Everything You Need To Know Before You See Avengers: Infinity War

As the god of thunder once wondered, who is the purple man in the floating in the chair? Thanos the Mad Titan has loomed over the MCU since appearing in the mid-credits scene for The Avengers. Since then, the alien warlord has popped up in Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron, but we haven't really gotten to know the guy. What does he want with Earth's mightiest heroes?

In the comics, Thanos was a member of the Eternals, a race of genetically-engineered superhumans who colonized Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Incredibly intelligent, uber-powerful, and born deformed thanks to a mutant gene, Thanos was absolutely obsessed with Death...the actual personification of Death. In the comics, Death can take the form of a woman — or a creepy skeleton — and hoping to win her love, Thanos murdered half the universe with the help of the Infinity Gems (Infinity Stones in the movies).

We don't know how much of that backstory will play into the film, but according to the second Infinity War trailer, Thanos definitely wants to collect all six stones so he can "wipe out half the universe...with the snap of his fingers." With his lethal crew of assassins and Outriders, it's clear Thanos means business, and when he comes to complete his rock collection, the Mad Titan might teach the Avengers what it's like to lose.

We know Thanos wants to get his big purple hands on the Infinity Stones, but how will those rocks help him decimate the cosmos? They can blow up planets, open wormholes, and rewind time. But what's the secret behind their mystical abilities? Well, in Guardians of the Galaxy, a mysterious hoarder known as the Collector explained that before the Big Bang, "there were six singularities." And when "the universe exploded into existence...the remnants of these systems were formed into concentrated ingots." As a result, these six stones come equipped with devastating powers.

"Officially" debuting in Captain America: The First Avenger, the Space Stone (a.k.a. the Tesseract) is a blue gem inside a glowing cube, and it can open portals across the universe. And if the Space Stone lives up to its comic book potential, then Thanos might gain the ability of omnipresence. Then there's the Mind Stone, which powered Loki's staff in The Avengers. These days, the Mind Stone is yellow and can hypnotize and manipulate its victims (remember zombified Hawkeye?). And in the comics, it grants Thanos the ability to control every mind in the universe.

Then there's the Power Stone (a.k.a. the Orb), which appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy. A purple rock inside a metallic container, the Power Stone enhances its user's strength and can waste entire planets. In the comics, it also supercharges the rest of the stones, making them all more powerful. The most perplexing gem is the Reality Stone (aka the Aether). It debuted in Thor: The Dark World as a sentient red goo, and while Malekith the Accursed wanted to use it to plunge the universe into darkness, we haven't seen its full powers yet. But in the comics, it can be used to alter the nature of reality itself.

Green and stored inside a magical locket, the Time Stone (a.k.a. the Eye of Agamotto) showed up in Doctor Strange and grants its user the ability to create time loops and reverse time. In the comics, it gives Thanos the ability to control the past, present, and future, making him a murderous Marty McFly. There's one final rock that we haven't seen yet, an orange gem known as the Soul Stone. In the comics, this allowed Thanos to control all living souls and even resurrect dead ones, so if he places all six stones inside his Infinity Gauntlet — that giant golden glove — it's hard to imagine our heroes saving Earth, let alone avenging it.

If Thanos gets the Power Stone and the Space Stone, then where are the remaining four stones? Doctor Strange placed the Time Stone inside the magical compound of Kamar-Taj. Following the events of Thor: The Dark World, the Reality Stone was given to the Collector, though after the explosive events of Guardians of the Galaxy, who knows if he still has it.

And then there's the Mind Stone, which has been everywhere. It was the energy source for Loki's spear, courtesy of Thanos (who probably regrets handing over his prized possession). Following Loki's defeat, the spear was stolen by Hydra agents, who used the Mind Stone to unleash the powers of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Then, after creating Ultron, the Mind Stone ended up in Vision's forehead, granting him the ability to fly, shoot lasers, and walk through walls.

As for the Soul Stone, nobody knows where it's hiding. There are plenty of theories being kicked around — maybe it's in Wakanda (unlikely); maybe Heimdall has it; maybe it won't show up until Avengers 4; maybe Thanos has it stashed away — but we'll find out soon.

So far, the Guardians of the Galaxy haven't crossed paths with the rest of the MCU crew. But Star-Lord and his merry band of misfits will finally meet the Avengers in Infinity War, and really, this battle against Thanos is far more personal for the Guardians than it is for Tony, Cap, and the rest of the Earthbound heroes.

