Infinity War: Avengers Assemble

WARNING: The following post contains spoilers from Captain America Civil War.

So if you havnt seen that movie....stop reading now

So the end of Civil War kind of leaves the Marvel Universe in a pretty cool place.....for the first time since its inception, there are NO avengers, and NO clear possible membership.

Yes, at the end of the movie the name Avengers and Avengers complex still exists, but the active membership seems to be Iron Man, Vision and War Machine......whos paralyzed and therefore not able to be an active member. Arguably Spider Man could also be called up, but seeing as how Tony sent him home after Rhodes was injured and doesn't want to be responsible for the death of another kid, its not too likely Tony would consider him a member.

Of course thats not to say there isnt a team of superheroes around. Steve Rogers freed his team from prison, so Hawkeye, Ant Man, Falcon, and Scarlet Witch are running around. And its likely they could be joined by Black Widow and Black Panther as well given the events of the film.

However the question would have to be, can this team, if it even still exists, be called "the Avengers"...or would that just provoke another conflict with Iron Man/the body that oversees the official avengers.

Not to mention the 2 major wild cards running around, Thor and the Hulk....who sat out, and may not even be aware of the events of Civil War.

So, going into infinity war, all we know is Thanos is coming and the universe could be pretty well fucked.

Meaning its a sure thing, the cry will go out "Avengers Assemble"......but whos going to answer that call?

I'm going to go character by character and see who's most likely to answer the call when it first goes out....but also whos likely to be on the team when it all (both movies) said and done.

Now I havnt looked at any casting for the two films so I'm doing this with no benefit of knowing what actors are and arnt in the movie. That said I did look at the casting of Thor Ragnarok and Guardians 2, and heard that Iron Man will be in Spider Man before I came up with this idea....so I will be factoring that into the equation as far as where the characters will likely be when the time comes.

Now the order in which I look at the characters will be kinda random....with the exceptions that any new members (IE not on the team at the start of Civil War, nor a member of either Team Cap/Iron Man),  will be at the end to make them seem more a surprise

Vision

For all intents and purposes Vision is basically an Infinity Stone, being the current storage unit for the Mind Stone. Which means he will absolutely play a major role in the Infinity War.

That said, I dont expect him to be on the team when it reforms

Mostly because I expect him to be dead. 

Consider, as an Infinity Stone, he's probibly going to be on the top of Thanos's "To do" list....especically since prior to being housed in the Vision, the Mind Stone was part of Loki's Scepter....which was given to Loki by Thanos.

And Thanos doesn't seem like the kinda guy who's willing to let his property go peacefully.

In fact, I expect Visions death the be the event that alerts the team to Thanos' presence in the first place...so he will be the reason they reunite, just wont be with them,

The other likely option is that instead of being killed by Thanos, the Mind Gem takes control of Vision (as he hinted it could in civil war), enslaves him to Thanos, causing his former team mates to have to kill him to stop him, and that being the event that reforms the team

However there is good news...as basically a computer program in a synthetic body, death is probably a much less final thing for the Vision than it is for humans.

So I expect by the end of the films, a Vision freed of the Mind Gem (or possibly reforged with the mind gem after thanos' defeat) will Assemble again.....though he might be much less colorful than he was before

Vision's second comic book body

Initial Team Member chances: D-

Ending Team Member chances: A
Being alive at the end of the film: A

Thor

 

So Thor sat out Civil War....and still has to survive Ragnarok, so he is one of the hardest to predict as far as exact role.

But of the 4 Infinity Stones revealed thus far, 3 of them have roots in Asgard. So its probibily a safe bet the Asgardians know exactly how dangerous those things are. So when Thanos comes to collect them. I dont expect Thor to be far behind him. In fact I wouldnt be surprised if Thanos makes a stop at Asgard first (to get the 2 stones still there) on the way to Earth, and its his arrival that brings Ragnarok.

In otherwords, there is pretty much no way in hell Thor isnt front and center hunting him down. And given that he's presumably unaware of Civil War, he will likely try to find the Avengers to help him out when he gets there, and he may actually be the one to pull them back together (And also possibly the one who has to kill Vision since the rest of the team is too scattered to actually stop Vision)

However the pattern for Thor has been pretty consistent. When the earth needs him, hes there, but otherwise not so much. And given that theres a decent chance he's going to be ruling or rebuliding Asgard....so I dont think he's sticking around.

