The long-anticipated teaser trailer for Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War finally arrived this morning, delivering most everything fans could have wanted -- and then some. Crammed within its nearly two and a half minutes of footage are alien invaders, widespread destruction, the armies of Wakanda and, yes, the Avengers reassembled, with some new allies.

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And at the center of it all is Thanos, with one eye on conquest and the other on the Infinity Stones.

Needless to say, there's a lot to unpack from this trailer, which answers some questions but raises so many more. It's a difficult task, but we try our best below.

Oh, No! ... Pepper?

At the risk of starting out on a down note, the opening shot of Infinity War's teaser trailer does not bode well for Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts. Robert Downey Jr.'s tearful Tony Stark sits amid rubble, pressing his lips against a muddy -- or bloody -- hand. It's fairly clearly not his own, and its difficult to imagine what other character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe would stir that sort of reaction, or sentiment, from Tony Stark.

Welcome Back to Earth, Bruce Banner

In a callback of sorts to a scene from 2012's The Avengers, Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner awakes to find himself in a crater, although this time it's not in a warehouse. Instead, it's in the basement of the Sanctum Sanctorum, whose residents Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong) are unsurprisingly alarmed by his arrival through their roof, and staircase.

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We can safely presume the same encounter with Thanos' massive vessel Sanctuary II in Thor: Ragnarok's mid-credits scene that hurled Chris Hemsworth's thunder god across the galaxy delivered Banner back to Earth. We're left to wonder, though, what happened to the rest of the passengers aboard the Asgardian refugee ship, and what the odds are of Thor ending up in the vicinity of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Banner in Doctor Strange's home. Are those merely convenient coincidences that move the plot along, or is there an invisible hand at play as the heroes of the MCU march toward their showdown with Thanos?

New York City Street Fight

Strange, who previously met Thor and Tom Hiddleston's Loki, expands his Rolodex, not only with the unexpected visitation of Bruce Banner, but with the addition of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark. We previously caught glimpses of this team-up in leaked set photos, but this teaser trailer suggests that the fight against Thanos takes place on three primary fronts: in New York City, the traditional center of the Marvel Universe; in Wakanda, homeland of Black Panther; and in the outreaches of space, where Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy are (at least initially). Judging from later footage, we might surmise that New York City is the scene of the 0pening battle, which may not go well for the heroes, leading them to take a stand in Wakanda.

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Peter Parker's Spider-Sense Is Actually Tingling!

Some fans were dismayed that Spider-Man: Homecoming didn't depict the wall-crawler's signature Spider-Sense, that tingling feeling that warns Spider-Man of danger, but it's front and center in the trailer, in a novel way. As Tom Holland's teenage Peter Parker rides the school bus, the hairs on his arm stand up, causing him to look out the out the window at .... well, something.

What Is That Enormous Ouroboros-Like Machine?

What draws the attention of Peter Parker, and undoubtedly millions of other New Yorkers, is the enormous mechanical creation resembling an ouroboros floating amid the city's skyscrapers. Whatever it is, it certainly isn't good for New York or for Earth.

It's possible the circle is a portal through which Thanos' forces will arrive on Earth, or else an engine to power something else -- something worse.

Spider-Man's New Costume

Whatever the machine is, Spider-Man aims to stop it, while wearing his new costume. Long teased, and even leaked, it isn't the Iron Spider armor from Marvel Comics that some fans might have expected, at least in appearance. But given that the wall-crawler's previous costume possessed so many features not traditionally associated with the superhero -- artificial intelligence, a reconnaissance drone, etc. -- it's a safe bet this one has a few surprises. Maybe even supplemental mechanical arms.

Whose Side Is Loki On?

The teaser answers one major question, about whether Loki stole the Tesseract in Thor: Ragnarok, but raises another: Whose side is the god of mischief actually on? Besides his own, of course.

He's shown in the footage stepping over bodies -- are they those of the Asgardian refugees? -- to seemingly off up the Tesseract, the containment vessel for the Space Stone. As we later see Thanos add the stone to his Infinity Gauntlet, we might presume this scene takes place in the encounter with Sanctuary II, and Loki is presenting his prize to the Mad Titan or one of the members of his Black Order. If that's the case, was this Loki's game plan all along, to retrieve the Space Stone for his former ally? Or does the trickster have something else up his sleeve?

Thanos Arrives (and He's Ready to Fight)!