Why? Well, Nebula and Gamora were "adopted" by Thanos as kids and turned into super assassins. Thanos was an abusive dad, constantly forcing the two to fight each other. Nebula always lost, and each time, Thanos would cut off a piece of her body and replace it with a mechanical enhancement, hoping to make her a better warrior. Naturally, Nebula has grown up hating Thanos, and in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we learn that getting revenge against her stepdad is Nebula's number one priority.

Drax the Destroyer also has an axe to grind (not that he'd understand that metaphor). While Ronan the Accuser butchered Drax's family, the ultra-literal alien knows Ronan was just following orders. As he put it in the first Guardians film, "Ronan was only a puppet. It's really Thanos that I need to kill." And with her own dark past involving Thanos, Gamora isn't a big fan of her father either. Here's hoping the Guardians — from Mantis to Rocket and Groot — teach Thanos that a finger across the throat means death.

When the Avengers throw down with Thanos, they're going to need their heavy hitters: Thor and the Hulk. However, the last time we saw them, the god of thunder and the green rage monster were on a different path from the rest of the Avengers...and in a different part of the universe.

After Age of Ultron, Hulk left his friends behind on Earth, worried about hurting the people closest to him (specifically his romantic interest, Black Widow). Climbing inside a Quinjet, Hulk ended up on the planet Sakaar, a world of lost and unloved things, where he became a fearsome gladiator. As a result, he totally missed out on Captain America: Civil War.

Thor didn't play any part in Civil War either, as he was hunting for Infinity Stones and trying to prevent an apocalypse. In Thor: Ragnarok, he rescued Hulk from Sakaar, lost his hammer and right eye, and destroyed Asgard to save his people from the goddess of death. And as the film came to an end, things were looking up for Thor, Hulk, and their Asgardian buddies — including Heimdall, Loki, and Valkyrie. But as they were traveling to Earth, things took a very dark turn in Ragnarok's mid-credits sequence.

Out of nowhere, the Asgardians were dwarfed by an ominous warship. MCU producer Kevin Feige confirmed with TheWrap that the craft is the Sanctuary II, Thanos' flagship. (The original "Sanctuary" is that rocky world in The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy where Thanos lounges around on his throne.) Chances are good that Thanos will capture the Asgardian ship — probably to steal the Space Stone that Loki (most likely) snatched from Odin's throne room — and things aren't going to end well when Thor and Hulk finally meet the Mad Titan.

Doctor Stephen Strange is a man who always keeps one eye on the sky. As he explained in Thor: Ragnarok, Strange has "a watch list of individuals and beings from other realms that may be a threat to this world." And since Strange, his sidekick Wong, and the New York Sanctum (Strange's Manhattan hangout) feature prominently in the Infinity War trailers, it's logical to assume the Sorcerer Supreme knows Thanos is on the way.

Unfortunately, Thanos might know about Strange too. Because Strange controls the Time Stone, it's reasonable to assume the Master of the Mystic will be on Thanos' hit list. We also know that Strange is in for a serious acupuncture session, most likely at the hands of Ebony Maw. It's a scene inspired by Jonathan Hickman's comic, Infinity, and if Marvel borrows that entire plot line, then Strange might be manipulated into betraying the Avengers. In the comic, Strange also knows the location of the Infinity Stones, so it's possible the Sorcerer Supreme could be the unwilling key to Thanos' success.

Avengers: Infinity War is going to be crowded, featuring everyone from the Collector to Maria Hill. But while we've already seen the likes of Black Widow, Falcon, and the War Machine, where exactly are Hawkeye and Ant-Man? After all, Clint Barton and Scott Lang are pretty big players in the MCU, and both showed up for Civil War, siding with Captain America and going rogue. However, neither have appeared in the trailers or on the official poster. So have these two Avengers gone AWOL, or will they help take on the Mad Titan?

According to the Russo brothers, Hawkeye is still around, but he's living a different life than his superhero buddies. As they told Collider, the archer is "on his own journey in this movie" and his "unique reaction to the civil war situation...puts him in a special spot in this film." It's kind of vague, but at least we know that Hawkeye will show up somehow, and hopefully more than a few bad guys will get to meet Barton's bow and arrow. As for Ant-Man, Slashfilm reports that he'll show up in the film, and Paul Rudd is listed on the IMDb cast list. So perhaps the tiniest Avenger is lurking in the trailers somewhere, but we just can't spot him.