What Happens After Avengers: Infinity War In Marvel's Comics?

Avengers: Infinity War released in theaters earlier this year, and it had major implications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe that fans are still grappling with months later. The home release has afforded us new details about Infinity War, but we still have little insight into the official plans for Avengers 4. Infinity War concludes shortly after Thanos snapped his fingers, and that's when things start to get a little more complicated.

The finger snap isn't exactly surprising--it's been pretty thoroughly teased in the promotional material for the last three months and it's one of the most iconic comics moments of all time. We can't say we didn't see this ending coming. But of course, just because it's not surprising doesn't mean it's an easy thing to process. The heroes lost, half the universe is crumbling, the Infinity Stones are all far out of reach, and the universe itself has been virtually turned upside down.

We're left with one all important question: What the hell is going to happen in Avengers 4?

Thankfully, we don't have to take a total shot in the dark. Thanos's victory is something that has happened before in the comic. And while the MCU is certainly never going to be a shot-for-shot recreation, we might be able to get a pretty good grasp on just what to expect in Avengers 4 next year by going back and checking out some history.

The first and most obvious place to check is Infinity Gauntlet, the six ssue mini series from 1991 that Infinity War borrows pretty heavily from. It's the origin of the infamous finger snap, except in this version of the story Thanos starts with all six stones and the remaining five issues are a laundry list of Marvel heroes scrambling to pick up the pieces.

While a lot of Infinity Gauntlet's major players have not been properly introduced in the MCU, both Nebula, who survived Thanos's ultimate sundering, and Adam Warlock, who was teased in the post-credits stinger of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, play pivotal roles. Nebula's role isn't exactly heroic, however, as she steals the Gauntlet and winds up using it to exact her own revenge on her adoptive father. The resolution of Infinity Gauntlet involves Adam and Thanos teaming up with other cosmic Marvel entities to stop Nebula--a surprising twist, but one that probably won't make it all the way to the big screen.

It's not that Nebula doesn't have it in her to go full turncoat on the universe if the opportunity presents itself, especially now that she's got Gamora to avenge. But the idea of Thanos not being the actual final boss after seven years of build-up seems pretty far fetched.

Still, the potential for a major Adam Warlock reveal in Avengers 4 is definitely on the table. Infinity Gauntlet set a precedent that the only real way to undo the work of the Infinity Stones is to, well, use the Infinity Stones. Traditionally, Adam has the same sort of inherent connection to the Stones that we see in the live action incarnation of Scarlet Witch, who, unfortunately, didn't survive Thanos's big balancing act. It's not too hard to assume that some new Stone-attuned character will need to come in before the dust settles in Avengers 4. Adam Warlock isn't a bad bet.

As for the other big components of Infinity Gauntlet? Well, best not to get too many hopes up. Despite their major roles in the mini series, characters like Silver Surfer, Galactus, and Mephisto probably aren't going to be making any big cameos between now and 2019. Call it a hunch, but the 1990s-set Captain Marvel probably doesn't have enough screen time to properly introduce them to the chess board. Mistress Death, Thanos's comic book love interest (and the inspiration for the finger snap in the comics), probably won't show up any time soon, either, considering Infinity War has already done a pretty good job of re-writing Thanos's motivations.

Another place to look for post-Infinity War clues is the more recent comics event, Infinity, from 2013. This event provided the introduction for the Black Order, or the Children of Thanos as they're known in the movie, and also involved the Avengers teaming up to circumvent an extremely near miss at Thanos's hands. Most of the plot of Infinity involved multiple isolated camps of Avengers (specifically a team stuck in space and a team fighting for their lives in Wakanda--sound familiar?) fighting against the Black Order, Thanos himself, and a new cosmic force known as The Builders, who essentially build and destroy universes.

The ultimate resolution of Infinity lies in a scheme to actually fake surrendering while Captain America organizes disparate alien factions (including the Kree Accusers under the leadership of Ronan, or, that guy from the first Guardians movie) to team up and ultimately bring Thanos and The Builders down.

It's a loose connection, to be sure, but considering the post-credits sting implying the imminent approach of Captain Marvel, the fact that both Tony and Nebula are still trapped on Titan, and the fact that Thanos is, apparently, off enjoying a quiet life on some backwater planet, the idea that some serious interstellar support is going to have to swoop in is a possibility. In addition to Steve Rogers, Thor plays a pretty large part in turning the Infinity tides as well, and given that he's still on the playing field (with his new, extremely powerful axe Stormbreaker), we might be on the verge of seeing some serious Hail Mary plays.

So, you know, if Avengers 4 promotion starts up with the ominous implication that surrender is the only recourse, don't start panicking just yet.