"Avengers: Infinity War": 10 things you should know about Marvel's latest superhero film

Who is Thanos and what are the Infinity Stones? Here are seven things you should know before seeing "Avengers: Infinity War".

Marvel Studios' massive crossover event, "Avengers: Infinity War,"  hits cinemas this weekend and here are 10 things you should know about it.

1. "Avengers: Infinity War" marks the beginning of the end

"Avengers: Infinity War" is the beginning of the end for the first major story arc of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and features almost every main character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date.

It marks the beginning of  the conclusion of “Phase Three” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which began a decade ago with the first "Iron Man" film."

2. What is "Infinity War" about?

In the anticipated superhero movie, the Avengers join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to confront Thanos, who is trying to collect the Infinity Stones.

3. Who is Thanos?

Thanos made his first appearance in the 2012 "The Avengers" when he hired Loki to retrieve the Tesseract after he found out it was on Earth.

He has 'adopted' children who are trained for his own gain. They are Gamora and Nebula.

Referred to as the Dark Lord by his most loyal followers, Thanos is in charge of the Black Order: Proxima Midnight, Cull Obsidian, Corvus Glaive and Ebony Maw.

In 2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy," Thanos formed an alliance with Ronan the accuser, who betrayed him and used the Power Stone for his own gain.

In the "Avengers: Age of Ultron" post-credit scene, Thanos decided to acquire all six Infinity Stones by himself.

And as explained by The Collector in "Guardians of the Galaxy," six singularities which existed before the creation of the Universe. The Big Bang transformed those entities into six separate Infinity Stones.

With those stones, Thanos can destroy half the universe.

 

4. What are the infinity stones?

The Space Stone, which is also known as the Tesseract, controls space. It is currently with Loki, who stole it from his father's vault in "Thor: Ragnarok."

The Mind Stone was seen for the first time in Loki’s scepter in 2012’s "The Avengers." In "Avengers: Age of Ultron," Tony Stark and Bruce Banner used it to create Ultron, an artificially intelligent peace-keeping program, which eventually turned against them.

Finally, the Avengers used the Mind Stone to create another android called Vision. The stone is currently in Vision’s forehead.

 

The Reality Stone grants the user the power to manipulate matter. At the end of "Thor: The Dark World", two Asgardians gave the stone to The Collector because they couldn't keep the Space Stone and Reality Stone in the same room in Asgard.

The Power Stone can destroy anyone who touches it and  can be used to level an entire planet. The Guardians of the Galaxy seized it from Ronan and gave it to the Nova Corps to keep it safe.

The Time Stone grants its user the power to re-wind or fast-forward time. In "Doctor Strange," Stephen Strange used it to trap the villian, Dormammu. It is currently worn by Doctor Strange.

Soul Stone, which allows the  owner to control other souls - living and dead- is yet to appear in any of the films, and its location is unknown.

5. Cast and crew of "Avengers: Infinity War"

Anthony and Joe Russo, who directed “Captain America: Winter Soldier” and “Captain America: Civil War,” returned to direct “Avengers: Infinity War,” which also sees Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, and Mark Ruffalo reprising their roles.

6. What critics are saying about the film

Critics' first reaction to the anticipated superhero film has been intensely positive. "Infinity War" has been described as funny, weighty, epic, incredible and intense.

You can also read Pulse Nigeria's review of "Infinity War" here.

7. "Avengers: Infinity War" debuts in cinemas on April 27, 2018. It's sequel and fourth Avengers movie will debut on May 3, 2019.