The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a franchise I grew up with: flashy special effects, epic soundtracks and chaotic final battles. As the MCU progressed, so did the quality and fanbase. The next Marvel movie, “Avengers: Infinity War,” marks the conclusion of the MCU’s overarching plot and phase 3. Whether you are a comic guru or an incoming fan, here are four things you should know before “Infinity War:”

• What’s up with these Infinity Stone things?

Basically, the infinity stones are relics that have immense power. Each of them have a different purpose and if they were to hypothetically be placed in a certain infinity gauntlet, well, it wouldn’t be pretty. You know, world destruction and stuff. This will be the basis for the plot of Infinity war.

There are six infinity stones:

The Space stone – Last seen in “Thor: Ragnarok.” Debuted in “Captain America: The First Avenger.” It’s other name is the Tesseract, and it can open portals for interdimensional travel. It is currently in the possession of Loki after he took it from the treasure room of Asgard.

The Mind stone – Last Seen in “Captain America: Civil War.” Debuted in “The Avengers.” It was a part of Loki’s scepter until it was used to create Vision, an artificial person. It has the ability to control others as well as give a consciousness to artificial beings. It’s currently in Vision’s forehead.

The Soul stone -This is the only stone that has not been debuted. There is speculation, however, that it may be in Wakanda.

The Power stone – Debuted in “Guardians of the Galaxy.” It’s other name was the Orb and if it is touched directly, it disintegrates the person. It also has the ability to destroy a planet. It is currently with an organization called the Nova Corps.

The Time stone – Last seen in “Doctor Strange.” It has the ability to stop and reverse time or create a time loop, and is also known as the Eye of Agamotto. It is currently in Kamar-taj under the protection of Doctor Strange.

The Reality stone – Debuted in “Thor: the Dark World.” It is known as the Aether and can possess individuals to increase its power. It is currently with a shady alien known as the Collector.

• Who even is the bad guy?

The villain of Infinity War is alien warlord named Thanos. His goal is to capture all the Infinity stones so he can have infinite power over the universe. Although he hasn’t had a whole lot of screen time, it can be said for sure that Thanos has been pulling the strings in the MCU. For example, the villains of both “The Avengers” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” were acting upon Thanos’s wishes to retrieve the Infinity stones. Because using others hasn’t exactly been the most effective, Thanos has decided to get off his chair and do it himself. I’m curious as to how this villain will pan out. Based on the comics and Marvel Wiki page, Thanos should be a formidable foe for the heroes of the MCU.

• Where did  everybody go?

Ever since “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Captain America: Civil War,”  the Avengers have spread out and increased. Here’s the status on the original Avengers:

Captain America: Somewhere in Wakanda hiding from the government. Last seen in “Captain America: Civil War.”

Tony Stark: Hanging out at the New Avengers facility with War Machine/Rhodey. He was last seen in “Spiderman: Homecoming.”

Thor Odinson: He’s on the Asgardian refugee ship after Asgard was destroyed. Last seen in “Thor: Ragnarok.”

The Hulk: He’s hitching a ride on Thor’s Asgard ship. Last seen in “Thor: Ragnarok.”

Black Widow: In hiding. Last seen in “Captain America: Civil War.”

Clint Barton: Currently a fugitive in hiding. Last seen in “Captain America: Civil War.”

• Are there really going to be some deaths in the Marvel family?

The creators behind Avengers: Infinity War have made it known that some characters will unfortunately die. I speculate that at least one of the original Avengers will leave in this movie or the next. Captain America seems the most likely to die according to the comics, and the fact that Chris Evans has announced he will retire after the fourth Avengers. However, some of the new Avengers seem like they’ll be in the clear like Spider-Man and Black Panther because of their potential to keep the franchise strong after the conclusion of Infinity War, removing them would be a bad choice.

Information from: http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/11/14/the-mcu-where-are-all-the-major-players-right-now

http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe_Wiki