Initial Team Member chances: A+

Ending Team Member chances: F

Being alive at the end of the film: A

Hawkeye

With a now strained relationship with Iron Man, and Captain America likely wanting to respect his wishes to retire so as to be with his kids, I dont think Hawkeye is going to getting the first call to rejoin the team. It's likely in fact he went home and into hiding with his family when Cap busted him out of prison at the end of Civil War

I'm sure he will eventually, as he is hardly the type to sit back and let other people save the world...and he showed his willingness in Civil War to put the greater good ahead of his own desires, so called or not he's going to show up. But once the crisis is over? Well he does seem to hate disappointing his kids so back to retirement.

In the comics, they have a word for members like Hawkeye, who only show up at the time of greatest need but arnt day to day members. "Reserve Avengers". And that seems to be the role for Clint. 

Assuming of course, he gets his happy ending. At some point to look credible, the bad guys have to start killing a few (especially as Quicksilver was offed by Ultron in the last one and Thanos needs to appear more powerful) and Marvels struggled to find a role for Clint, so he has to go on the "shocking death" watch list.

Initial Team Member chances: D

Ending Team Member chances: D

Being alive at the end of the film: C

Spider Man

So at the moment the way things stand in the Marvel universe, we seem to be headed towards a father/son style relationship with Iron Man and Spider Man.

Now you might think that pretty much assures webhead a slot in the avengers.....but I disagree. Consider he was sent home from the fight after Iron man realized how dangerous it was. As long as Tony sees Peter as a surrogate son he'd never let him go back on the front lines.

Of course, given Peter's view of how inaction is equal to complicity, my guess is he's going to find his way into the fight all on his own at least at some point. He just wont be on the original line up. And I have a hunch that as green as he is, Cap will likely back up Tony on trying to keep him safe, so he probably wont be on the team at the end either. (And the fact Tony recruited him at all may fuel the Stark/Rogers feud once Steve finds out hes basically a kid)

That said, of all the characters I've done so far, I'm least sure on either count about Spidy.

Initial Team Member chances: C

Ending Team Member chances: C
Being alive at the end of the film: A (probibly shouldnt be in film....doubt marvel can resist adding him for a bit at least)

War Machine 

This is probably the easiest and most predictable call on my list. Given that Rhodes is now paralyzed, I think we can safely say his front line days are behind him. I realize Tony is trying to build him mechanical legs so he can walk.....but I dont think even with those he can be cleared for combat anytime soon.

That said, Agents of Shield has shown the healing properties of Kree blood, and Shield has better prosthesis than Stark if Coulson's hand is any indication. And my guess is the Infinity War will flush Shield out of the Shadows and reveal its existence (and coulsons) to the avengers. So Rhodey's career may not be over for good.....but I'd be willing to bet any magical cure is going to have to wait till after the Infinity War is won.

Though I'm sure the avengers can find a use for him somewhere....given his military training and command experience he's a fairly good tactician.....so he might wind up being he guy coordinating the avengers via earpeices from headquarters. However as I am only counting active duty for this grade well.....

Initial Team Member chances: F

Ending Team Member chances: F

Being alive at the end of the film: A (may not be in film/only 1 or 2 scenes)

Winter Soldier

Combine Captain America's desire to respect his friends wishes, Iron Man not knowing where he is the fact that he can be controlled pretty easily by an outside force, the fact his arm was destroyed and there likely wont be time to build a new one for him, and the fact that if was revived Iron Man might try to kill him again, and its a pretty safe bet Bucky Barnes is going to stay chilled for this adventure, as there is no real good reason to wake him up.

Initial Team Member chances: F

Ending Team Member chances: F
Being alive at the end of the film: N/A (dont expect him to be in it)

Hulk

So given that Hulks appearing in Thor: Ragnarok, theres a pretty good chance that when Thor comes back...the Big Guy is coming with him.  Meaning that, as Thor is likely the one who will attempt to reform the avengers and Hulks already going to be with him, Hulk's pretty much a lock for membership again.

The only real question is, has Banner conquered his fear of the Hulk by now so that the Green Guy sticks around this time? Or does he go find yet another corner of the universe to hide in?

