The trailer for the highly anticipated Avengers: Infinity War is finally out and it did not disappoint! Marvel fans have waited for an entire decade for this showdown, so it is no surprise that some people felt emotional after watching the trailer. People even posted trailer reactions on YouTube, and a lot of them are similar to when people saw the first Avengers movie five years ago. For a dose of nostalgia, you can look back when Good Comic Books covered the Avengers teaser trailer.
Let’s recap: Avengers: Infinity War reunites the Avengers to face their most powerful enemy yet, Thanos. The Mad Titan is on a mission to collect six Infinity stones to further his plans of inflicting his will on reality. Based on the trailer, Thanos already has two of the stones, and it seems like he will successfully procure the third one from Vision.
While several fans shed tears for Avengers: Infinity War, there were also those who noticed other things. Many enthusiasts pointed out Thanos’ ridiculous new look, which Polygon mentioned as the subject of new memes. These include face swaps with Homer Simpson and Hank Hill from King of the Hill, while others showed Thanos with Photoshopped hats.
Meanwhile, other people have opened up discussions on which Avenger will be saying goodbye after the climax. Plus, MCU Exchange revealed that there has been a casting call for mourners, which spurred the rumours of an Avenger’s death even further. While fans are quite confident about the idea that Vision will not make it, popular theories also cite the end of either Iron Man or Captain America, mainly because the contracts of both actors have already reached their due.
The Avengers: Infinity War has definitely got everyone talking. In fact, Variety claims that all of social media was ablaze with conversations on the topic. In its first week alone, the trailer has generated around 500,000 new conversations on social media, surpassing the 208,000 conversations made by another highly anticipated film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Of course, Marvel Studios is no stranger to creating social media buzz. Earlier this year, two funny offbeat promotional videos for Thor: Ragnarok were released on Marvel Entertainment’s official YouTube account. These Team Thor clips showed a glimpse of Thor’s whereabouts during the events of Captain America: Civil War. Apparently, he’s just bunking in with a guy named Darryl, who is not exactly fond of his presence.
Thor and the rest of the Avengers are highly responsible for the world’s current fixation on superhero movies. With the introduction of a shared cinematic universe, comic book fans always have a new movie to look forward to every year. It is uncertain when the mainstream audience will move on from the superhero craze, but it can be said with certainty that it’s not any time soon. This is because many companies have already joined the superhero bandwagon or are scrambling to incorporate their own superhero themes. For instance, Universal Studios has introduced its own shared cinematic universe starring universal monsters like the Mummy, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, and more.
Video game creators are also adopting comic book characters and some even write their own original storylines. Batman: The Telltale Series is one example of a game that features a fresh narrative that is not tied to the comics. Meanwhile, other titles display flexibility by taking inspiration from sources tied to the famous superheroes of today’s generation. Take the case of Thunderstruck that’s hosted on games portal Slingo, which was based on the Norse God of Thunder. The design elements are reminiscent of the Marvel counterpart, even though there have been numerous representations of the deity throughout history. This creates a juxtapose effect considering that, technically speaking, the two are different characters. At any rate, the present hype surrounding comic book characters are affecting even other creations that only share a few resemblances, whether directly or otherwise.
Ultimately, it’s proof that the phenomenon is not likely to die down soon, especially with hundreds more characters not having their chance to shine yet. But through the capability of social media to put topics and/or people (including fictional ones) on the limelight, discussions like the conversations about the Avengers will become more common.
As for today though, all eyes are on the beloved all-star team of Marvel. Avengers: Infinity War is slated for release on April 27, 2018.
