Warning! Not even the Avengers can save you from the possible spoilers below for “Infinity War” and “Avengers 4.”
If you’re still reeling from the end of “Avengers: Infinity War,” take solace in the fact that you’re not alone in your misery. You, like everyone else, still have to wait a year for the second half of the story, which will take place in the Russo brothers’ upcoming, still-untitled “Avengers” movie.
Or do you?
An interesting idea popped up in the Marvel spoilers subreddit this month, after user ilurkthingsreborn claimed to have access to an inside source with intelligence on the upcoming movie.
Specifically, intel on the fate of Captain America and the weapon he’s hinted at wielding for some time.
Now, stay with us here, because in the world of leaks things can get complicated quickly. A bit of background information:
An account with the name ilurkthings existed prior to the ilurkthingsreborn version, and it leaked accurate plot points about “Infinity War” weeks before the movie’s release, apparently revealing details about the post-credit scene and Spider-Man’s death in Iron Man’s arms. That account has since been deleted, but you can still see remnants of it when Redditors refer to ilurkthings leaks.
This new account, ilurkthingsreborn, is allegedly the same person(s) using the same Marvel source(s). Subreddit moderators have allowed this May 1 post to remain in the forum for more than a week; they’ve given no indication that ilurkthingsreborn isn’t the same leaker as before.
Now to the post. It contains a lot of disparate details.
The plot of “Avengers 4” will revolve around the Avengers who survived Thanos’ deadly finger snap in “Infinity War” going back in time, possibly to retrieve the Infinity Stones (using a Tony Stark-made Infinity Gauntlet) to prevent Thanos from ever procuring them. Hulk will also apparently use the Stark Gauntlet and lose his arm in the process.
It sounds like a bunch of really riveting fan fiction until you get to one particular piece of information that could validate the whole thing. It pertains to a fight scene involving Captain America, Thor and Thanos:
I was told that at one point bearded Steve and Thor have a fight scene against Thanos where Thor gets blown away and Cap actually ends up weilding Mjolnir because he has finally been found worthy. However I was told that Thanos does end up killing Cap.
OK, setting Cap’s possible death aside (fans were predicting he’d kick the bucket in “Infinity War,” and that didn’t happen), this “leak,” if true, could provide an answer to a long-standing question in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Yes, Cap is worthy of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir.
At first, the Reddit detail about the hammer seemed questionable for a few reasons. Primarily because Thor’s sister Hela shattered his hammer in “Thor Ragnarok” (2017), causing the god of thunder to wield a new weapon in “Infinity War,” dubbed Stormbreaker. Getting the new weapon is a significant part of Thor’s storyline. So why would Mjolnir come back into play in the proceeding movie? This requires an explanation, right?
Then I remembered an interview I had with the directors of “Infinity War” and the upcoming “Avengers 4” film, Joe and Anthony Russo, following the release of “Captain America: Civil War” (2016) two years ago. During that interview, I asked them about Cap and Mjolnir.
It’s important to know that in the MCU, only characters who are “worthy” can pick up Thor’s hammer. No one knows exactly what “worthy” means. But if you’re not worthy, then stop. There’s no hammer time. But in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015), Captain America attempts to lift Mjolnir, and it moves ever so slightly in the process. He doesn’t succeed in picking it up, but Thor is effectively spooked by Cap’s abilities.
It seemed relevant enough a budge to ask the Russos, since I had the opportunity, whether Cap was actually worthy and just let go too soon. Their cagey responses had my spidey reporter senses tingling, even back then.