 

Initial Team Member chances: A+

Ending Team Member chances: C

Being alive at the end of the film: A

Captain America

As Cap told tony at the end of Civil War, if you need me all you have to do is call. So it probably doesnt matter who puts the call out, Tony, Thor or even Cap himself, Cap is going to be there.

Or should I say Steve Rogers is going to be there. Last we saw, he abandoned his Shield, and by implication his role to Iron Man. So its likely that when the War starts it will be the Nomad or The Captain (his other 2 identities from times he renounced being Captain America in the comics) who responds. By the end of the two films though he will have no doubt reclaimed his most famous mantle. 

Initial Team Member chances: A+

Ending Team Member chances: A+

Being alive at the end of the film: A

The Falcon

The one thing Civil War made clear, where Cap goes, Falcon follows. No questions asked.
So yea, think we can count of Sam Wilson to help refound the Avengers. The only question here is will he still be on the team when its all said and done?

From a character perspective he showed a distinct lack of interest in the group during the first few parts of Age of Ultron, and its likely the sheer power levels involved in fighting Thanos will again make him feel just a bit out of his league. So he may decide he can do more from a lower profile stand point. (as has been true in the comics)

From a film making standpoint, the Truth is to make Thanos appear a credible threat, they have to start running up a body count. There is no real reason to kill Falcon...but there is also no reason not to. So that hurts his chance, albeit thats mitigated a bit by his appearance in Ant Man and the fact he works great in the cap movies, meaning Marvel is trying to raise his profile and has a use for him in non avengers films.

Initial Team Member chances: A+

Ending Team Member chances: C

Being alive at the end of the film: B

Black Widow

So given that, in her mind at least, she betrayed both Cap and Iron Man during the events of Civil War, its likely shes going to be a bit isolated and alone at the start of Infinity War. So she may no get the call to assemble, or may not answer it at first due to the guilt of what she likely sees as betrayal.

She will of course eventually show up. she just likely wont be in the first wave of avengers to refound the team.  Her status by the end of the movie also seems in question. During Age of Ultron she floated the idea to Bruce Banner about running away together....who knows this time he might just take her with him. She only seemed to remain an avenger after Ultron cause she had nothing else to do either. So given the fissures of the team after Civil war, and her having burned both sides, she might also just leave on her own.

Assuming she survives at all. Outside of her relationships to other characters (notably Hawkeye, Cap, Tony and Hulk) there is very little about her character that sets her apart from other really well trained SHIELD agents like Melinda May or Mockingbird......except that her real world actress has a higher profile than the other two. Now in the first Avengers, being the only woman also worked in her favor....Marvel wasnt going to kill off the only female lead they had.

But now they have Scarlet Witch, the Wasp and a couple other female leads, like Mantis or even Captain Marvel (whos getting her own solo film) coming up.

So Widows no where near as protected by "plot armor" as she used to be. And given her lack of a solid role in the team and the aforementioned near identical replacements (mockingbird specifically) should marvel ever need another person in that role, she like Hawkeye, Falcon and a couple others yet to come, is a candidate for the "Shocking Death" list  

Initial Team Member chances: B

Ending Team Member chances: C+

Being alive at the end of the film: C

Ant Man

So Falcon "knows a guy", and thats enough for Cap to trust him. And he seemed to impress/scare (not to mention disable) Iron man during their fight. So hes basically respected at least by the leaders of the 2 rival splinters of the Avengers. Thats probably going to get him a call up at some point on to the team.

Though probably NOT to start with, as he was never officially an avengers, and as he does have a daughter to look after, hes not too likely to be palling around with Captain America's team once cap sprung him from prison.

But as there is no better way to impress your kid (not to mention that hottie Hope Van Dyne(The Wasp) than being an Avenger, I'd pretty much count of him accepting the membership when its offered to him.

Initial Team Member chances: C

Ending Team Member chances: A

Being alive at the end of the film: A

Scarlet Witch

I cant really see what else she's going to be doing when the Infinity War starts, other than hanging around Cap and Falcon. So as they are both locks to refound the team, I have to assume she is too,

Plus if Im right about Vision, shes supposed to be his love interest so shes likely going to get a big role (and is another candidate for some one with the power to kill vision).

Granted, because of Vision her surivial rate is pretty high. Marvel seems committed to Vision/Scarlet Witch romance story, which will likely be kickstarted by his death, separation from the Mind Stone, and resurrection. So shes going to be sticking around

And hell, lets be honest, Marvel didnt go though that protracted fight to get her character rights back from FOX just to off her, or write her out in her 3rd major film.

