The Infinity War - Understanding the Stones and the Glove in the Center of it all

The dates are available on just about any comic website:

Part 1 of the Infinity War is in theaters in May of 2018

Part 2 of the Infinity War is in theaters in May of 2019

Yay!  I mean....wait....what is the Infinity War?

The Infinity War will be the fight for the six Infinity Gems (Infinity “Stones” in the movies), or Soul gems as they were originally dubbed when introduced in Marvel Comics in the 70’s.  The Gems are six powerful, and indestructible, artifacts...the most powerful in the Marvel Universe.  The interesting thing is that although they each have a unique incredibly powerful property they can also be used together to cause even more havoc (the whole being greater than the sum of its parts).  In other words, they can grant the power of a god.

Not sure what the stones are or the power they represent?  Here’s a brief overview (and, yes, there are inconsistencies between the comic books and the movies in regard to color and power....sigh.  See below.):

Tesseract - The Space Stone

This gem was seen in both Captain America (used by Red Skull) and The Avengers (used by Loki).  The Tesseract is a blue stone capable of teleporting anything from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’.  Thor supposedly took it back to his homeworld of Asgard at the end of The Avengers.

Aether - The Reality Stone:

The Aether was represented by a red floating liquid like thingy that appears to connect itself to a host and make it...well...stronger.  As an aside, this is not how it was in the comics.  In the comics it was focused more on wish fulfillment.  The only appearance, so far, was in Thor: The Dark World.  It was given to The Collector for safekeeping by the end of the film.  No one is sure if its still there after the end of Guardians of the Galaxy where The Collector’s home is destroyed.

Orb - The Power Stone:

The destruction of The Collector’s home, as discussed above, was caused by this stone.  This stone gives the wielder immense power.  It can give superhuman strength and the ability to wipe out planets, just by touching the surface.  At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy this stone was being housed by the intergalactic police known as Nova Corps.

Loki’s Scepter/Vision’s Forehead - The Mind Stone:

Marvel tricked you!  (well...me too)  Loki’s blue-glowing scepter was the home of the yellow infinity stone!  As seen in The Avengers, the mind stone allows the bearer to control the minds of others (hence the name “The Mind Stone”).

The Soul Stone:

This one hasn’t made its appearance yet.  If you go by the stories in Marvel Comics, the Soul Stone was a somewhat sentient creature that could trap souls inside another world.  As “trapping souls” has not really been explored yet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) there is no telling what the power may be.

The Time Stone:

Visit the future!  Visit the past! Alter them both so each time it's different!  You can even speed up or slow down the passage of time!  If you are horribly scarred go back in time and don’t have 6 beers before handling an arc welder, or pick up something safer like a nail gun!  I think you get the idea.  Like the Soul Stone, this gem has not been explored yet in the MCU.

So, what’s up with the glove?  Actually, it’s a gauntlet.  And, as an FYI, there are two of them, so it should be gauntlets....plural.  If you don’t believe me watch Thor.  In the Asgard treasure chamber, along with the other dangerous relics, the right glove can be seen.  At the end of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, however, we see Thanos pick up the left glove.  I’ll wait while you go and watch the movies to try to prove me wrong.

When will we see the last two stones?  I would venture to say that they will appear in any one of the number of Marvel movies coming out between now and Infinity War, Part 2.   I make this ridiculously safe bet because I really hate to lose.

If I wanted to just go with just a “semi-safe” bet I would point the finger at Doctor Strange and/or Thor: Ragnarok and/or Guardians of the Galaxy 2 for the other“gem sightings".

The Marvel Easter Egg:  Do The Stones Spell “Thanos”?

There have been rumors that the name of the stones spell out “Thanos”.  So far we have the “T” in Tesseract”, the “A” in Aether, the “O” in Orb, and the “S” in Scepter.  That leaves “H” and “N”.  But what would the names of the stones be?  Helicopter and Numbskull?  Horace and Norris?  wHo kNows?  I’m not going to lose sleep over it, it’s just a rumor and, frankly, a terrible excuse for an easter egg.

And What Comes After?

Once Marvel hits its cinematic peak in Infinity War Part 2, the conclusion that all of the movies have led to, what happens next?  It’s anybody’s guess and, as of right now, Marvel doesn’t have much planned.  All we know is that in July of 2019 the movie Inhumans is coming out.  This is kind of like planning dinner after having a feast for lunch.  What could possibly top what you just had?  I would NOT want to be connected to that film in any way, shape or form as all the reviews will be based on what was previously seen.

Infinity Gems or Soul Gems?  Easter Eggs?  Post Infinity War Movies?  It all remains a big question mark.  All we DO know is that people will wait decades to watch the next part of a good mystery.  Just ask Star Wars.

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The 10 Villains I Want To See Done PROPERLY In The Movies

I’m sure there are a couple of you like me out there.  You know, the type of person who wants to see the villain win once in awhile.  The kind of person who appreciates the super heroes, and wants the good guys to win in real life, but in the movies would like to see them get slapped around a little.  The kind of person who would like to see Thanos or Dr. Doom or Lex Luthor as the last one standing.

But, I want to see them done properly.

I don’t want something sloppily done like villains in the Ghost Rider movie (or even Ghost Rider for that matter).  That was a mockery.  I’m talking super special effects, holy cow that guy looks real, I’m not going to sleep very well tonight, type of villain.  A villain that is a strong representation of the comic book character.

