The Infinity Gauntlet

While Avengers 3 is using 1992’s The Infinity War as its title, very little from that story is likely to make it into the movie. Instead, its predecessor The Infinity Gauntlet will be partially adapted. In this comic book arc, following the events of 1990’s Silver Surfer #34 and The Thanos Quest, The Mad Titan has collected all of the Infinity Stones. Written by Jim Starlin with art by George Perez and Ron Lim, 1991’s The Infinity Gauntlet sees Thanos use his unprecedented power to impress the living embodiment of Death. Future comics would later flesh out this relationship, but The Infinity Gauntlet kicks off with the Silver Surfer crashing into Doctor Stranger’s Sanctum Sanctorum - an event Avengers: Infinity War will pay homage to - and warning of Thanos’ newly-acquired power.

Shortly afterwards, the Mad Titan decides to wipe out half of all life in the universe with a snap of his fingers. This leads to the remaining heroes of Earth, including Adam Warlock, heading to Thanos and trying to stop him. Eventually, Nebula gains the Gauntlet and undoes everything before Warlock himself takes control of the Gauntlet, which leads into The Infinity War.

While the story of The Infinity War won’t have any real parallels in the MCU, given that characters like Warlock don’t even exist (yet), it’s clear so far that The Infinity Gauntlet won’t be that consequential either. Sure, there will be plenty of nods and homages and Nebula will likely play a role in defeating her father, but Thanos coming to Earth alone is a huge deviation from the source material. Instead, another Infinity Stone story looks to be the basis of much of Avengers: Infinity War.

Jonathan Hickman’s Infinity

For the full rundown on how Avengers: Infinity War will adapt Jonathan Hickman’s Infinity, check out our article breaking down the similarities. Suffice it to say that a number of major moments from the 2013 comic event will serve as jumping off points for next year’s film. For one, Thanos actually comes to Earth seeking the Infinity Stone, and oncd there he battles the combined forces of the planet. His goal, rather than impressing Death, is to find his long-lost son Thane. The former event is more likely to play into Avengers 3, but Thanos’ son could factor into the future of the MCU. The more crucial element of Infinity is that it introduces the Black Order and the Outriders.

Thanos’ top generals in the comics, 4 of the 5 members of the Black Order, will be remade as the Mad Titan’s adopted children in Avengers: Infinity War. We’ve already seen teases of each fighting the Avengers, with Black Dwarf’s invasion of Wakanda looking like it will be ripped straight from the page. Joining the warrior in that conflict are the alien Outriders, Thanos army that can be seen fighting Captain America and Black Panther in the trailer. Once the film arrives, we’ll likely see even more nods to Infinity, but it’s not the only contemporary comic that Avengers 3 will partially adapt.

Secret Avengers

Following the Skrull-centered Secret Invasion, Marvel’s next two events dealt heavily with the fallout of the event. Dark Reign and Siege both got very political and their aftermath led to 2010’s Secret Avengers by Ed Brubaker. The man responsible for Bucky Barnes resurrection as the Winter Soldier married the concept of a black ops team with an Avengers unit led by Steve Rogers. While Bucky served as Captain America, Steve gathered characters like Black Widow, Moon Knight, Valkyrie, and War Machine for off-the-books missions that the more visible branches of the Avengers couldn’t handle.

Over the next five years, the lineup would change while writers like Warren Ellis, Rick Remender, and Nick Spencer took over writing. The final version was the most surreal, bringing in a number of MCU heroes and featuring stories with MODOK, spirit quests, and all sorts of other bizarre shenanigans. The original iteration, however, is clearly the inspiration for Steve’s renegade heroes following the events of Captain America: Civil War. In fact, many of the heroes in that epic Cap-led run in Wakanda from the trailer have served time as Secret Avengers. And Steve’s new suit is a direct homage to the outfit he wore in Brubaker’s original book. We probably won’t get much with the team, but the film will likely kick off with them running covert missions. And with Phase 4 said to feature more grounded stories, it wouldn’t be surprising if a Secret Avengers film is in the works.

