The Marvel Cinematic Universe remains shell-shocked after the end of Avengers: Infinity War, but fans have learned a few things about the state of the MCU after Thanos' finger snap.
Since the Mad Titan won and wiped out half of all life in the universe with the Infinity Gauntlet, the MCU's forward progress has halted until Avengers 4 picks up the pieces. Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel are prequels set before or during Infinity War's events (in Captain Marvel's case, two decades before), and the Marvel TV series on Netflix have all set their second seasons in the time before the Avengers met Thanos. All of this sets the stage for Avengers 4 to truly be the end of the MCU as fans have come to know it... but the start of something new.
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Since fans have no choice for now but to continue to play the waiting game, there are a number of clues that Infinity War and other Marvel properties left behind as to what comes next for the MCU. Here's everything we know so far about what the state of the MCU looks like after Thanos snapped his fingers:
- This Page: Thanos and the Avengers
- Page 2: The Quantum Realm and Avengers 4
Thanos Is Happy Now That He's Won
Infinity War worked out almost exactly as Thanos hoped. He won and achieved his ultimate goal: killing half of all life in the universe. Of course, his mission exacted a heavy toll. All of his 'children' in the Black Order are dead thanks to the Avengers. Worst of all for the Mad Titan, he had to sacrifice the life of his favorite daughter, Gamora, in order to obtain the Soul Stone.
The finger snap cost Thanos dearly as well; at the end of Infinity War, he seemed to be healed from the wound Thor and his Stormbreaker ax inflicted on his chest, but in their director's commentary for the film, Joe and Anthony Russo revealed that the finger snap actually permanently damaged Thanos's arm and the Infinity Gauntlet itself. This is not something anyone in the MCU, much less than Avengers, is currently aware of, however. So, although Thanos got to sit alone on Titan with a smile on his face as he watched "the sun set on a grateful universe," he may actually be weaker and more vulnerable than anyone realizes going into Avengers 4.
The Avengers Are In Shock
The Avengers' ranks were decimated by Thanos' finger snap and at the end of Infinity War, the heroes who are still alive remain divided by great distances: Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, James Rhodes, Bruce Banner, Thor, and Rocket were last seen reeling from failing to stop Thanos in Wakanda while Tony Stark and Nebula are the only heroes left alive on Titan. The emotional toll of seeing their friends and loved ones fade to dust in front of their eyes left the Avengers in a state of shock.
Related: The Avengers Would Have Won Infinity War If Tony Stark Made One Different Decision
Though their present situation is bleak, the Avengers do have some overlooked positives still in their favor. They have allies to call upon like Hawkeye, who apparently survived Thanos' snap. Okoye and M'Baku are still alive, and it's been confirmed Shuri also survived, so Earth's Mightiest Heroes have Wakanda's greatest genius and all of their Vibranium technology at their disposal to avenge the loss of King T'Challa. Stark and Nebula simply have to reach Earth - and Steve and Tony need to put their differences behind them - so they can reassemble the Avengers and resume the fight.
Nick Fury Called Captain Marvel Before He Died
It's not clear if Nick Fury truly understood what was happening during Avengers 3's post-credits scene when he and Maria Hill watched helicopters crash into buildings and people around them fade into dust. However, the MCU's foremost superspy likely knew what the aliens were after on Earth, why Tony Stark disappeared into outer space, and that the Avengers were at war in Wakanda. After Hill got dusted, Fury recognized that the enormity of the crisis at hand was finally the time to contact Captain Marvel before he himself turned to dust.
The last shot in Infinity War is of Nick Fury's high-tech pager displaying Captain Marvel's colorful logo, indicating that contact was made with the missing Carol Danvers. It remains to be seen if and how Captain Marvel will connect to the films set in the present day and if it will contain a direct lead into her appearance in Avengers 4.
Page 2: The Quantum Realm and Avengers 4
Ant-Man Is Stranded In The Quantum Realm
Ant-Man and the Wasp's end-credits scene happened concurrently with the final minutes of Infinity War. As the Avengers were facing Thanos in Wakanda, Scott Lang was on a San Francisco rooftop preparing to use a miniaturized Quantum Tunnel to enter the Quantum Realm and extract the healing particles within. Just as he entered the other dimension, Thanos snapped his fingers half a world away, which caused Hank Pym, and Hope and Janet Van Dyne to fade to dust, leaving Ant-Man stranded. However, some fans theorized that being in the Quantum Realm protected Ant-Man from the effects of the finger snap.
It's clear that Scott had no idea what had just happened, but it's not entirely clear whether he or the Pym family were aware of the alien attacks on New York and Wakanda as they set upon their experiment. But for now, Ant-Man is lost in the Quantum Realm without the regulator that saved him the last time he was trapped in the microverse. How will he escape?
Related: What Ant-Man and the Wasp's End-Credits Scenes Reveal About Avengers 4
Giant Ant Playing The Drums
In Ant-Man and the Wasp's post-credits scene, the giant ant played Scott's drum set. During the main story of the film, Scott was still under house arrest for violating the Sokovia Accords, but the giant ant managed to successfully cover for him by wearing his monitoring bracelet while Scott was adventuring as Ant-Man. While the ant banged on the drums, it was oblivious to the television screen in the other room showing the channel was off the air. With half of all people on Earth dead, television is naturally disrupted and chaos reigns in these early moments after tragedy struck.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5's Future Timeline
The most substantial glimpse into a possible post-Avengers 4 future of the MCU was provided by Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5. Kidnapped and brought 90 years into the future, Phil Coulson and his team found themselves on a space station called the Lighthouse, which was overseen by the Kree. The Earth had been destroyed and what was left of the ragged human race was huddled on board the Lighthouse. The labyrinthine plot eventually revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had to return to 2018 in order to stop this future catastrophe from happening.
The second half of the season took place in the days before Infinity War and then synched up with the film as the events of the climactic episodes happened concurrently with the Black Order's attack on New York City. Ultimately, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (like all of Marvel's TV series) completely ignored the events of Infinity War. S.H.I.E.L.D. also saved the world from the destruction the Agents lived through in the future, so the first half of season 5 was merely an alternate timeline that won't come to pass. In any event, MCU films wholesale ignore Marvel TV shows so nothing that happened on S.H.I.E.L.D. would have affected or altered the course of the movies post-Avengers 4 anyway.
Avengers 4...
The details of Avengers 4 are being kept tightly under wraps by Marvel Studios but leaked set photos have indicated time travel is expected to play a key role in the film, with team-ups like Ant-Man somehow meeting the Avengers in the Battle of New York that happened in 2012. Reshoots are currently underway and involve heroes that weren't in Infinity War, like Hawkeye and possibly Valkyrie. There could be some deaths of major heroes; one of them could be Captain America as Avengers 4 is expected to be Chris Evans' final MCU film (at least for now). Of course, Captain Marvel will finally meet the superheroes she preceded when she joins the fight to stop Thanos.
Related: Captain Marvel Made The Avengers Possible
Finally, Spider-Man: Far From Home, premiering just two months after Avengers 4, will be the first film to blaze the new path forward for the MCU. Once Peter Parker is resurrected, the next Spider-Man movie will reportedly begin minutes after Avengers 4 ends and will send Peter and his friends on a European vacation. Whatever the aftermath of Avengers 4 will look like for the MCU, fans will get to see it through Spider-Man's eyes as he continues his world travels.
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