Let me say, however, that there will be some characters that have been done in movies who I do not mention.  Characters like the Joker (who has been changed and rehashed ad-nauseum) who I feel was incredibly done by Heath Ledger.  So, I may not mention some obvious, and devious, villains.

I make no attempt to even out DC and Marvel villains (and the one other choice mentioned) nor are they mentioned in order of preference or importance.  It is just a list of villains and I love them all.

Without further delay, here’s the list:

1.)  Dr. Doom:  I know, I know, you’re going to say that he was in the most recent Fantastic Four movie.  But, again, I said that I want a “strong” representation of the comic book character.  It kills me that with all the special effects we have, and the multitude of years he’s been represented in comic books, that he is STILL not done well in movies.  Is this really him?  Ummmm, no.  He wears a metal outfit, people, not some Freddy Krueger type of get-up. 

2.)  Galactus:  Come on, tell me that you wouldn’t want to see a full size Galactus in the movies devouring a planet.  Oh yes you would.  How awesome would that be to see that on a huge screen with surround sound.  I get goose bumps just thinking about it.

3.)  Darkseid:  I don’t think anyone would argue that Darkseid is just a different version of Thanos (which I’ll discuss shortly).  Properly done those omega rays would be incredible as they exploded on Superman’s chest (or went through it, depending on the writers).  I have seen some incredible cosplay of Darkseid over the years and in the movies he could be just plain fantastic.

4.)  Thanos:  Let’s get it out of the way now, you can easily argue that he has been seen briefly in movies and that he looks good.  I would then give you a hearty slap.  The Thanos we have seen, every so briefly, in the movies looks like a muppet.  Granted, this may not be the Thanos that we see in upcoming films, I’ll give you that.  I would add that THAT BETTER NOT BE THE THANOS WE SEE IN UPCOMING FILMS!  With all the CGI potential out there there is no reason to make him look like a muppet.  Anyway, he has destroyed the universe, commanded the infinity gems, asked Death to be his girlfriend, and defeated anyone who came near him.  What hasn’t he done?

5.)  Deathstroke the Terminator:  If you watch the show “Arrow” that has been running for a couple of years now, you have seen their version of Deathstroke.  It’s terrible.  Why doesn’t the comic book industry have a lobbying group that protests misrepresentations like this?  Deathstroke is and incredible villain, that could be played by someone in a costume, that has yet to be in a movie.  I haven’t checked upcoming films to see if he’s in any of them, but I doubt he is.  His obvious counterpart, Deadpool, is in a movie (played by the former Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds, which I hold a particular loathing for).  You’ve had to put it together, right?  Slade Wilson and Wade Wilson?    The same person with a different look and, well, facial scarring.  Anyway, put Deathstoke in a movie and we’ll call it even.  And DON’T let them pull the crap they did in “Arrow”.

6.)  Brainiac:  How is it that they made so many Superman movies and never had Brainiac in any of them?  But let me clarify, I’m talking the huge skull-like spaceship Brainiac, not the human with a couple of electrodes on his head and green skin Brainiac.  Again, this would be a CGI thing, not some model strung up with fishing line, and it has potential.  Let’s bring him on!

7.)  Venom:  Please, tell me you haven’t thought of this one yourself during all of those Spider-Man makes and remakes.  You could even start where Spider-Man got the symbiotic outfit and then, as the movie builds, have it evolve into Venom.  Get rid of this “Electro” nonsense and the Green Goblin.  Let’s face it, Norman Osborn has become a bigger villain than the Green Goblin at this point and it’s gotten old and tired.  So, let’s make a change for the better and go with MY choice...Venom!

8.)  The Anti-Monitor:  Oh, yeah, the big guy.  The one who killed Supergirl and gave the entire DC Universe a run for it’s money.  Any comic fan worth his salt has read Crisis on Infinite Earths and can tell the story.  Bring on the Anti-Monitor!  ‘Nuff Said.

9.)  Grendel:  Books could be written about the arguments you could make with this character.  First, Grendel is not DC or Marvel.  In fact, you may not even know Grendel.  If you don’t, get some of the books you won’t regret it.  Second, for those of you who do know Grendel, which version should be used?  The male?  The female?  The young?  The old?  The Villain who fought Batman and The Shadow?  The “hero” who tried to escort a child safely across dangerous lands?  Who cares....just put Grendel in a movie and make him/her/it look awesome!  Grendel is, perhaps, my favorite comic character of all time.  I have the books, statues, etc.  A big thanks to Matt Wagner who made Grendel possible.

10.)  Reverse Flash/Professor Zoom:  No matter what you call him the Reverse Flash has caused a multitude of problems for the Flash over the years.  Killing people, screwing up the time stream, etc., etc.  He is a character that has been, unsurprisingly, absent from any DC movies.  This, of course, is for the obvious reason that the Flash has been absent as well.  Frankly, if the movie would be anything like the TV show, don’t bother.  I would prefer to see it done right.  Professor Zoom, or whatever you call yourself, you have my vote!

I’m sure you have your own list and I would welcome you to share it.  You may even disagree with my votes and I would welcome you to share it.  You may even think I’m dead wrong about some characters who have been represented in movies and I would welcome you to share it.  No matter what your vote I think you’ll agree that there needs to be more villains and less rehashing of the same old thing.