8 days…only 8 days till Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters and we can finally find out the answers to all the questions we’ve had since that first trailer dropped. 8 days till a whole slew of new questions pop up for us to wonder about and obsess over!! Speaking of obsessing, if you love Avengers as much as I do, did you know that you can get personalized Hoodies for you and your friends to celebrate your love for this great franchise! This is going to be even more exciting now. We still have a couple of stops to make on the Road to Infinity War. This week we are breaking down week 5 and week 6. You’ll notice there have been some changes to the Chronological timeline. Black Panther and Spiderman: Homecoming have moved up the list.

If you have already started watching using the original timelines, don’t worry!! As I mentioned at the beginning of our road, there is no wrong way to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is just a suggestion. And making it through all 18 movies is a triumph.

No matter where you are on the road…we salute you!

Chronological Order

Week 5 Recap

Guardians of the Galaxy

Who could have foreseen the success of Star Lord and Company back when the MCU was just kicking off? I mean…a tree and a talking raccoon are now beloved members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe family and 10 years ago…that would have been laughable. In fact, for many, it was laughable when the news was announced. But look at the Guardians now!

Guardians of the Galaxy is very much Marvel’s answer to Star Wars. A rag tag group of misfits comes together through a series of circumstances to save the universe. What’s more…it’s starts off with a young boy who loses the only family he’s ever known. Effectively releasing him from his normal, every day life and setting him on his journey to becoming so much more.

Along the way, Peter Quill meets Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Groot and Drax. At first these 5 do not and cannot get along. Each is motivated by their own demons. It takes the promise of freedom for each of them in the form of gobs and gobs of money from selling the Power Stone to get them to work together. Eventually they find out that they aren’t enemies, they aren’t friends…they’re family!

Other Things to Note

The next Infinity Stone to make an appearance is the Power Stone. Peter Quill finds it on the planet of Morag and attempts to sell it to the highest bidder. But everyone has their own ideas about what to do with the Power Stone and with Quill too. The gang ends up selling it to The Collector. We last saw The Collector at the end of Thor: The Dark World. Lady Sif and Volstagg took the red Reality Stone to him for safe keeping. Good thing the Power Stone didn’t stay with him long. It’s not a good idea for anyone to have more than one Infinity Stone at a time. (As we’re about to find out in Infinity War.)

Mid Credit Scene

I am Groot.

You are Groot.

We are Groot!!

Who among us didn’t spend an inordinate amount of time searching for Baby Groot merch after seeing this mid credit, dancing Baby Groot scene?!!

End Credit Scene

Not only do we get a glimpse of Cosmo the Space Dog, security guard dog of Knowhere from the comic books, but we also see Howard the Duck (voiced by Seth Green) sitting amongst the Collector’s ruined menagerie. If you are new to Howard the Duck, then perhaps you’d enjoy watching the 1986 movie starring Lea Thompson and Tim Robbins?!!

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2

Road to Infinity War - The Marvel Report — Photo courtesy of Digital Spy

More Guardians…more Galaxy! Once you’ve incorporated some of the more outlandish characters from the Marvel canon, you basically have free reign to go wherever you want to take it! Enter GOTG 2.

Star-Lord, Drax, Gamora, Rocket and Baby Groot are all still together…still saving the galaxy one day at a time. What started out as a rag tag band of unlikely best friends has become a chosen family. There’s the family you’re born with and the family you choose and the Guardians are the chosen variety. They bicker like siblings (Rocket/ Peter and Drax/ Gamora.) They all look out for one another and especially their young, Baby Groot. And Peter and Gamora sit at the head of the table, the titular mother and father of this merry band.

If the first Guardians of the Galaxy was about coming together in the first place, Volume 2 is largely about everyone finding out who they are and that they really do belong together. For Peter, this comes in the form of his father, Ego. He comes to show Peter the truth about himself and sheds some light on why Peter was able to handle an Infinity Stone (in the first Guardians movie.) Turns out Peter is part god. Ego has been searching out his progeny in an effort to enlist help in his grand plan to destroy the world. NBD.