The Vision & Scarlet Witch and House of M

While the influence of the previous comic storylines can easily be seen, the ongoing arc of the Vision and Scarlet Witch in the comics looks to play a major role in Avengers 3 and 4. Civil War teased a romance between Vision and Wanda, but the poster and trailer for Avengers: Infinity War show that it will be in full bloom for the new film. This more or less resembles the coupling that played out in the ’80s, in both Avengers and the series The Vision and Scarlet Witch by writers Bill Mantlo and Steve Englehart.

What followed was years of complex comic storylines that eventually led to the Vision and Scarlet Witch having two kids. The twists and turns that follow are difficult to summarize, but Wanda eventually loses the kids and her memory of them, which leads to a mental breakdown and an onslaught of her reality-warping powers. This culminates in Brian Michael Bendis’ House of M from 2005, where Scarlet Witch creates an alternate reality where her family are royalty and mutants reign supreme under Magneto. When this is undone, Wanda utters her infamous words, “No more mutants,” and radically changes the Marvel Universe.

Naturally, most of this won’t occur in the MCU (especially given that mutants don’t exist). But it’s becoming clearer and clearer that some version of these events will play out in the next two Avengers films. There’s been a casting call for twin baby boys, possibly hinting that William and Thomas will appear in some form. And it looks all but guaranteed that Hawkeye will become Ronin for Avengers 4. This happens after the hero returns from being killed by Wanda, with evidence suggesting perhaps Clint’s family will die during Avengers: Infinity War instead. Again, this may not be because of Wanda, but elements of House of M and the long relationship between Vision and Scarlet Witch looks like it will factor into Avengers 3 next year.

Original Sin and Beyond

Like the House of M inspirations, parts of Jason Aaron’s 2014 Original Sin book look to play out in Avengers: Infinity War. The story involve Uatu the Watcher’s murder and the revelation of dark secrets across the Marvel Universe. But Aaron’s work on Thor led to a massive status quo change: the God of Thunder becoming unworthy.

Thor: Ragnarok has already given us a variation of these events, with Thor losing Mjolnir. Rather than being dubbed unworthy and unable to lift it, however, it was simply destroyed. Still, the idea of Thor a shell of his former self, heading towards a future as Asgard’s ruler, and in possession of the axe Jarnbjorn are all going to play out in Avengers: Infinity War. Because of that, we could see even more nods toward the event and its aftermath across the next two Avengers film, possibly even leading to Jane Foster becoming Thor herself.

Along with these bigger moments that will affect the story of Avengers: Infinity War, dozens of other comic book moments will also receive nods and homages in the film. From what we’ve seen already there’s plenty we can identify. Spider-Man’s new costume, for instance, combines his Iron Spider suit from Civil War in the comics, along with his Big Time suit and his more recent costume from Dan Slott’s Amazing Spider-Man. And speaking of Tony’s tech, it’s looking increasingly clear that Bruce Banner will pilot the Hulkbuster armor just like he did in the comics.

The Guardians of the Galaxy meeting the Avengers is also something that has a few connections to the comics. Though they’ve fought together plenty of times, the MCU iteration of the Guardians joined up with the Avengers in issue #6 of 2012’s Avengers Assemble by Brian Michael Bendis. Not only did that predate the Guardians’ arrival in the MCU by two years, but the book itself was based on the cinematic Avengers team and meant to promote the film. Another connection, meanwhile, is how Thor meets the Guardians out in space as he’s floating adrift. This moment loosely mirrors how the team encountered the mysterious Angela, before she was later revealed to be Thor’s long-lost sister.

The more we learn about the film, the more of these nods and references we’ll notice. In the meantime, let us know what other comics you think will be influencing Avengers: Infinity War in the comments.

  • Thor: Ragnarok Release Date: 2017-11-03 Black Panther Release Date: 2018-02-16 Avengers: Infinity War Release Date: 2018-04-27 Ant-Man 2 Release Date: 2018-07-06 captain marvel Release Date: 2019-03-08 spider-man homecoming 2 Release Date: 2019-07-02 The Avengers 4 Release Date: 2019-04-26