Where Every Avenger Is At the Beginning of Infinity War

The moment, and the movie, fans have waited for since the mid-credits of 2012's The Avengers finally arrives on Thursday with Avengers: Infinity War, as virtually every hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe unites to stop the threat posed by Thanos and his Black Order.

That's dozens of characters, spanning from 2008's Iron Man to 2018's Black Panther, which doesn't even take into account the armies of Wakanda or the Mad Titan's invading Outriders. And, as Infinity War opens, the familiar heroes are scattered from New York City to Wakanda to the far reaches of space.

But while Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther brought us at least somewhat up to date on the whereabouts of several of the key players, we're left with questions about the statuses of others, some of whom we haven't seen since 2016's Captain America: Civil War. Luckily, however, Marvel Comics' Avengers: Infinity War Prelude #1-2 fill in at least some of the gaps. So, let's get up to speed on where Earth's Mightiest Heroes (and friends) are as Infinity War opens.

Captain America, Black Widow & Falcon

At the end of 2016's Captain America: Civil War, a rogue Steve Rogers frees his comrades in arms -- Wanda Maximoff, Sam Wilson, Clint Barton and Scott Lang -- from The Raft, the high-security prison in the Atlantic Ocean designed to incarcerate those with enhanced abilities (and also Falcon, Hawkeye and Ant-Man, apparently). But Cap being Cap, his mission didn't end there.

As a recent clip from Avengers: Infinity War suggests, Rogers continued his partnership with Falcon and Black Widow, forming a sort of "Secret Avengers." The trio infiltrated terrorist cells trafficking in weapons of mass destruction modified with Chitauri technology salvaged in the aftermath of the Battle of New York in 2012's The Avengers, all while keeping Tony Stark in the dark. Whether this is how they cross paths with Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, members of Thanos' Black Order, won't be known until Infinity War.

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Hawkeye & Ant-Man

The search for Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye and Paul Rudd's Ant-Man in the marketing for Infinity War has become a sort of Where's Waldo? of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, only far more difficult. That's fueled plenty of fan theories about the roles, and the whereabouts, of the two heroes as Thanos brings his quest for the Infinity Stones, and his plot to destroy half of all sentient life in the universe, to Earth.

However, we learn in Avengers: Infinity War Prelude #1 that, after being sprung from The Raft, Clint Barton announces, "I am officially retired now," and returns to his family with the blessing of Steve Rogers, who also sends Scott Lang on his way home. Although the setting of July's Ant-Man and The Wasp, which takes place between the events of Civil War and Infinity War, may complicate Ant-Man's involvement in the big battle, directors Joe and Anthony Russo have repeatedly assured there is a special part for Hawkeye.

Scarlet Witch & The Vision

As depicted in the trailers for Infinity War, Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany's The Vision reunite following Civil War to attempt to live a normal life, with the android assuming a more human appearance (that is, if you overlook the glowing Mind Stone embedded in the middle of his forehead).

But as we also see in the trailers, they're drawn back into action, whether by a call from Steve Rogers or by an attack by Black Order member Corvus Glaive, who attempts to retrieve the Mind Stone. Considering that both The Vision and the Scarlet Witch are inextricably connected to the Infinity Stones, no one expected them to sit out the big fight, and as we see in the promos for Infinity War, they're in the thick of the action in Wakanda.

Winter Soldier & Black Panther (& Shuri)

In the mid-credits scene of 2016's Captain America: Civil War, Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther granted asylum in Wakanda to Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, who was placed in cryogenic sleep until a way can be found to remove his Winter Soldier programming. Black Panther checked back in with Bucky in the post-credits sequence, where he's shown "cured," thanks to Letitia Wright's Shuri, and living peacefully in Wakanda, where the children refer to him as the White Wolf. While he sat out Black Panther, Bucky is obviously reunited with Steve Rogers in Infinity War, and part of the defense against the invasion by Thanos' forces.

Dubbed the smartest person in the world, Shuri is of course able to deprogram Bucky, but Avengers: Infinity War Prelude #1 makes it clear how precarious the process is. However, there's still time for the princess of Wakanda to enjoy one of her favorite pastimes: roasting the Science Bros of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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Tony Stark

When's he's not mentoring Peter Parker, as seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming, or being shut out of the activities of Captain America & Co., Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark apparently has spent his time kicking himself, resisting the urge to call Steve Rogers, perfecting his new bleeding-edge Iron Man armor, and being passive-aggressive, even in internal monologue. (Come on, Tony, you know you want have "to figure out how I can do it alone.")

Of course, the Infinity War trailers demonstrate that Tony isn't by himself in this fight. Although we're left to wonder when and how Iron Man reteams with Steve Rogers and the majority of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, we know he's partnered with Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and the Guardians of the Galaxy, off-planet.

Doctor Strange

Fans briefly caught up with Benedict Cumberatch's Doctor Strange in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, in which he helped Chris Hemsworth's thunder god and Tom Hiddleston's Loki to find their missing father Odin (if for no other reason that to usher the trickster back to Asgard as swiftly as possible). But in Marvel Comics' Avengers: Infinity War Prelude #2, we get a glimpse of what else the Master of the Mystic Arts has been up to: an education.

Set at the time of Strange's involvement in Ragnarok, the comic serves as a crash course on the Infinity Stones, and the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Wong (played by Benedict Wong) schools the Sorcerer Supreme on these powerful cosmic artifacts, and the grave threat posed by the mysterious Soul Stone.

Thor, the Hulk & the Guardians of the Galaxy

Audiences knew when watching the mid-credits scene of Thor: Ragnarok that no good could come from the encounter between the Asgardian refugee vessel and Thanos' flagship, Sanctuary II. What we've been able to piece together from the trailers and clips for Infinity War would seem to confirm that, with bodies of Asgardians scattered around the floor of a ship, Loki seemingly handing over the Tesseract to the Mad Titan or his minions, Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner hurled across the galaxy, to plummet through the roof of Doctor Strange's New York Sanctum, and Chris Hemsworth's Thor placed on a collision course with the Guardians of the Galaxy's Milano.

Banner sounds the alarm on Earth, warning Tony Stark and Doctor Strange of the threat posed by Thanos, and Thor brings the Guardians into the fight, but we're still left to wonder what exactly took place in that deep-space confrontation, and what happened to Loki, Heimdall and the others.

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 April 27.