When you’re blood relations turn out to be crazy people, your chosen family is there to save the day and keep you grounded. That’s just what the Guardians of the Galaxy do for each other. And in one of the most beloved turn of events in a Marvel movie, it’s revealed that Yondu was not out to kidnap Peter or make him an indentured slave, but rather he was protecting him from his father. Which led to this touching scene:

Try NOT shedding a tear at this scene…I dare you!

Mid Credit Scenes

In an unprecedented move, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 has a staggering 5 mid and end credit scenes.

Scene 1: After Yondu’s death, Peter Quill gives Kraglin his Yaka Arrow (the whistling arrow thingy.) Here, we see Kraglin trying to get the hang of it and instead, spearing Drax in the shoulder and running away.

Scene 2: Stakar Ogord (played by Sylvester Stallone) decides to get his old crew back together. In this scene, we have some major comic book cameos in the form of some original Guardians of the Galaxy. Aleta Ogord, Martinex, Charlie-27, Krugarr and Mainframe all make an appearance and show the potential for things to come.

Scene 3: In one of the most delectable comic book cameos…we see Ayesha, Golden High Priestess of the Sovereign, telling her maid that she’s got a wild card up her sleeve in the form of her creation “Adam.” If you don’t know who Adam is, don’t worry…Vanity Fair has you covered!

Scene 4: We see an adolescent Groot in the middle of his molting stage. Peter walks in on him and tells him to clean his room. Setting the tone for their dynamic in future movies as we see Baby Groot growing into a teenager.

End Credit Scene

And finally…we have the incomparable Stan Lee making his obligatory and much loved cameo in this movie. He’s a stranded astronaut who’s telling his story to a group of strange and uninterested listeners, known as the Watchers.

Week 6 Recap

Ant-Man

Once you’ve introduced a talking raccoon and a less than loquacious tree character, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Enter Ant-Man, another character that never would have been green lit 10 years ago.

Hank Pym and his daughter Hope Van Dyne are desperate to take down Darren Cross, Hydra ally and CEO of Pym/ Cross Technologies. Darren’s ambitions have taken him down a dark path that lead him to trying to create his own version of the Pym particle and eventual creation of the Yellowjacket. Hank and Hope know that they need to stop him at any cost. Hope believes that she is the solution and Hank is unwilling to risk his only daughter. Enter Scott Lang, cat burglar and man trying to prove himself worthy of his daughter. When Scott has a run-in with Hank Pym after trying to steal from the “old man’s” safe, Scott’s eyes are opened to a whole new world.

Meanwhile, Hope has questions about her mother and reservations about bringing another person into their mission. Hank has reasons for wanting to keep her safe. And Scott is just along for the ride, but ends up discovering that he might have accidentally stumbled upon the place he truly belongs.

Add to this, a cast of hilarious and quirky characters in the form of Scott’s post prison roommates…Luis played by Michael Peña, Dave played by T.I. and Kurt played by David Dastmalchian.

Other Things to Note

Cameos from Howard Stark and an older, wiser, more established Agent Peggy Carter, during the height of her turn as a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Sam Wilson, aka Falcon makes an appearance when Scott Lang is sent to steal tech from an old abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. bunker. Turns out the bunker isn’t abandoned at all…it’s the shiny new home for the Avengers. Leading to an epic showdown between Ant-Man and Falcon.

Mid Credit Scene

It’s clear, through the course of the movie that there’s another player in the Pym tech game and it’s Hope Van Dyne. She can use the tech as well as, if not better, than Hank Pym himself. So in this mid credit scene, we see Hank unveil the Wasp suit he has updated for his daughter. And we get a glimpse of the future of Hope Van Dyne’s turn as The Wasp!!

End Credit Scene

This scene is a direct cut from Captain America: Civil War. We see Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers approach a shackled Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier, and ask him a series of questions in an effort to gauge his mental state. After realizing that they can’t turn to their Avengers pals about Bucky, given the givens, Sam shares that he’s met a new friend (Scott Lang) that might be able to lend a helping hand!

