What I Wanted From Avengers: Infinity War/What I Want From Avengers 4

(This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Avengers: Infinity War and its proceeding movies) Avengers: Infinity War was a big cinematic event ten years in the making, one that in some ways paid off. However, for a film that juggles so much, I felt that there were some things set up in previous films that weren’t totally paid off. After marathoning the thirteen Marvel films I own (excluding Ant-Man, simply because I heard he wasn’t in the film, and The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Doctor Strange, and of course Black Panther since I don’t own them on DVD), I almost felt dissatisfied, as if the payoff wasn’t quite worth the build up. Of course, Avengers 4 is in some ways a part two for the story, so some of these things could be addressed in the next film. It didn’t help that the marketing for Infinity War made me forget about the fourth film going into the theater, but having seen this film, they still have time to address what’s been set-up in other films. Here are things I was hoping to see in Infinity War and (with some exceptions) what I want to see in Avengers 4. (These are based on expectations from the previous films, and I am only vaguely familiar with the comics. I am not taking the TV shows in mind. Also, I’ve only seen the film once so forgive me if I get some details incorrect, and these don’t include the obvious questions of where Hawkeye, Ant-Man and Valkyrie were.)

Rhodes Being Healed From Paralysis in Wakanda (Or At Least Some Ramifications) While Civil War does imply that Rhodey is learning to walk again, I was hoping that Infinity War would address this major ramification from that film. After Shuri healed Everett Ross easily in Black Panther, there were some fan theories that he could be healed in Wakanda. Granted, Stark could have easily created some sort of tech to have him walk normally, but I would have liked it to be mentioned at least and I doubt Avengers 4 will do that. What Happened to Xandar? (And More of a Reaction From the Guardians) The movie does mention what happened to Xandar and we do see Quill’s reaction, but I would have liked to see one of the Guardians mention to Thor how they tried to save that planet, which would have raised the stakes since in the end, their work from their first film was ultimately in vain (granted, half the population might still be alive, but Thor did say “decimated”). Avengers Reacting to Thor’s Eyepatch I was really hoping Thor’s fellow Avengers would react to his eyepatch, but Rocket gave him a new eye before that could happen.

More Fallout From Wakanda’s Decision to Go Public Black Panther made a big deal about Wakanda opening its doors to the world at the end of its movie, so I was hoping that some of those ramifications would be seen. I’m guessing Stark’s new suit using nano-technology was possible from Wakandan technology (correct me if I’m wrong on that) but other than that, I didn’t really sense any impact on the film. Sure, they are willing to fight alongside the other Avengers, but they also knew T’Challa before he presented at the UN in his solo film.

What Have the Guardians Been Doing? With the four to five-year time gap between Vol. 2 and Infinity War, I was hoping for more of an explanation of what the Guardians have been doing in that time, and based on what I’ve read, I’m not the only one wondering that. All we’re really given is that they have a new ship, Gamora and Peter are now a couple, and they are familiar enough with the Zune for them to be singing along with “Rubberband Man.” Rocket, the only surviving member, could still drop hints at what they’ve done in the past few years, and we still have Vol. 3 to find out. What Have Nick Fury and Maria Hill Been Up To? The post-credits scene hinted that they were working for someone, but considering that this is the first time we’ve seen them in Phase Three, hopefully we’ll get more of an explanation from Hawkeye or themselves if and when their deaths are reversed. More Repercussions From Star-Lord Losing His Powers When first watching Vol. 2, I was excited to see Star-Lord have celestial powers, thinking that would come in handy in Infinity War, only to be disappointed that losing them was the cost to killing his biological father. Considering that it was a big deal at the time, I figured that he would still be dealing with that. Quill does mention killing Ego, but I was hoping that there would be at least one line addressing the fact that Peter had powers that would have possibly been helpful in the fight. He’s the type of person who would point that out. Granted, some time has passed, so he might be over it, but considering it took twenty-six years for him to accept his mother’s death, that’s not guaranteed. Now it’s always possible that Ego was lying to try and get Peter to stop the bomb (and I’ve seen this theory floating around the internet), but that’s unlikely. More Reaction to a Talking Raccoon and a Talking Tree Thor has traveled the nine realms and knows what Groot is, but I was hoping for more of a WTF reaction from some of the other Avengers when they arrive on Earth. Granted, that shot with Rocket and Bucky was awesome and Captain America’s “I am Steve Rogers” response was appropriate and hilarious, but I was expecting a bit more of a surprise that despite all they’ve seen, Groot and Rocket could exist. After all, it’s what I was looking forward to the most after hearing that the Guardians would be joining the Avengers. However, Stark still hasn’t met those two Guardians, so here’s hoping that there’s at least a little bit of shock, if he’s still alive by the time Groot comes back. Fortunately Rocket’s still alive, so hopefully he and Stark will interact.

