seeing such a vulnerable side of himself. Jason is embarrassed but still thanks Mantis for vocalizing his internal feelings like that. Drax however chimes in insisting that they're all thinking about protecting these worthless Infinity Stones when they should be discussing how best way to end Thanos! He's the one responsible for all this, instead of trying to guess what he'll do next they need to take the fight to him! Jason likes the idea and Rocket says Thanos didn't leave too long ago, they might be able to find the Dark Aster somewhere in this Quadrant.

On the Q-Ship, Nomad is sitting down with Black Widow. Steve asks her how long they've got and Natasha says from the looks of it they'll probably be out of oxygen by tomorrow morning. Out of everything she's done in her life getting to this point, she didn't think this would be the way she'd go. Nomad points out they won't die, their friends will but they're both super soldiers, their lungs will keep regenerating for weeks at least. It's not fair, he doesn't have anymore of a right to live then they do. Natasha tells him he didn't choose to be like this but Steve confirms to her he did. Erskine gave him an offer and he accepted it because he wanted to help people. He failed to do that after Bucky died, that's why he had to give up his flags. Now it's going to happen again and all he can do is sit here and watch. Natasha holds his hand and tells Steve no matter what happens, she happy to always be here with him, always together 'till the end of the line. They then kiss each other and on the other side of the Q-Ship Scarlet Witch is talking with Quicksilver, asking him how his back is doing. Pietro tells his sister that he wanted to help, snatch the Tesseract before either of those alien freaks could blink. He then says if he ever sees Vision again, he doesn't care if he can't run, he will make him pay for this.

At Avengers Tower, Hawkeye is working with Bruce to help load cargo boxes full of equipment to Wakanda discussing how Ant-Man and the Wasp would've been helpful in this right about now if they weren't under house arrest. Spider-Man meanwhile is looking out the window until Tony Stark walks next to him and asks if he's enjoying the view. Peter says the Midtown Bus used to go by Avengers Tower everyday, he even climbed up onto the A multiple times, but never thought he'd actually be able to stand inside as an actual Avenger. He tells Tony that he's sorry for judging him, he used to think he was an uptight rich douchebag but he is the man. Peter tries to fist bump Stark but he rejects it saying they need to discuss something. That he's having a kid, Peter congratulates him but Tony says it's given him some perspective. When he learned Spider-Man's true identity he was surprised to see how young he was, but he didn't think about it, until now. If he lets him come with the Avengers to Wakanda, Peter has to follow their lead, not recklessly jump into danger like he normally does. Tony then says he sees a lot of himself in Peter. Smart, snarky, wants to grab the world by its ears and never let go. But that most of important of all they both know what it's like to feel guilt. To know what it feels like to have bad things happen to good people because of you, and now to think about what Tony would feel like if something happened to him. Peter says that he understands, he'll be a team player.