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| photo courtesy of silverscreeninsider.com |
A 21-movie, 11-year spanning Marvel Cinematic Universe crash
course.
SPOILERS FOR
ALL PREVIOUS MARVEL STUDIOS MOVIES AND A FEW MINOR TIDBITS FROM THE MARKETING
FOR AVENGERS: ENDGAME
AVENGERS 101
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| The Avengers assemble. photo courtesy of screengeek.net |
The Avengers are a team
of superheroes who unite to face Earth’s deadliest threats. The main roster
includes Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert
Downey Jr.), a billionaire who invented a nanotech combat suit, Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo, Edward
Norton), a brilliant physicist who transforms into an unstoppable green
monster, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a
near-immortal alien who commands lightning, Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), a soldier from the
1940’s who gained powers after being injected with an experimental serum, Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner),
who has crazy skills with a bow and arrows, and Natalia Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), an elite super
spy. That’s the basic group, but they pick up some new members and allies along
the way.
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| Some of the surviving heroes regroup. photo courtesy of ew.com |
The gang assembled in The
Avengers (2012) to stop an alien invasion secretly orchestrated by Thanos (Josh Brolin), one of Marvel’s
most formidable villains. In Captain
America: Civil War (2016), the team split up over the decision to allow
government oversight of their activities (and Iron Man and Cap also had a
personal falling out). Then, in Avengers:
Infinity War (2018), the divided factions took on Thanos in person.
SO WHAT ALL HAPPENED
IN INFINITY WAR?
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| Thanos with two Infinity Stones--an image from the marketing for Infinity War. photo courtesy of polygon.com |
Thanos’ plan in Infinity
War was to acquire all six Infinity
Stones, ancient sources of immense power, to wipe out half of all life in
the universe. The Avengers fought Thanos and his army in several places, but
there were two major showdowns: on Titan,
Thanos’ homeworld, and in Wakanda, a
technologically advanced nation in Africa.
Despite the Avenger’s best efforts, Thanos succeeded in
acquiring the Stones, assembling them in his Infinity Gauntlet, and—with a snap of his fingers—vaporizing half
of all living beings, including many of the Avengers. Avengers: Endgame (2019) will follow the surviving members in the
aftermath of their defeat, making a last-ditch effort to restore the universe
to order.
WHERE WE LEFT
THEM – THE MAJOR PLAYERS
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| The "science bros," a.k.a. Bruce Banner and Tony Stark. photo courtesy of cinemablend.com |
Iron
Man: alive, on Titan. We last saw
Tony on Titan, just after the snap killed most of his allies on the planet. Side note: Tony hasn’t reconciled with Steve
since Civil War, when he learned that
Steve knew that his buddy Bucky Barnes—who was brainwashed at the time—killed
Tony’s father.
Hulk: alive, on Earth. Bruce made his stand with the heroes
in Wakanda. He stayed in human form throughout the battle because, for some
reason, he couldn’t get the Hulk to emerge. In the post-credits scene for Captain Marvel (2019), he was back in
the Avengers facility in New York, hatching a plot with some
of the other heroes—including Black Widow, with whom he has a troubled romance.
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| Thor and Loki on Sakaar. photo courtesy of digitalspy.com |
Thor: alive, on Earth. The god of thunder came back to Earth
to help the Avengers in Wakanda. In the process, he showed off his new magical axe,
Stormbreaker. Side note: Thor has eyes of different colors. He lost one in Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and got a replacement
in Infinity War.
Loki (Tom Hiddelston): personally murdered by Thanos. Loki,
Thor’s adopted brother and perpetual frenemy, died early in Infinity War. Loki is generally one of
Marvel’s most mischievous villains—he led Thanos’ invasion forces in The Avengers—but thankfully his death
came at a significant moment of heroism.
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| Captain America and Black Widow return to the Avengers facility after years in exile. photo courtesy of theplaylist.net |
Captain
America: alive, on
Earth. After spending years as fugitives post-Civil War, Steve and his friends returned to confront Thanos in
Wakanda. Most recently, Steve was among the Avengers seen back in New York in Captain Marvel. We have yet to see him
take back his iconic vibranium (a
nearly indestructible metal) shield, which he left behind when he went AWOL.
Black
Widow: alive, on
Earth. Black Widow was part of Steve’s group who returned to
fight in Wakanda. She was also one of the Avengers back in New York in Captain Marvel.
