This is all purely personal speculation based on trailers and scoops, but read no further if you don’t wish to possibly be spoiled.
As a reader of comics I enjoy some pictures with my stories, so this article will follow that inspiration. The 2nd trailer which was released just before the TV spots concluded with an image of Vision, showcasing what appears to be the Soul Stone on his forehead.
This got me thinking that perhaps the Infinity Stones are even more prevalent in the MCU than I had been giving them credit for. I looked at the information I knew already, but with a Stone-centric perspective and things made a lot more sense to me. Let me know if you agree or not in the comments after you have a read:
I think it’s fair to assume that the snowy assault on the Hydra mountain fortress will be the “Bond-like” opening action scene we’ve been promised. I’d be willing to bet that this exact scene will bumper onto one side or the other of the opening credits.
The team will return to Avengers tower with Loki’s Scepter in tow (Mind Stone) thanks to Iron Man.
Tony and Bruce will be discussing the Ultron program to give some back story before they all go have some celebratory drinks believing that the Mind Stone is safely contained.
The Mind Stone, which could easily be considered as a “ruin of the Chitauri Invasion” would find the sentience of the Ultron program and begin to assemble itself a physical form.
If the Mind Stone is involved in the creation of Ultron, then that would give Thor good reason to be angry with Stark, claiming “you are meddling with powers that you do not understand”.
Thor realizes that he’s now encountered the Mind, Space, and Reality Stones all on Earth, and that can only mean that Thanos isn’t far behind. He’ll return to Asgard in order to find out where the Soul Gem is kept since keeping them hidden is almost pointless. This will also be the only way to defeat Ultron since the Stones can only harm each other. I believe that this scene takes place in another realm where the Soul Stone is being kept, and that someone is temporarily removing Thor’s power before he can retrieve the Stone.
This scene could involve leading Thor to the Stone, or as a flashback to the hiding of the Stone.
This would then be him retrieving it. (You're welcome, ladies)
Thor can then come save the day with the Soul Stone in tow to imbue Vision with consciousness and power enough to counter Ultron.
I’m also going to predict that there is a massive amount of machinery necessary to build Vision and connect him to the Stone, which we can see a part of in this epic scene from the trailer.
I think that Quicksilver will be either using his speed to help build Vision, or transporting the Stone to him. This explains why he isn’t in this scene, rather than Whedon having killed him off.
Thor will then return to Asgard to defend the Tesseract against Ragnarok, which I am beginning to believe Thanos will have a hand in.
Tony will view the Registration Act as a possible way to train and assemble super-powered individuals for the coming of Thanos, but Steve will believe that everyone should fight of their own desire, not under orders.
You can see how I think the Stones will connect to the Twins’ powers here: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/MakemineMarvel/news/?a=108409
I still have a whole lot of questions about this movie though, not the least of which regarding what Marvel plan to do with Hulk.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed yourself. Leave comments in the usual place, thumbs up if you like, and Make Mine Marvel!