Everything You Need To Know Before Watching Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War is almost here. The studio's biggest and most ambitious film to date, it marks the beginning of the end of the first three Phases of the franchise and will act as a celebration of how far the MCU has come since it all started with Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man back in 2008. As such, it will feature every hero still rolling around the shared universe coming together against the awesome might of Thanos. But seeing as there are so many Avengers at this point, it's hard for even the most ardent fans to keep track of them all. For instance, you have the original six founding members, then the second generation of the team that debuted in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Plus, there's also a handful of extra allies for both Team Iron Man and Team Cap that signed up in Captain America: Civil War, not to mention those loose cannons that operate on their own side. Oh, and let's not forget the Guardians of the Galaxy up in space. So, how are you meant to remember which characters are going to appear in Avengers: Infinity War and where the heroes will start out at the beginning of the movie? Well, luckily for you, we've got you covered, as what you'll find here is a complete guide to every superhero taking part in the upcoming film, which finally arrives in cinemas in just a few short weeks on April 27th. Let's dive in, shall we? Iron Man First Seen: Iron Man (2008) Last Seen: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) Current Situation: Though he once retired from active superhero duty, Tony Stark is currently the leader of the official team of Avengers, following the internal conflict that split the gang over the Sokovia Accords. He's also recently taken Peter Parker under his wing, designing tech for the teenage hero and inviting him to join the Avengers. When it comes to his personal life, Tony and Pepper Potts have reconciled after they took a brief break back in 2016. In fact, the very last scene we saw him in, Tony was potentially about to propose to Pepper in front of a press conference. Captain America First Seen: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Last Seen: Captain America: Civil War (2016) Current Situation: He used to be the beloved public face of the Avengers, but Steve Rogers' anti-authoritarian stance on the enforcement of the Sokovia Accords turned his life around. He and his team were last seen going underground after escaping from the Raft prison facility. However, they've not given up being heroes. In a nod to the Secret Avengers from the comics, Steve and his allies have been undertaking covert missions that allow them to help people without being detected. Most notably, Rogers has abandoned his Captain America mantle. Thor First Seen: Thor (2011) Last Seen: Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Current Situation: Thor was carrying out a galaxy-wide quest to locate the Infinity Stones, but this was cut short when he had to save his homeworld of Asgard from his evil sister Hela in Ragnarok. The planet's time was up, though, and Thor could only rescue his people and cart them off on a refugee ship. With his father Odin's death, Chris Hemsworth's fan favorite is now the King of Asgard. Last we saw him, he'd lost his eye and had taken to wearing an eye patch. Hulk First Seen: The Incredible Hulk (2008) Last Seen: Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Current Situation: After leaving Earth in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Hulk ended up on the planet Sakaar and became a gladiator in the Grandmaster's Contest of Champions. He later joined Thor in his fight against Hela. After two years in charge, Bruce Banner finally gained control again, though he voluntarily let the Hulk back out when the Jade Giant was needed. Before he transformed, Banner feared that he would never return, but promos for Infinity War have confirmed that this was unfounded as he's still able to switch between his two forms. Spider-Man First Seen: Captain America: Civil War (2016) Last Seen: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) Current Situation: These have been a crazy couple of years for Peter Parker. First, he was bitten by a radioactive spider (off-screen) and his uncle died (presumably), then he was recruited by Tony Stark to help him out in a battle against Captain America's rogue heroes. Armed with a Stark-made super-suit, Peter protected his hometown of Queens as (a friendly neighbourhood) Spider-Man. After stopping the supervillain known as the Vulture, however, Peter was offered a place as an official Avenger - which came with the perk of an upgraded suit. Black Panther First Seen: Captain America: Civil War (2016) Last Seen: Black Panther (2018) Current Situation: Back in 2016, Prince T'Challa lost his father King T'Chaka when Zemo orchestrated an attack on the United Nations Sokovia Accords summit. Later that week, he returned to his home country of Wakanda to be crowned king. Unfortunately, his first few weeks as monarch were far from easy, as his ruthless cousin usurped the throne. Once he got it back, T'Challa decided to end Wakanda's isolationism and shared its technology and resources with the world. When Infinity War kicks off, it'll have been two to three years since we last saw the heroic king. Guardians Of The Galaxy First Seen: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Last Seen: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) Current Situation: Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot