TO ‘INFINITY’ AND BEYOND
New ‘Avengers’ boasts full lineup of Marvel superheroes
This week's “Avengers: Infinity War,” a movie touted to cost $300Mplus, is expected to not just slay the competition — there isn't any — but break records. And if you've seen the trailers, you've noticed that things look pretty crowded — that's because this Avengers outing boasts no fewer than 22 superheroes.
Do moviegoers need a Marvel degree to know what's happening and — more importantly — who's who in “Infinity War”?
For nonfanboys who have to ask, “Who are the Avengers?”, the answer is yes.
The Avengers made their big-screen debut in 2012's “The Avengers” as Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury commandeered the peacekeeping Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Marvel superheroes Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow and the Incredible Hulk.
They battled to save the world from evil Loki (Thor's brother).
In 2015's “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” there was a new enemy in James Spader's Ultron and additional Avengers Falcon, Vision and War Machine.
Now, feeling that bigger is always better, “Infinity War” adds Black Panther and his compatriots Ramonda, Okoye, M'Baku and Shuri as the Avengers enter the secret African kingdom of Wakanda.
Here, too, is Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Heimdall and, from “Guardians of the Galaxy,” stalwarts Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Nebula, Mantis, Groot and Rocket.
That's a huge character list to track — and for anyone who hasn't seen “Black Panther,” this “Infinity War” could seem like infinity with its 150-minute runtime.
That isn't likely if Thanos, the evil mastermind played by Josh Brolin (who stars next month in another Marvel sequel, “Deadpool 2,” and then in June's “Sicario” sequel), gets to kick the heavens and rain down terror on the forces for good.
Thanos is chasing, as Marvel villains have previously, the Infinity stone, one of six, that he believes is hidden in the Wakandan jungle. He needs all six to form a mystical gauntlet where he could bend, alter and disrupt laws of physics and even reality.
As Thanos' army invades Wakanda, earth's future is in the balance. This means that elemental facts of good versus evil apply and in that sense, any moviegoer should be able to follow.
Even if they don't have a Ph.D. in Marvel characters.