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| Hawkeye with his bow and arrows. photo courtesy of inverse.com |
Hawkeye: alive, location unknown. Clint was nowhere to be seen in Infinity War, which makes sense because
he’s theoretically “retired” from superhero-ing to spend more time with his
family on their secret farm. We
should expect him to enter the fray in Endgame.
James
Rhodey/War Machine (Don
Cheadle, Terrence Howard): alive, on Earth. A former Air Force officer, Rhodey is
one of Iron Man’s best buds who wears an alternate version of the Iron Man suit
on Avengers missions. He fought in Wakanda and later migrated back to the
Avengers facility.
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| Falcon and Winter Soldier share a laugh at Cap's expense. photo courtesy of newsweek.com |
Bucky
Barnes/The Winter Soldier (Sebastian
Stan): snapped out of existence. Bucky is Steve’s longtime bestie.
He’s a super soldier with a metal arm who spent many years as a brainwashed
agent for some Nazis, but most recently he fought alongside Steve in Wakanda.
Sam
Wilson/Falcon (Anthony
Mackie): snapped out of existence. He’s one of Steve’s pals and an
Avengers inductee who wears a high-tech wingsuit into combat.
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| Nick Fury gets *snapped* out of existence. photo courtesy of nerdist.com |
Nick
Fury (Samuel L.
Jackson): snapped out of existence. Nick’s a super-spy who once headed a
massive covert intelligence agency called S.H.I.E.L.D.—until
it fell apart in Captain America: The
Winter Soldier (2014). He also brought together the Avengers and gave them
advice from time to time. In Infinity War,
he was vaporized by the snap—but not before sending a desperate message to his
old pal, Captain Marvel.
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| Gamora and Star-Lord and their "unspoken thing." photo courtesy of inverse.com |
Peter
Quill/Star-Lord (Chris
Pratt): snapped out of existence. Star-Lord leads the Guardians of the Galaxy, a team of
heroes and misfits who handle intergalactic threats. He’s the only human on the
team, and he loves his teammate Gamora. He fought Thanos on Titan in Infinity War.
Gamora
(Zoe Saldana): personally murdered by
Thanos. Another member of the Guardians, Gamora, was abducted by
Thanos at a young age, raised as his daughter, and turned into a lethal
assassin. In Infinity War he
re-captured her and sacrificed her in exchange for one of the Infinity Stones.
She’s one of the few victims in the movie who died before the snap. You know, just regular, old-fashioned murder.
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| Rocket and Groot fly in their space pod. photo courtesy of screenscoop.com |
Rocket
Raccoon (Bradley
Cooper): alive, on Earth. Rocket’s a scientifically engineered talking raccoon who’s
good with weapons and technology. He’s the only surviving member of the
Guardians of the Galaxy, and he came to Earth with Thor to fight Thanos in
Wakanda.
Groot (Vin Diesel): snapped out of existence. Groot is a
tree-like alien and a member of the Guardians. He came to Earth with Thor and
got vaporized in Wakanda. Side note:
Groot communicates using only three words: I am Groot.
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| Drax and Mantis laugh at Star-Lord. photo courtesy of comicbook.com |
Drax (Dave Bautista): snapped out of existence. Drax is a
powerful alien and a member of the Guardians. He fought Thanos on Titan, and
for Drax it’s personal: years ago, his wife and daughter were killed on Thanos’
orders.
Mantis (Pom Klementieff): snapped out of existence. Mantis is
an alien who can feel/influence people’s feelings and put them to sleep. She fought
on Titan with her fellow Guardians.
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| Nebula confronts Thanos on Titan. photo courtesy of inverse.com |
Nebula (Karen Gillian): alive, on Titan. Nebula is
an ally of the Guardians, and like Gamora, she was taken by Thanos as a young
girl, raised by him, and turned into a killing machine. She and Tony will have
to work together to get back to Earth on the Benatar, the Guardians’ spaceship.
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| Vision and Scarlet Witch under attack. photo courtesy of mcucosmic.com |
Wanda
Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth
Olsen): snapped out of existence. Scarlet Witch’s powers include telekinesis,
telepathy, and a few other things. She fought in Wakanda with her significant
other, Vision. Side note: Back in the
day her super-fast brother Pietro/Quicksilver
(Aaron Taylor-Johnson) was briefly a member of the Avengers before he died
saving Hawkeye’s life.
