Ever since “Iron Man” in 2008 launched the grand adventure that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movie franchise has galloped toward the final show-down between the MCU’s biggest superheroes and the “Mad Titan Thanos.”

With the “Avengers: Infinity War” expected to be the culmination of 10 years, 18 movies and numerous tie-in TV products, here are some of the tidbits to consider before viewing the film.

Who is Thanos?



Supervillian Thanos is easily one of the strongest characters in the MCU, with the character Korath directly referring to him as “the most powerful being in the universe” in the 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

In the aforementioned “Guardians,” it was revealed that the character invades various planets to decimate their lands and slaughter their people. He also adopts some survivors as his children/underlings. Gamora, one of Thanos’ “children" and a member of the team Guardians of the Galaxy," has shown that she despises the tyrannical character.

He was first shown on camera in the 2011’s “The Avengers” in the after-credit scenes, watching Loki failing to carry out his end of the bargain to deliver the Tesseract, one of the six Infinity Stones.

Thanos’ obsession with the Infinity Stones is connected to his goal to “restore the balance in the universe” by wiping out half its population, which was revealed in the trailers for the "Infinity War.”

In the “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the character Thor said that someone may be behind the matters related to the Infinity Stones.



What are Infinity Stones?



“Before creation itself, there were six singularities. Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots... Infinity Stones.” - Collector

Infinity Stones are the film version of the Marvel Comics’ Infinity Gems, and are six stones of immeasurable power. When put together in Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet, it can make the character unstoppable.

Space Stone is forged by Asgardians -- a powerful alien race mistakenly worshipped in Earth as Gods, thus the Norse mythology -- as the relic Tesseract, and was seen last in the possession of Loki in the “Infinity War” trailer. The Reality Stone is forged into powerful item Aether, currently bestowed to alien Collector, while Power Stone -- confined to an item called the Orb -- resides in possession of the fictional alien race called the Xandarians.

Mind Stone is kept by and is powering the android known as Vision -- also a member of the superhero team Avengers -- and the Time Stone is forged into Eye of Agamotto and is protected by Doctor Strange and his team of wizards on Earth.

Soul Stone has never been shown in the MCU.

What is Soul Stone?



There has been various fan theories about what the Soul Stone is, with the producers of the MCU refusing to deny or confirm them.

Among the most popular theories is that the stone is guarded by Heimdall, an all-seeing Asgardian who guarded the Bifrost bridge to his home world. It has been applied that the stone’s color would be orange, much like his eyes, and his ability to see trillions of souls has been reasoned to be proof that he possesses an item of immense power.

In the recent years, it was also suggested that the stone could be in the fictional country of Wakanda. Wakanda is the most scientifically advanced country in the MCU’s Earth, and its presence could explain the seemingly limitless properties of the fictional metal Vibranium -- found almost exclusively in the country -- along with the semi-magical items like the Heart-shaped Herb that gives its consumer incredible physical strength.



Will anyone die?



Since the film project was released, fans have been buzzing with the theory that some of the superheroes will die in the grand finale. This is based on the fact that in the “The Infinity Gauntlet,” a comic book sharing a lot of the same elements of “Infinity War,” many heroes die.

So far the only hero death in the MCU has been Quicksilver in the “Age of Ultron,” but some speculate that either Iron Man or Captain America will be killed off. Some say that Robert Downey Jr., playing Iron Man, has grown too big for the film franchise, with the actor earning $50 million for “The Avengers” and $75 million in “Iron Man 3.”

Chris Evans, playing Captain America, has indicated interest in pursuing his career as a director after the Avengers.

Nearly all the original members of the Avengers team, including Chris Hemsworth as Thor, will have their contract expired after “Infinity War” and the yet-to-be-named “Avengers 4.” But as in the case of Edward Norton being replaced by Mark Ruffulo as The Hulk, it is possible that new actors will take their place.

In terms of story point of view, Vision’s death is quiet likely, as he draws his power from the Mind Stone on his head. As Thanos’ goal is to collect all Infinity Stones, it is possible that the stone will be ripped out of his head, leading to the character’s death.

(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)