After spending years largely behind the scenes, or at least on the sidelines, of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Josh Brolin's Thanos at last takes the field, arriving amid a black cloud, appropriately enough. Although he has the Black Order, and an entire army, backing him up, the teaser trailer demonstrates that Mad Titan is finished just setting around and ordering others to do his bidding. He's ready to get his hands dirty.

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And he certainly does in this new footage, where he's shown fighting both Spider-Man and and Iron Man, knocking the latter to the ground with a punch from his Infinity Gauntlet-covered fist. He has a mean left hook.

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'Get This Man a Shield'

No matter whether he goes by Captain America, Nomad or simply Steve Rogers in Avengers: Infinity War, Chris Evans' hero knows how to make an entrance, catching a spear thrown by Proxima Midnight of Thanos' Black Order. However, it's the instructions delivered by Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) that really make this moment: "Evacuate the city," says the king of Wakanda, "engage all defenses, and get this man a shield."

Rogers of course gave up Captain America's iconic shield (and signature weapon) following the events of Captain America: Civil War, which tore the Avengers apart, and pitted him against Tony Stark.

A Feat Suited For a God

There's an undeniable mythological quality -- think Hercules or Samson -- to Chris Hemsworth's standing at the center of this enormous cosmic machine, using all of his Asgardian might to destroy, or at least stop, it. We might assume this is the other end of the portal shown earlier in the sky above New York City, suggesting that Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy may spend a significant portion of Infinity War in deep space, attempting to cut off Thanos' invasion at its source.

Is It Now Called the Thanos-Buster Armor?

Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron makes a return in the Infinity War teaser, first with the glove in the apparent possession of Bruce Banner, and then in this shot. It's shown again later, during the epic Lord of the Rings-style battle in Wakanda, but we may not want to presume it's Tony Stark piloting the suit. Or, heck, maybe we should. But it's an interesting notion that someone else -- someone completely unexpected -- is within.

What Are Those Aliens?

They certainly appear to be Outriders, the insect/humanoid hybrids that served Thanos in Marvel Comics' Infinity crossover, where they were dispatched across the universe to find planets worthy of the Mad Titan's conquest. Apparently Earth met their standards, resulting in hundreds, if not thousands, of the aliens invading Wakanda.

The Vision's Infinity Stone

Lest we forget Thanos' goal is to assemble the Infinity Stones, the trailer depicts the Mind Stone being violently, and painfully, extracted from The Vision (Paul Bettany) by a member of the Black Order. The immediate question is, of course, is what having another of the six Infinity Stones means to Thanos' power, and his plans.

However, we also have to wonder what happens to The Vision once the Mind Stone is removed. After all, it's what granted both Ultron and The Vision sentience, and imbued the latter with his powers. Does he lose abilities, and his spark of humanity, or does he "die"?

Avengers (and Wakandans) Assemble!

It's virtually not to feel a little something when seeing this scene, which not only depicts Captain America and Black Panther leading an alliance of Avengers and Wakandans, but brings us War Machine back in action following his injuries in Civil War.

It's also worth noting that, despite T'Challa command to "get this man a shield," Captain America isn't carrying a shield here -- at least not in a traditional sense. He is, however, wearing some kind of gauntlets, suggesting that Shuri (Letitia Wright) may equip Steve Roger with energy shields, which in Marvel comics are produced from a wristband ... or gauntlet.

The Eye Has It

Our first clear look at Chris Hemsworth's god of thunder confirms that, yes, he still bears the wound of his fight with Cate Blanchett's Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. Although the Guardians of the Galaxy might scrounge a high-tech prosthetic, or Doctor Strange might conjure up another eye, for now the might Thor wears a patch, like his late father.

Enter ... the Guardians of the Galaxy

Finally, the fan-favorite Guardians of the Galaxy arrive, with Teen Groot in tow ... just in time for the teaser to end. We know from the footage screen in July at Comic-Con International that they rescue Thor in space, presumably where he's been floating since the encounter with Thanos' Sanctuary II in the mid-credits scene of Thor: Ragnarok.

Don't interpret their limited screen time in the teaser as a sign that their presence is diminished in Avengers: Infinity War, however. For instance, we know from an earlier tease that Chris Hemsworth was on the Atlanta set at the same time as Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland, so it's likely that Star-Lord, Tony Stark and Spider-Man share at least one scene. Plus, Karen Gillan is in the film, yet there's no Nebula in this brief scene. So, yeah, there will definitely be more Guardians.


Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War stars Robert Downey Jr., Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Olsen, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Bettany, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Benedict Wong, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland and Anthony Mackie. The film opens May 4, 2018.