Vision (Paul Bettany): personally murdered by Thanos. Vision is
an incredibly powerful android member of the Avengers. He was animated by one
of the Infinity Stones, which sat on his forehead, until Thanos snatched it off
to complete his collection. Vision was instantly killed.
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| Ant-Man, alone in the Quantum Realm. photo courtesy of newsweek.com |
Scott
Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd):
alive, lost in the Quantum Realm. Scott uses
a suit that enables him to grow or shrink at will. At the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), he shrunk
to an infinitesimal size to reach the Quantum Realm, a place where time and
space work differently, to collect healing particles. Unfortunately for
Ant-Man, his friends on the outside were victims of the snap, leaving him with
no easy way out. We have one hint as to how he might escape: a brief mention of
“time vortexes” that can be found inside the Realm. And seeing as he’s hanging
at the Avengers facility in Endgame
trailers, we should expect him to catch up with the gang.
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| Hope, Hank, and Janet turn to dust. photo courtesy of marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com |
Hope
van Dyne/The Wasp (Evangeline
Lilly): snapped out of existence. Hope has a suit just like her boyfriend
Scott’s, except hers features blasters and wings. She was helping Scott enter
the Quantum Realm when the snap happened.
Janet
van Dyne (Michelle
Pfeiffer): snapped out of existence. Hope’s mother, Janet, had just
escaped her decades-long voyage into the Quantum Realm when Thanos snapped his
fingers.
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| Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange on their way to Titan. photo courtesy of geektyrant.com |
Doctor
Stephen Strange (Benedict
Cumberbatch): snapped out of existence. As Sorcerer Supreme (the most powerful sorcerer on Earth; it appears
he’s gained that official title by this point), he fought on the frontlines on
Titan. Before the battle with Thanos, he looked forward in time and determined
that there was one possible outcome in which the Avengers won. And then, just
before the snap, he declared that the Avengers were “in the endgame now.”
Peter
Parker/Spider-Man (Tom
Holland): snapped out of existence. Spider-Man hitched a ride to Titan
and formally joined the Avengers on the way. He had one of Infinity War’s more emotional “deaths,” passing away in the arms of
his mentor/pseudo-father figure, Tony. But then again, he’s set to appear in Spider-Man: Far From Home this July, so
how dead can he be?
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| Okoye and T'Challa in Wakanda. photo courtesy of shadowandact.com |
T’Challa/Black
Panther (Chadwick
Boseman): snapped out of existence. As Black Panther and King of Wakanda,
T’Challa gains his powers from the mysterious heart-shaped herb. He was part of the Avengers’ last stand in
Wakanda before the snap occurred.
Okoye (Danai Gurira): alive, on Earth. Okoye is
general of Wakanda’s elite fighting force, the Dora Milaje. She was last seen in Wakanda, witnessing the snap.
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| Captain Marvel challenges the Supreme Intelligence (Annette Bening). photo courtesy of vox.com |
Carol
Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie
Larson): alive, on Earth. Thanks to her unique exposure to one of the Infinity
Stones, Carol has potent energy absorption powers. She was born on Earth, but
she spends most of her time in space. Her last known visit to Earth was in the
90s, when she met a young Nick Fury… which is why Nick paged her before he died.
Captain Marvel’s post-credits scene
confirms that she arrives at the Avengers facility to answer the call either
during Endgame or just prior.
Thanos (Josh Brolin): alive, location unknown. Immediately
after the snap, Thanos used the Stones to teleport himself to an unknown planet to watch the sunrise. Side note: The Infinity Gauntlet, which
houses the Stones, appears to have been damaged by the snap.
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| Pepper and Happy. photo courtesy of celebmix.com |
Pepper
Potts (Gwyneth
Paltrow): alive, on Earth. Pepper is Tony’s long-time love interest, and in Infinity War, Tony told her he had a
dream that they had a child. She will appear in Endgame, but we have no idea where. Side note: she may or may not still have superpowers after the
events of Iron Man 3 (2013).
Happy
Hogan (Jon
Favreau): alive, on Earth. Tony’s old pal and former bodyguard Happy will also appear
in Endgame.
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| Valkyrie likes to drink. photo courtesy of inverse.com |
Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson): alive, location unknown. Valkyrie is
an Asgardian warrior and friend of Thor. We last saw her at the end of Thor: Ragnarok, aboard the ship of
Asgardian refugees. We don’t know exactly how it all went down, but she
apparently avoided Thanos’ attack on the ship and survived the snap on her way to Endgame.
