With the Infinity War mothership still closely protecting its plot secrets, official merchandise has become our steadiest source of information.
CBR points out that a new Toys”R”Us landing page for Infinity War toys features a collection of new character bios. The bios appear to delve into both what the characters have been up to since Civil War and some of the challenges they’re facing—and in Thanos’ case, providing some motivation behind his Gauntlet-quest. There are six bios: Captain America, Thanos, Thor, Hulk, Iron Spider, and Black Widow (in heels). Let’s dive in.
What do we learn here? Well, apparently we’re going to pick right back up with a Steve Rogers who remains unbending on his Sokovia Accords stance. (Remember when Peter Parker’s gym teacher in Spider-Man: Homecoming said of Cap’s current reputation, “The guy is a war criminal I guess but whatever”?) While he might have dropped his shield, Cap appears to have hardly dropped out of action. Even though he and his team are ostensibly on the run, he’s still conducting “clandestine” missions to save the world.
What do we see here? This is one of our best looks yet at Steve’s new hybrid shield/gauntlets, which we’re assuming were designed for him by Shuri, who is smarter than Tony Stark, in Wakanda. With the world-weary beard, the muted stars and stripes of the uniform, and the lack of shield, Cap has undergone quite the transformation.
What do we learn here? This bio of Thanos actually tells us more about what might be motivating the movie’s big bad than the trailers have hinted at. The “cunning, intelligent, and fierce warlord” Thanos isn’t described as going after the Infinity Gauntlet purely for its awesome powers but rather is called “a ruthless cosmic threat consumed with saving the universe from itself.”
As CBR speculates, this would appear to be a Thanos differently rendered from his comics motivation. “Behind the unsettling grin, there may be a sense of altruism,” they write. While I think “altruism” may be going a bit too far and that he probably falls more under “megalomaniac who thinks he knows what’s best for everyone,” this is a good bit of information about how Thanos likely sees himself. Whether we’ll be seeing any of the lady he wishes to woo in the comics, Death herself, remains a mystery.
What do we see here? Thanos’ Look has taken a bit of a drubbing on social media, with fans sarcastically noting the CGI’d villain’s resemblance to Joss Whedon and his purple grape hue. I’m still skeptical as to whether I’ll be able to take Thanos seriously, especially after having a triumphant villain like Erik Killmonger who was so bound to the real world. But the completed Infinity Gauntlet here implies Thanos is not only going to complete that mission in this movie but maybe have it long enough to wreak lots of fun (“fun”) havoc. Also, those are some boots. Damn.
What do we learn here? Allow me to wildly speculate that Thor “finds himself confronting the unstoppable Thanos” early on in the movie, which sets in motion the other events we know are in store for him (floating through space like so much space debris, meeting up with the Guardians of the Galaxy, acquiring the axe Stormbreaker). I don’t like this, because it means something awful likely happens to my beloved Asgardians, but I’m not sure how else Infinity War could break Thor away from his people otherwise. “Still striving to earn his worthiness” is also an interesting way to suggest Thor’s current state of mind.
What do we see here? Once again, the question of Thor’s lost eye is back in play. Since toys that seem to represent latter scenes of this movie give him two eyes, and there are two eyes here, let’s assume that he gets his eye back via magic/an Infinity Stone/a trippy crystalline entity, what have you, things are weird in outer space. Thor is shown here in the black armor he was wearing in the Ragnarok post-credits scene, with his newly unleashed lightning power on display. For those who have already RSVP’d, thank you. Thor and I appreciate you coming to our spring wedding.
What do we learn here? As other toys and the trailers have suggested, this bio implies that Bruce Banner remerges from being the Hulk—even though at the end of Ragnarok he seemed to be trapped in the form of our favorite not-so-jolly green giant. Bruce would appear to still be mightly struggling with those back-and-forth transitions, which may be why we see him in the Hulkbuster armor rather than turning into the Hulk himself. However, we know the Hulk has to make some appearances in Infinity War, and that “make peace with who he truly is” is a tantalizing tease. Can’t wait for Bruce to take some drugs and go on a yoga retreat of self-discovery.
What do we see here? The Hulk has ditched all history of purple pants for an artfully ripped black number.
What do we learn here? Not a whole lot, except that Peter Parker is probably going to have a lot of great one-liners, but we wouldn’t expect anything less.
What do we see here? Our little Petey’s growing up and seems to be pretty prominently featured in Infinity War merch as “Iron Spider” in his new suit. This placement suggests that his role is going to be considerably more significant here than his fun extended cameo in Civil War. The Tony Stark-designed suit may not be a Shuri original, but it’s sleek and snazzy, and likely has some pretty big tricks up its sleeves—like, oh, some extra arms?
What do we learn here? Actually, quite a bit about what happened to Natasha Romanov post-Civil War, through that “on the run.” I’m going to assume that Nat is also a fugitive from international law for decision to help Captain America in Civil War. Whether she’s been operating mostly on her own or as part of Team Cap’s “clandestine missions” remains to be seen, but I like the idea of Natasha as a rogue agent and not answerable to any authorities.
What do we see here? A lot. Natasha so far has one of the most transformative stylings we’ve seen for Infinity War—presumably because she’s on the lam and trying to avoid being recognized when the movie begins. Her red hair is bobbed and platinum-blond. Her trademark black catsuit has been replaced with this incredibly badass green and black armored outfit, which seems both practical and camouflage-y. Her new staff/truncheon is at the ready and I could not be more excited to see it in action.
But an actual groan emerged from my mouth at the sight of that wedge heel boot. She’s running from hordes of Outriders in the trailers and doing it in shoes meant to prevent people from running fast? Really, Marvel? Listen, I don’t want to make it sound like a superspy superhero can’t wear whatever she damn well pleases, but did we really need the heels? In our year of the Lord 2018 did we really need the heels? I hope they’re full of bolt-action knives.
Did you spot anything here that I missed? Let’s talk about fashionable wedges in the comments.
(via CBR, images: Marvel/Toys”R”Us)
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