Initial Team Member chances: A

Ending Team Member chances: A

Being alive at the end of the film: A

  

Iron Man

So you might think and head of the official avengers, and as one of the "big three" with Cap and Thor, Iron man is as much a lock as they are to recreate the team. 

I have to disagree. Iron Man signed the Sokovia Accords, so its no longer up to him as to when and who he gets to fight. So just cause Thanos shows up and his friends call, doesnt mean he can answer if he cant convince his bosses Thanos is a threat (good luck with that by the way)....which will probably require more than Vision (who his bosses likely see as a threat anyways) to do so.

Granted I think the friction that is going to create will finally be enough to convince Tony he made a mistake and go rouge to rejoin his friends. If you know, they will have him. Consider the last time he agreed to a truce, he wound up trying to kill Cap and almost killed Bucky....after throwing the rest of Cap's team in jail and threatening to have Black Widow arrested. 

So I expect Iron man's story in Infinity War to be one of attempting to redeem himself. Which he probably will....but possibly at the expense of his life. He's either going to die protecting Cap (and returning the shield to him), or Spider Man (when he inevitably gets involved, which has the added bonus of a new twist on the "uncle ben" story if Tony is this incarnations version of Ben) united the team after his sacrifice. 

It doesnt help his odds that marvel has talked about Infinity War being the end of the story they have been telling since Iron Man, and the way to allow the Marvel Universe to move on to new stories. As the character central to the story currently being told, his death seems to be called for to end it. 

The only odds working in his favor are that the easy replacement that marvel had (james rhodes) is paralyzed...so its not as easy to fill his role anymore. Well that and RDJ is a huge name actor. 

But again, its likely someone or multiple people are going to die stopping Thanos....and its hard to get more shocking than Iron Man.   

Initial Team Member chances: D

Ending Team Member chances: F

Being alive at the end of the film: F

Black Panther

Now that the Avengers are on the outs with Tony Stark, they need a new source of money and invention. Luckily for them, the Black Panther is rich and fuck and his country is super technologically advanced. He also seems to have secretly made up with Cap's team after Civil War. So I imagine Wakanda will (secretly) be the base of operations for Steve Rogers team when it comes time to reassemble the avengers.

That said, as his identity is public, he did sign the accords and is head of state of a country that signed,I dont think Panther will be able to openly join the team at first....he'd going to have to wait till Iron Man basically destroy the accords to openly join. Unless the events of the Black Panther stand alone film change something, as Wakanda would seem to be a likley hiding place for one of the 2 remaining infinity stones.

in either case I expect him to stay on the team when the dust settles. He can offer the Avengers a place free of the American governments attempt to mettle with them, and fills the same Money and Tech hole left by Tony's likely death as he would have been doing in secret for caps team.

Initial Team Member chances: A (in secret only)

Ending Team Member chances: A

Being alive at the end of the film: A

So that covers all the "Known" avengers members....but thats not to say there wont be some [easily predictable] surprises 

Doctor Strange

Wakanda seems a lock for one of the Infinity Stones.....and Strange's adventures seem a lock for the other. Given that, it also seems a lock that the Sorcerer Supreme winds up with the team at some point. In fact in keeping with the previous films styles, he seems to be a likely candidate to be attacked by the new avengers mistaking him for Thanos or one of his lackys before joining the team.

Now as his powers seem awfully redundant with Scarlet Witch, and as his character is best known as the leader of the Defenders (with Daredevil, Luke Cage ect) and that show with that series is coming to netfilx, I dont expect him to stick around once the war is over....he seems most likely to take a hawkeye like "reserve" role. Unless his movie bombs...in which case add him to the death watch list

Initial Team Member chances: C

Ending Team Member chances: C

Being alive at the end of the film: B+

The Wasp

The Movie "Ant-Man and the Wasp" is set between the two Infinity War movies. As I expect Ant Man to become an avenger in part 1, it seems likely he would bring his new partner back to the team with him for part 2. Alternatively Ant Man may not be in part 1 at all...but again I cant see him not being called up if the teams in dire need, and he and the Wasp both become members in part 2.