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| Wong meets Hulk in Infinity War. photo courtesy of herohyper.com |
Wong (Benedict Wong): alive, on Earth. Doctor’s
Strange’s sorcerer pal, Wong, was last seen guarding the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York. The Sanctum is one of three sorcerer
havens that protect the Earth from mystical threats. Wong will appear in Endgame.
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| Shuri defends the throne in Black Panther (2018). photo courtesy of polygon.com |
Shuri (Letitia Wright): snapped out of existence. Shuri is
T’Challa’s sister and a technological genius at the forefront of Wakanda’s
advancements.
M’Baku (Winston Duke): alive, on Earth. M’Baku, the
head of the Jabari tribe of Wakanda,
was last seen on the battlefield commanding his forces.
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| Maria Hill on a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier in The Avengers. photo courtesy of hellogiggles.com |
Maria
Hill (Colbie
Smulders): snapped out of existence. As Nick Fury’s #2, she was by his side
when the snap happened.
Heimdall (Idris Elba): personally murdered by Thanos. Thor’s old
friend Heimdall was the first to die in Infinity
War; he was killed aboard the Asgardian refugee ship.
If you’re curious about who else may or may not be alive by Avengers: Endgame—including the new
characters from Captain Marvel—you
can check them out here.
THE INFINITY
STONES
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| Thanos adds the Space Stone to the Infinity Gauntlet. photo courtesy of newsweek.com |
Just about anything could happen in Endgame, but smart money is on the Avengers finding a way to steal
the six Infinity Stones to reverse the snap. One popular theory is that the Avengers will steal the Stones in the
past, using time travel. So here’s a brief history of the Infinity Stones—what
they can do, when we’ve seen them before—in case the Avengers revisit some
earlier Marvel movies in Endgame.
THE SPACE
STONE/TESSERACT
The Space
Stone is the first Infinity Stone to appear in the MCU,
introduced in the post-credits scene for Thor
(2011). It has a blue color, and it gives the wielder control over space—as in
teleportation and intangibility. For most of its time in the MCU, the Space
Stone was housed in a blue cube called the Tesseract.
Here’s where it factors into the story:
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| Loki with the Space Stone, hidden inside the Tesseract. photo courtesy of polygon.com |
1) Captain America:
The First Avenger (2011). Back in the 1940’s the classic Captain America
villain Red Skull took the Space
Stone/Tesseract from its hiding place
in Norway, where it was left by the Asgardians in ancient times. Captain
America put a wrench in Red Skull’s plans, and the Stone was in S.H.I.E.L.D’s
possession by the end of the movie.
2) Captain Marvel.
In the 1990’s, S.H.I.E.L.D. and NASA did experiments with the Tesseract. (One
such experiment ended up giving Carol Danvers her powers.) The Tesseract almost
got stolen by evil members of the alien race known as the Kree, but Carol’s cat-like alien friend Goose swallowed it for safe-keeping. At some point later, Goose spat
it back up for Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. to have.
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| The Battle of New York. photo courtesy of retrozap.com |
3) The Avengers. Loki,
working for Thanos, came to Earth to steal the Tesseract and use it to make a
portal through which Thanos’ alien army could invade. This all culminated with
the Battle of New York, where the
Avengers bested Loki and the alien army. Afterward, Thor took Loki and the
Tesseract back with him to Asgard,
Thor’s homeworld.
4) Thor: Ragnarok.
The Tesseract remained in the Asgardian vault until the end of Ragnarok, just before the destruction of
Asgard. In the planet’s final moments, Loki slipped into the vault and grabbed
it.
5) Avengers: Infinity
War. Loki and the other Asgardian refugees were aboard their ship on the
way to Earth… when Thanos attacked, looking for the Tesseract. He took the
Tesseract, removed the Space Stone from inside it, and inserted it into his
Infinity Gauntlet.
THE MIND
STONE/SCEPTER
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| Loki with the Mind Stone hidden inside his Scepter. photo courtesy of vulture.com |
The Mind
Stone has a yellow color, and it gives the wielder control over
minds—to manipulate or even create them. For much of its time in the MCU, it
was concealed within a Scepter.