Captain America: Civil War

Whether you think of it as Captain America 3 or Avengers 3, this movie took the franchise by storm and changed the game for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

At the start of the film, we see the team doing what they do best. Steve’s calling shots and the team is working as a cohesive unit to stop the latest Hydra threat. But things go horribly wrong when former colleague, Crossbones, mentions the name “Bucky.” Steve’s concentration on the mission breaks instantly, leaving space for Crossbones to set off a bomb that Scarlet Witch has to dismantle. While she manages to save lives on the ground, the bomb goes off in a nearby building causing a great deal of collateral damage.

Unfortunately, for the Avengers, collateral damage has been a problem for a while. From New York, to Washington DC, to Sokovia, there is a trail of destruction left in their wake. At this point, the government steps in. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, last seen chasing down Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk, is back and is now the Secretary of State and man in charge of putting a leash on the Avengers. He brings them the Sokovia Accords, causing a rip in the bonds of friendship. Tony and Steve stand at the head of each opposing side of the argument and the line is drawn between them. Soon the rest of the Avengers are forced to choose sides whether out of loyalty or out of belief in the Sokovia Accords. This leads to the epic airport showdown between #TeamCap and #TeamIronMan.

The real threat to the Avengers isn’t the Sokovia Accords, it’s Baron Zemo, a man whose family was killed in Sokovia. A man who knows the secret of how Tony’s parents were really killed and is hell bent on ripping out the very heart of the Avengers and almost does just that.

Mid Credit Scene

After the emotional events in Civil War and the toll it takes on the Avengers as a whole, Steve takes his best friend Bucky to Wakanda to get him the help he needs to sort out his severely damaged brain. T’Challa offers this help and we get our first glimpse of the kingdom of Wakanda.

End Credit Scene

You didn’t think Captain America would leave Hawkeye, Sam, Wanda and Scott stuck in an undersea prison, did you? After taking Bucky to Wakanda, Steve returns to release his friends from incarceration.

Black Panther

Sometimes a movie comes along that transcends the cinematic experience. Black Panther is one of those movies. In a time of movements like #BlackLivesMatter #TimesUp and #MeToo, as well as the move to demand a greater social consciousness from people, Black Panther sweeps in like a breath of fresh air. It deserves to be talked about at length for the way it is and has been changing the game for not only the Marvel Universe, but for how movies should continue to be made in the future.

In the beginning of the movie, after a brief origin story of the Black Panther and the history of Wakanda, we see T’Challa and Okoye traveling by stealth plane. The news is still reporting on the death of his father King T’Chaka, as we learn the events of Civil War took place just a week before. The burden of a nation and a secret is placed on T’Challa’s shoulders and he is heading to bring home the one person he needs most in this difficult time. Spy, freedom fighter and ex-girlfriend, Nakia (played by Lupita N’yongo.)

After becoming King and settling into his role as leader, T’Challa finds out about the dark secret his father kept. His brother had a son that was left to the outside world after T’Chaka killed the boy’s father. When that son returns to Wakanda, he has been influenced by a less than perfect society and wants to exact revenge on the kingdom of Wakanda and specifically on the King. He takes the throne and “kills” T’Challa.

As King, T’Challa must reconcile the choices his father made and also fight for the preservation of his beloved Wakanda.

Mid Credit Scene

T’Challa, Okoye, Nakia and Ayo travel to the United Nations to speak about how Wakanda can impact the world around it and for the first time in Wakandan history…open it’s borders to outsiders.

“In times of crisis, the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.”

Given the world we live in today, this quote is especially poignant! And serves as another example of the way this movie goes from a cinematic triumph to a cultural touchstone.

End Credit Scene

This end credit scene opens with some Wakandan children looking at something. When they run out laughing, Shuri, princess of Wakanda, tells them to leave the man alone. We then see Bucky Barnes emerge, without his Winter Soldier arm. He’s called White Wolf and he thanks Shuri for helping him. She tells him they aren’t done yet and that there is “still much to learn.”

Release Date Order