Avengers: Age of Ultron / Infinity War Preparation – 2018 MCU Re-Watch

Week 11 of my Infinity War Preparation – 2018 MCU Re-Watch

Since the climax of The Winter Soldier we've been off in space for Guardians 1 and 2, so it makes sense that on returning to Earth the Avengers are mopping up the last few Hydra bases...

Thematically it works too; continuing ideas from The Avengers and The Winter Soldier, in turn laying the groundwork for Civil War.

I seem to be enjoying this film more with each viewing. Yes it's a bit messy and borderline silly at times, but it fully embraces it's comic book roots - four major characters are introduced and there's plenty of cinematic splash pages.

To Infinity: Loki's Sceptre graduates from a supporting role in The Avengers to main MacGuffin in the sequel, in the form of the Mind Stone. It's final resting place is also surely setting up a big showdown somewhere along the line...

Thor's ill-defined visions give us some more hints about the other Stones and he helpfully reminds us that four of them have been encountered so far.

I wonder if Tony's vision will turn out to be a premonition of Infinity War?

Mid/Post-Credit Scene(s): Thanos putting on a Gauntlet and deciding to "do it himself" may not make much sense if you stop to think about it but it's a clear sign things are starting to ramp up.

Next Up: Ant-Man