More Banner and Romanoff Banner and Romanoff did get a sweet reunion (though she shouldn’t have been surprised to see him since he’s the one who called them), but I wanted a longer moment between them. Considering that they both survived this movie, though, here’s hoping that it will come in Avengers 4. Fallout From Aunt May Discovering Peter’s Secret Identity Spider-Man: Homecoming ended on an excellent cliffhanger, having Aunt May finally learn that Peter was Spider-Man. I was hoping that a little of that fallout would be shown but considering that Peter’s intro sees him jump into the action almost immediately, that didn’t happen. However, if Aunt May survived and sees Tony when he returns to Earth, that could lead to a very emotional scene as she would most likely blame him for Peter’s death.

Does Pepper Still Have Extremis? At the end of Iron Man 3, Tony says that he “got Pepper sorted out.” While that implies that he got rid of her powers, it could also mean that he made them more dormant and less explosive, so it’s possible that she still has her powers, but has chosen not to use them. Since Pepper is confirmed to return to Avengers 4, presumably because she survived, if she still has powers, she could be useful to the team. Besides, I thought that seeing a superpowered Pepper in Iron Man 3 was awesome. Of course, there have been rumors that Pepper is pregnant in the upcoming film, so maybe she shouldn’t be fighting if that’s the case. Peter Quill on Earth (and Reunited With His Grandfather) Vol. 2 tackles the reason why Peter never returned to Earth, but I was hoping that the events of Infinity War would force him to return to Earth. Granted, he could still return from the dead in the fourth film and be forced to go back home then. Besides, his grandfather is still alive in Vol. 2, and being reunited with him could make for an emotional epilogue in the ending of Avengers 4. If not, hopefully Vol. 3 will address it. Shuri and Stark Meet Shuri proved in Black Panther (and briefly in Infinity War) that she is the smartest person in the MCU, and while she met Banner, she still hasn’t met Stark. As bleak as Avengers 4 might be (at least in the beginning), I totally want to see Tony react to Shuri’s level of intelligence. Steve Rogers/Tony Stark Reunion The strained relationship between Rogers and Stark is touched upon in Infinity War, but we never got to see them face-to-face. Since they both survived Thanos’ snap, it’s inevitable that this reunion will happen. They were originally supposed to be reunited in this film, but having it in the next film will hopefully make it more emotional since they’ve both lost loved ones. Speaking of which... No More Sokovia Accords If General Ross died after the snap, hopefully whoever’s left in charge will dismantle the Accords and let the Avengers do their jobs. If he is still alive, maybe he’ll come to his senses. (Maybe he’ll mention that his daughter, Betty, died after the snap, finally bringing a mention of her back to the MCU).

Permanent Deaths I went into Infinity War expecting some permanent deaths. While we got two for certain with Heimdal and Loki (who thankfully died a hero of sorts and not a total villain), but the deaths of Gamora and Vision are up-in-the-air, especially for the former. However, the fact that the original Avengers are the ones who survived doesn’t seem to be an accident. Here’s hoping that there are some real sacrifices and some actual losses in Avengers 4. Tony Stark Reunited With the Kid From Iron Man 3 I wasn’t expecting this for Infinity War, but Ty Simpkins is currently listed on IMDb as reprising his role as Harley Keener (the kid from Iron Man 3) to Avengers 4, and I really want that to be true. Considering that Tony just lost another kid he had mentored in Peter Parker, being reunited with Harley could be very emotional for him.

All the Avengers Together

Let’s face it. Infinity War was an Avengers film in name only. Heck, Civil War felt more like an Avengers film than this one, even if in the one scene in which they’re all together, they’re fighting each other. While it makes sense that everyone was split up since there was so much going on, I was disappointed that there wasn’t a single moment in which they were all together at once. Even the money shot of some of them running as a group was shot only for the trailers. Hopefully for Avengers 4, once everyone who was ashed comes back, they have at least one scene with everyone together.