WARNING: This article contains massive spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War, in theaters now.
Avengers: Infinity War is the culmination of the first decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, dating back to 2008's Iron Man. The filmmakers had their work cut out for them, as they were tasked with bringing together all of the characters fans know and love together in a story that pits them against the greatest threat they've ever faced: Thanos.
While the MCU is different from its comic book counterpart in some regards, it has remained true to the heroes that inhabit both. Even with its sprawling cast and plot threads that stretch back 10 years, Infinity War still managed to connect directly to the source material. Here, CBR runs down the biggest scenes from Joe and Anthony Russo's film that leaped straight from the comics page to the big screen.
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'Thanos Is Coming!'
The Infinity Gauntlet comic series by Jim Starlin, George Pérez and Ron Lim served as the biggest inspiration for Infinity War. In fact, the 1991 miniseries proved so important that its opening scene found itself at the start of the film, albeit with slight alteration to make it fit into the MCU.
The scene takes place in Doctor Strange's New York Sanctum, where the Sorcerer Supreme and his companion Wong are startled by the sudden arrival of a guest through their roof. In the film, Bruce Banner crashes from the sky right into the Sanctum, and warns, "Thanos is coming!"
This sequence is lifted straight from The Infinity Gauntlet #1. The only difference is that it's not Bruce Banner who crashes into Strange's home in the comic, but the Silver Surfer, who had come to warn Earth's heroes.
Attack on Manhattan
Not long after Bruce Banner arrives on Earth, Doctor Strange finds Tony Stark to reunite with his fellow science bro. However, the reunion between Stark and Banner is cut short by the arrival of the Thanos' elite warriors the Black Order, whose ship hovers over New York City. Then, Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian take to the streets, only to be met by Stark, Banner, Strange and Wong.
While the scene from the movie is its own, part of it appears inspired by New Avengers (Vol. 3) #8 by Jonathan Hickman and Mike Deodato, a tie-in to Hickman's sprawling Infinity event. Thanos' army arrives over New York, and Ebony Maw takes to the streets to pay Doctor Strange a visit in his Sanctum Sanctorum. Stark and Banner aren't present in the comic, and the outcome is much different, but the film does appear to have taken direct inspiration from this comic book.
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Doctor Strange vs. Ebony Maw
After Ebony Maw found his way into Strange's Sanctum, he attacks the Sorcerer Supreme in Hickman and Deodato's New Avengers (Vol. 3) #9. Maw invades the mind of Doctor Strange, in the hope of finding the location of something, or rather, someone, for Thanos.
This comic book scene comes to life in Infinity War, when Ebony Maw imprisons Doctor Strange aboard his spaceship. There, the villain uses his power to try and break through the defenses of the Eye of Agamotto and take possession of the Time Stone. Again, the scene is different, molded to fit into the film's storyline, but it does draw inspiration from the comics.
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Nebula's Torture
For the better part of The Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos has at his side his daughter Nebula, whom he transformed into a grotesque, broken husk of a person. The Mad Titan is able to use to powers of his Gauntlet to torment his daughter, who had been a constant disappointment to him.
While Nebula isn't turned into a living corpse in Infinity War, she is his captive. Worse still, Thanos has her imprisoned in some sort of stasis field in which her electronic parts are disassembled. With the power of the Infinity Stones, Thanos pulls her limbs farther apart, torturing his adopted daughter in an attempt to coerce Gamora into revealing the location of the Soul Stone.
The Battle of Wakanda
The climactic battle of Infinity War takes place in Wakanda, where the Avengers and their allies assemble to face the might of Thanos' army of monstrous Outriders, led by the remaining members of the Black Order. The fight is appropriately epic, and features almost every major Avenger fighting alongside Black Panther and the forces of Wakanda.
In Hickman and Deodato's New Avengers (Vol. 3) #8-9, Thanos launches the first waves of his attack on Earth, as part of the Infinity event. While Ebony Maw is sent to New York, Black Order member Black Dwarf (known as Cull Obsidian in Infinity War) leads an army to attack Wakanda. There, T'Challa fights alongside his sister Shuri and the Wakandan forces to push back the alien invaders.
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Thanos vs. Vision
In Infinity War, Thanos collects five Infinity Stones, leaving only the Mind Stone needed to complete the Infinity Gauntlet. The villain easily finds his way to Wakanda, and sets his sights on the Vision, who has the Mind Stone embedded in his forehead. Eventually, Thanos grabs hold of Vision and rips the Stone from his head, and pulls apart the android's circuitry.
In The Infinity Gauntlet, the Vision may not have the Mind Stone, but he does still take part in the fight against Thanos. However, the Mad Titan's power is so great that the android doesn't stand a chance: Thanos rips into the Vision, and pulls out everything that keeps him alive. In both cases, the Vision is left dead, nothing but a shell.
The Snap
At the start of The Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos already has all the Infinity Stones (referred to as Infinity Gems in the comics) on his gauntlet. Declaring himself a god, hewishes to show his true devotion to the cosmic personification of death in the Marvel Universe, Lady Death. In order to do so, he snaps his fingers and, instantly, half of all life in the universe disappears, from the streets of New York City to the farthest reaches of the galaxy.
That's of course exactly what happens at the end of Infinity War. In this case, Thanos' goal is not to please Death, but to save the universe from the fate that befall his home world Titan. Still, with the Gauntlet on his hand, the villain snaps his fingers, and half of all life is extinguished.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Infinity War stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Tom Hiddleston, and Josh Brolin. The film is in theaters now.