And since I dont see Ant Man walking off the team at the end, I cant see the Wasp doing it either....especially as  the feud that seems to exist between her Father and the Starks will have likely reddened with Tony's death  (Her father might even join the team as back up scientific/non combat role akin to Rhody)

Initial Team Member chances: F

Ending Team Member chances: A

Being alive at the end of the film: A

Captain Marvel

So Marvel's been pushing Carol Danvers as their new "Top Tier Female Hero" for years now. And her comic book back story has her being genetically altered by the Kree (who are already cannon, and have already been known to experiment with people (IE the inhumans) and pulls her powers from a white hole in space so she fits perfectly into all parts (the guardians/space part, the earth based hero part, and even the small screen agents of shield part) of the established lore. And her powers are top tier/thor level. Also she has a movie right before the part 2 of the infinity war.

In otherwords there is no chance in hell she not joining the team. (and the fact that she is is one of the reasons I put widow on the possible death list, theres a new "top tier" woman in town). Granted that same schedule is going to keep her out of part 1....although Carol Danvers may appear to set up the movie, I dont think Captain Marvel is going to show up until her stand alone. 

Initial Team Member chances: F

Ending Team Member chances: A++++++++

Being alive at the end of the film: A

Star Lord

It seems highly likely the Guardians of the Galaxy are going to have their own run in with Thanos in their second film when he goes to take back the purple infinity stone. Meaning they actually fight him before the avengers. And probably lose.  But they will peruse him for sure, possibly to both Asgard and Earth.

Now as a half-human (who looks all human) Quill is the obvious choice for who to send to earth given that the planet isnt super familiar with aliens. Which means hes also likely going to be around when the Avengers reform to tackle the threat of Thanos so joining them for a time seems possilbe. Though I doubt he'll stay...hes more loyal to his own team than his homeworld.    

Initial Team Member chances: C

Ending Team Member chances: F

Being alive at the end of the film: A

Mantis

Ok I can hear what most of you are thinking right now....who?

Mantis is a new character set to be introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. And shes on this list for one reason only.....in the comics, before she was a guardian, she was an Avenger. And an avenger who happened to be trained in secret by the Kree to save the universe from great evil, In fact she was supposed to be a being named Celestial Madonna, whos child would be the most powerful being in existence. 

A story idea that could translate over to her being a keeper of a Infinity Stone instead for the films. And despite her current appearance, she was human once and looked the part

So should marvel go with her human look, she could pass on earth as easy as Star Lord, and for the same reasons. And so far at least Marvel hasnt made any avengers in the movie that werent also avengers in the comics....so a human mantis has a better shot of getting the role of being sent to earth than Star Lord. 

That said, about the only other thing known about her in the movie universe at this point is that Star Lord will be the "only true Earth-born human" in guardians. Now that doesnt preclude her being human and not earth born (maybe her mom was kidnapped before he birth by kree) but still given that the only reason she made this list at all is for being a comic book avenger, I'm putting her odds pretty low

Initial Team Member chances: C

Ending Team Member chances: F

Being alive at the end of the film: A (mostly cause she may not be in it)

Now I do expect at some point, the existence of Shield to be revealed to the avengers, and for them to evenually work under its oversight again, technically putting Director Phil Coulson in charge...but as I said before Im not counting non front line members so he didnt make this list.

That said, if we sum everything up, the roster I think is most likely (A grades) to start the Infinity War is:
Thor
Hulk
Captain America
Falcon

Scarlet Witch

Black Panther (in secret)

But the team that emerges (A grade) from the Infinity War will be
Vision
Captain America

Ant Man

Scarlet Witch

Black Panther

Wasp 

Captain Marvel

And the people I expect to die along the way (exuding Vision cause resurection) are in order from worst to best odds (Grade F-B+)
Iron Man 

Hawkeye (tie)
Black Widow (tie)

Falcon

Dr. Strange (only if his movie bombs)

What will be most interesting however, and I didnt grade for this, is whos likely to be the team at the end of the first film/beginning of the second. But if I had to predict 

Thor
Hulk
Captain America
Falcon

Scarlet Witch
Iron Man (will die near end of second film)

Black Panther

Hawkeye/Black Widow (i expect one of them will die in the first film if either of them does)

Dr. Strange

Star Lord/Mantis

The idea being that when those on the possible death list get killed off at the end of part one or start of part 2, Ant Man, Wasp and Cap Marvel get called up to fill the void