To Infinity and Beyond

Age of the Geek Column: This is it. We're just days away from "Avengers: Infinity War."
I once marveled at the thought of the first Avengers movie. The unprecedented ambition of making five movies over four years to build up to a single crossover event film. In 2012, it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen. Now, in 2018, it almost seems quaint.
If "The Avengers" was unprecedented, then I'm not sure how to describe "Avengers: Infinity War." A decade of build-up over 18 movies. The mind boggles at how far Marvel Studios has come.
But while I'm excited to finally see the Infinity War, equally as interesting is where things might go from there.
Fans have known that the Infinity War has been coming since Thanos first showed his purple mug at the end of "The Avengers." Throughout Phase Two and Three we've been looking out for the six Infinity Stones as they pop-up across the universe, leading to this inevitable result.
Five of the six stones are accounted for, in the hands (or in Vision's case, head) of various characters across the universe. With the trailers for Infinity War showing an attack on the Black Panther's vibranium-rich country of Wakanda, it's a safe bet that the sixth and final stone is buried under their mountain of alien super-metal.
Odds are good that Thanos is going to walk away from Wakanda a winner, with the ultimate power of all six Infinity Stones at his command. I'm sure there will be a surprise or two along the way, but all roads ultimately lead to this conclusion. After all, it wouldn't be much of an Infinity War if the big bad doesn't get the most powerful bejeweled oven-mitt in the universe.
Likewise, odds are also good that our heroes will stop him.
But how they do it, and at what cost, is anybody's guess.
After all, there's no guarantee that our favorite heroes will be making it out of the movie in one piece. The end of Phase Three also means the end of contract obligations for a lot of these actors. If there are going to be some shocking heroic sacrifices, this is the movie to put them in. The stakes will never be higher and the timing will never be better. Anything is on the table.
To that end, Marvel Studios has been suspiciously tight-lipped about what the post-Infinity War world will look like.
Looking at the comics for clues won't do much good. In the original "Infinity Gauntlet" storyline, Thanos makes short work of Earth's mightiest heroes only to lose the gauntlet to Nebula, who in turn is tricked by an alliance of Thanos, Doctor Strange, and Adam Warlock (who has yet to be introduced to the movie universe). Call me crazy, but I somehow doubt that Robert Downy Jr. and the trio of Chrises will be regulated to cannon fodder while Karen Gillan and Benedict Cumberbatch take center stage in the last act.
Even looking at Marvel Studios' upcoming slate of movies doesn't help. Following "Avengers: Infinity War" this summer will be "Ant-Man and the Wasp," but it doesn't seem like that move will take place after Thanos comes to town. Instead, judging from the trailer, it looks like the movie will take place in the aftermath of "Captain America: Civil War."
Next up after that is "Captain Marvel," which for certain won't take place post-Infinity War. We'll be introduced to Carol Danvers in a movie set in the 1990s, long before Tony Stark's first test flight as Iron Man.
The first movie that is certain to take place after "Avengers: Infinity War" will be the as-of-yet still untitled fourth Avengers movie, which obviously doesn't help much either. Originally, Marvel Studios planned Infinity War to be told in two-parts, but it's no longer certain if that's still the case. Obviously one will have massive repercussions on the other, regardless of what they call them, but this could mean that Infinity War will mark the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it while the next movie sets up a new one.
After all, if you're planning on making large sweeping changes to your fictional universe, giving an insane space pirate a glove that can rewrite reality is a pretty convenient way to do it.
Beyond that, the only movies left on the slate are "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and an untitled sequel to "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Since there's no telling what the roster of the Guardians will be, that means the only character virtually guaranteed to survive the Infinity War will be Spider-Man, which is hardly a startling revelation.
Things become even more complicated when we consider Disney's plans to bring Fox into the fold. If Marvel Studios plans on using the transition out of Phase Three to rebuild their cinematic universe that could mean doing so in a way that introduces the X-Men and Fantastic Four to the mix.
Whatever happens, it will be interesting to see how things unfold.
Sure, there's always the concern that Marvel Studios will eventually stumble and break their winning streak. After all, nothing good lasts forever. Even the golden sheen of Pixar has lost its luster over the years.
I'd be lying if I said I was confident that Marvel can introduce the X-Men to the Avengers in a way that works out well for both franchises and I'm even less confident that the recently announced plans for an Eternals movie will work out any better than the failed attempt at making Inhumans a thing.
Still, unlike their comic book publishing counterparts, Marvel Studios has earned the benefit of the doubt again and again. Even the worst MCU movie is still enjoyable, so as long as that keeps being the case they'll continue to earn my ticket purchase.
Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and hopes rumors of a Nova movie pan out.