With Josh Brolin proudly wearing the Infinity Gauntlet at San Diego Comic Con after the announcement he’s playing Thanos, is it only a matter of time before we discover the Marvel Cinematic endgame?
The clues are there.
Brolin will play the Mad God of Titan in Guardians of the Galaxy. The character was seen briefly in the post-credit scene of The Avengers. It looks like Thanos could be the Blofeld (as in the James Bond franchise) for Marvel.
The Mad God was behind Loki’s invasion of Earth in The Avengers. We caught a glimpse of the Infinity Gauntlet in Thor inside Odin’s vault. Odin (Loki in disguise?) sends Sif to deliver a gem to The Collector (Benicio Del Toro) in Thor: The Dark World. Ronan (Lee Pace) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) are the chief protagonists in Guardians who serve Thanos.
With Avengers 2, Guardians 2, Doctor Strange and more movies on the way, are we seeing a cosmic path to a movie based on one of the greatest comics epics in history?
In the classic story by Jim Starlin (creator of Thanos) the Mad God finds and assembles the six Infinity Gems on the Gauntlet granting him ultimate power. Thanos uses it to wipe out half the population of the universe as an act of devotion to Death. Heroes from across the Marvel Universe unite to take on the Mad God and reverse his horrific act.
It’s possible Avengers 3 could be The Infinity Gauntlet or maybe it’s Marvel’s unnamed third movie slated for 2018 as a union of both teams?
If we’re on the cosmic road to this epic then which other Marvel heroes and villains could we meet next?
While film rights keep Fantastic Four, X-Men, Spider-Man and Silver Surfer out of the mashup there are plenty of untapped heroes in the expanded Avengers/Guardians gallery to join the franchise.
Death In the Marvel Comics universe, Death is an entity taking the form of a woman and the embodiment of the end of life. Thanos is obsessed with wooing her. If you recall when the Chitauri warned Thanos in The Avengers that to attack Earth again is to court death, Thanos turned to the camera and grinned. Given her resume, Angelina Jolie (Maleficent, Beowulf, Wanted) is a perfect choice as Marvel’s ultimate dark mistress. She’d make a great Hela (Goddess of Death in Thor’s lore) too.
The Grandmaster This master strategist is a member of the Elders of the Universe like The Collector. The ancient alien lost the Mind Gem to Thanos and challenged Death to games of strategy.
Adam Warlock First known simply as Him, this artificial creation of The Enclave was supposed to be the perfect human. Him rebelled and came into conflicts with Thor. The High Evolutionary renamed him Warlock and entrusted him with the Soul Gem. After adding the name Adam, he traveled the universe often fighting Magus and the Church of Universal Truth, a fanatical, intergalactic religious organization. Warlock’s allies against Magus include Gamora (to be played by Zoe Saldana in the new movie) and Thanos. Warlock leads the super army to defeat Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created Him. Roy Thomas and Gil Kane revamped Him into Adam Warlock. Jim Starlin revived Warlock as cosmic messiah leading the Infinity Watch (including Gamora and Drax) against Thanos.
This is definitely a character to watch. Adam Warlock is appearing in Jim Starlin’s Thanos: The Infinity Revelation this month. What happens in comics is often a signal to the studio’s plans.
Pip the Troll If audiences will embrace Rocket Raccoon and Groot, then surely there’s a room for a cigar chomping alien prince turned Troll. Pip is another Starlin creation first used as a comic foil for Warlock then later joined his team.
Those are just some of the cosmic characters we might seen in future sequels. I didn’t even mention The Stranger, Mephisto, Eternity or the In-Betweener!
Starlin’s 90’s classic led to The Infinity War, The Infinity Crusade and Infinity Watch. Avengers, New Avengers writer Jonathan Hickman brought back Thanos in Infinity and the Avengers even used the power of the Infinity Gauntlet to save the Earth – that story is still playing out at a comic shop near you.
Marvel Studios is proving that they’re not strictly following comics history (Ultron) but all signs are pointing to a cosmic clash in the years ahead. Only Kevin Feige and his inner circle of directors, writers and producers know for sure but it’s sure fun to speculate.
We’ll know more after Guardians blast the box-office. Enjoy the ride.
By Editor