Here’s where it factors into the story:
1) The
Avengers. When Thanos sent Loki to Earth, he sent him with the Mind
Stone inside the Scepter (called Loki’s Scepter at the time). Loki used the Scepter
to command people’s minds as part of his sinister plot, but it was lost after
the Battle of New York.
2) Avengers: Age of
Ultron (2015). The Avengers recaptured the Scepter at the beginning of this
movie, and after doing some experiments with it, Tony inadvertently created the
A.I. villain Ultron (James Spader).
Ultron removed the Stone from the Scepter to create a living android body for
himself, but the Avengers stole the body and instead created a new hero,
Vision, who wore the Mind Stone in his forehead.
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| Vision is brought to life by the Mind Stone, which sits in his forehead. photo courtesy of movieweb.com |
3) Avengers: Infinity
War. Thanos sent his henchmen, called the Black Order, after the Mind Stone, but the Avengers defeated them
and took the Stone to Wakanda to try to separate it from Vision’s forehead. Then
Thanos came for the Mind Stone himself. He defeated the Avengers, killed
Vision, and took the Stone. With his collection complete, he succeeded in
wiping out half of all life in the universe.
THE REALITY
STONE/AETHER
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| The Collector takes the Reality Stone, contained in a box. photo courtesy of rottentomatoes.com |
The Reality
Stone has a red color, and it gives the wielder control over the
fabric of reality. For instance, Thanos once uses the Reality Stone to turn
laser bolts into harmless bubbles. Here’s where it factors into the story:
1) Thor: The Dark
World (2013). The Aether was
“awakened” from its ancient hiding place by none other than Jane Foster, Thor’s
gal at the time. Malekith
(Christopher Eccleston), a Dark Elf,
wanted to use it to destroy the universe, so he took it from Jane. When Thor
saved the day, the Asgardians delivered the Aether to a being known as the Collector for safekeeping.
2) Avengers: Infinity
War. Thanos went to Knowhere,
the Collector’s headquarters, to get the Stone. The Guardians of the Galaxy
arrived too late to stop him.
THE POWER
STONE/ORB
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| The Power Stone. photo courtesy of polygon.com |
The Power
Stone has a purple color, and it lends the wielder raw,
destructive power. Here’s where it factors into the story:
1) Guardians of the
Galaxy (2014). Star-Lord found the Power Stone hidden inside an Orb on an abandoned planet. Thanos
ordered his lackey Ronan the Accuser
(Lee Pace) to get it for him, but Ronan decided he’d rather keep it. He tried
to use the Orb to destroy the planet Xandar,
but the Guardians stopped him and left the Orb in the vault on Xandar, under
the supervision of the Nova Corps
police.
2) Avengers: Infinity
War. About a week before the events of Infinity
War, Thanos attacked Xandar and recovered the Power Stone/Orb from the
vault there.
THE TIME
STONE
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| Doctor Strange tests boundaries with the Time Stone. photo courtesy of inverse.com |
The Time
Stone has a green color, and it gives the wielder control of time.
Here’s where it factors into the story:
1) Doctor Strange
(2016). Doctor Strange found the Time Stone hidden inside an ancient relic
called the Eye of Agamotto, where
the sorcerers kept it to use in special circumstances. Strange used the Stone
to fend off the villain Dormammu.
2) Avengers: Infinity War. Thanos sent his Black Order after the Time
Stone, but the Avengers successfully defended it. Later, Doctor
Strange brought the Time Stone with him to fight Thanos on Titan, but he ended
up giving it to Thanos willingly to save Tony’s life.
THE SOUL
STONE
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| Vormir, the hiding place of the Soul Stone. photo courtesy of reddit.com |
The Soul
Stone has an orange color, and its abilities are not yet
abundantly clear. In Infinity War,
Red Skull said that it has a “special place” among the Stones, or a “certain
wisdom.” Here’s where it factors into the story:
Avengers:
Infinity War. Thanos took Gamora to Vormir,
the hiding place of the Soul Stone, where it was guarded by Red Skull. He told
Thanos that he had to give up the thing he most loved to acquire the Stone, so
Thanos sacrificed Gamora in exchange for the Stone. Side Note: At the end of Infinity
War, we got a glimpse at an orange place that appears to be inside the Soul Stone—a Soul “world”—and Gamora’s soul was
intact there.
You can catch Avengers:
Endgame in theaters the evening of April 25.
TRAILERS
Trailer 1:
Trailer 2:
Special Look:
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