are two-time Galaxy savers, having prevented both Ronan and Ego from causing untold chaos. Both of these incidents took place several years ago, though, so when we catch up with the team in Infinity War they'll be a much better functioning family unit than we've previously seen. Also, Groot will have grown into adolescence and Mantis will be an accepted member of the group. From what we've glimpsed in the trailers so far, the Guardians will come into contact with Thor at the start of the movie and split up in order to battle Thanos. Black Widow First Seen: Iron Man 2 (2010) Last Seen: Captain America: Civil War (2016) Current Situation: Natasha Romanoff was initially on Tony Stark's side in the Sokovia Accords conflict but later defected to Team Cap (she has a history of changing her allegiances, after all). After helping him break the rest of Team Cap out of the Raft, she and Steve went underground and have been operating in secret, which has led her to change her look. We know that Natasha still has feelings for Bruce, though they haven't seen each other in years, and we expect that this will be addressed in Infinity War. Doctor Strange First Seen: Doctor Strange (2016) Last Seen: Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Current Situation: With the Ancient One gone, Stephen Strange and Wong are now Earth's primary mystical defenders. He's previously aided Thor in finding his father, but Infinity War will mark the sorcerer's first team-up with the Avengers as a whole. The greatest weapon in Strange's arsenal is the Time Stone, one of the Infinity Stones Thanos is after. This will likely make him both a big asset and a potential victim in the film. We also know that Doctor Strange will mostly be paired with Iron Man and Spider-Man in Infinity War. White Wolf First Seen: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Last Seen: Black Panther (2018) Current Situation: Bucky Barnes has now been freed from his cryogenic suspension and cured of his HYDRA brainwashing by Black Panther's genius sister Shuri. He's currently living low in Wakanda, where he's gained the nickname "White Wolf." His bionic arm has been replaced with another updated version made from vibranium and Bucky will join the fight against Thanos' forces when the Avengers make Wakanda the location of their last stand against the Mad Titan's army. Scarlet Witch And Vision First Seen: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)/Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) Last Seen: Captain America: Civil War (2016) Current Situation: Wanda Maximoff and Vision developed a connection back in Civil War, though they ended up on separate sides of the Sokovia Accords conflict. However, there were no long-lasting hard feelings and, once Wanda broke out of the Raft, she and Vision left the buzz of the Avengers behind to start a life together. By the time of Infinity War, the couple are very much in love, but tragedy will strike when Thanos sends his Black Order to reclaim the Infinity Stone stuck in the android's head. War Machine First Seen: Iron Man (2008) Last Seen: Captain America: Civil War (2016) Current Situation: When the Avengers split in two during the Sokovia Accords conflict, of course Rhodey sided with his best pal Tony Stark. However, he took the worst hit of anyone during the battle - and from friendly fire, too. Vision accidentally hit him with a rogue blast and Rhodey was left unable to walk. Thanks to some state-of-the-art Stark tech, though, Rhodey was able to regain the use of his legs. Come Infinity War, he'll have healed enough to don his War Machine armor once again. Falcon First Seen: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) Last Seen: Captain America: Civil War (2016) Current Situation: Much like Rhodey did with Iron Man, Sam Wilson showed unwavering loyalty to his good friend Steve Rogers during the Civil War incident and stuck by Cap through thick and thin. When the conflict turned against Steve's band, Sam was locked up in the Raft along with the rest of his teammates. Rogers and Romanoff later freed them all, however. After that, Sam continued serving by his old friends' side and helped the pair with their underground hero missions. Ant-Man First Seen: Ant-Man (2015) Last Seen: Captain America: Civil War (2016) Current Situation: When Scott Lang became Ant-Man, he hoped that he was moving away from his criminal past and becoming a hero. However, it wasn't long before he ended up locked back in a cell. When Falcon contacted him, Scott jumped at the chance to fight alongside his idol Captain America but this landed him a spot in the Raft when Team Iron Man won. He was released with the rest when Steve Rogers freed them, but this has left him a fugitive from the law once again. It's unknown how large (or small) a role Ant-Man will play in Infinity War, but we imagine he won't be too involved. Hawkeye First Seen: Thor (2011) Last Seen: Captain America: Civil War (2016) Current Situation: After the events of Age of Ultron, and the birth of his third child, Clint Barton retired from active superhero duty to spend more time with his family. However, he volunteered to go back into action again to serve alongside Team Cap during the conflict over the Sokovia Accords. This caused him to be incarcerated in the Raft for a while, though he eventually escaped. It's thought that he returned to his wife and kids afterwards, with the Bartons probably having to find a new safe house. Much like Ant-Man, we don't currently know what role Hawkeye will fill in Infinity War, but we've been told that some exciting things are in store for him.