Avengers: Age of Ultron was just released in theaters, and with it the Avengers saw their toughest battle yet. Though this won’t be the end of their troubles. In fact, new battles are just over the horizon and Avengers: Age of Ultron set up brilliantly for them. So here are the Top 5 ways that Avengers: Age of Ultron set up for the Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, and the majority of Phase 3 itself.

*Warning: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD! So if you haven’t see the film, read our Spoiler Free Review, see the movie and I’ll see you back here*

5. Black Panther – Wakanda, Klaw & Vibranium:

When we first heard about Captain America’s broken shield and Vision’s density-altering ability, it seemed like a logical conclusion that this film would introduce Wakanda as a set up for Black Panther. Well Captain America’s shield breaking might have been a dream-sequence after all, but when Ulysses Klaw turned up in Trailer #2 the theory was back on. Well now that we’ve seen the film, it turns out there were even more connections to set up Black Panther.

The presence of Vibranium in Wakanda was made pretty clear in this film, but also the set up for the prime antagonist for the Black Panther film. Klaw was much more than just a minor cameo in this film as we learned that he’s already had quite a few run ins with Wakandan officials. Though the greatest set up for him came when Ultron chopped off his hand accidentally. Why you ask? Because in the comics, Klaw lost his right hand and replaced it with a sonic weapon. We saw him loose it. In Black Panther we’ll see him replace it.

4. Thor: Ragnarok – Visions of Destruction & Thor’s Futility:

When it comes to Thor: Ragnarok, everyone seems to have a general idea of what to expect, but nothing specific. Will the film following the comic/mythological storyline where the majority of Asgard is destroyed or will it involve the Thor Clone aptly named Ragnarok? We whatever is coming we know two thing for sure, there’s going to be a lot of death and it will serve a purpose of the Phase 3 story arc.

Avengers: Age of Ultron reminded us that Thor is our connection to the larger universe. Before talk of Doctor Strange or the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, it was Thor that first introduced us to much larger realms. He has knowledge the other Avengers don’t and as such his film will tie heavily into the universal scope of Infinity War. Thor’s visions showed destruction and the results/futility of his actions. Spurred on by this dream, he leave the Avengers to return home and find out who is playing this game of chess.

This search will undoubtedly be a focus of Thor: Ragnarok and could even serve as the cause of the destruction as Thanos – now set on “doing it himself” could attack Asgard in order to reclaim the Tesseract (Space Gem). We know Thanos will need this gem sooner or later. Additionally, this is why Loki is currently disguised as Odin – to fake his own death to avoid Thanos gaze. Loki knows he failed Thanos, the only chance for him now might be to run and hide as death approaches.

3. Captain America: Civil War – Cap vs Ironman & Public Outcry:

With Captain America: Civil War being the next time we’ll see our already established heroes, you could be sure there would be some definite set up for it in Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Though whereas this film certainly began setting up the contrasts between Tony and Steve, it also showed that they do have a great admiration for each other. This is one of the things that makes Civil War – comics or film versions – so powerful, because these are friends who are momentarily at deep-seated odds with each other. Though it wasn’t the Captain America vs Ironman moments that set up for Civil War, but rather fighting in general.

It’s yet to be explained what the main argument for Civil War will be, but it will certainly have something to do with accountability and who these superheroes answer to. The Avengers began to explore this idea of heroes having epic battles and no one around to be held responsible. Captain America: The Winter Soldier kicked it up another level when it revealed that the ‘organization’ supposedly looking after these heroes was rotten to the core.

Keeping with these escalating themes, Age of Ultron explore all the fallout from the Avengers’ latest battle. There’s an arrest warrant currently out for the Hulk. The entire Avengers team was advised to go into hiding due to their battles in South Africa and how people were beginning to turn against them. If that much fallout happened from one Hulk vs Hulkbuster battle, imagine how much animosity there’s going to be in reaction to a Sokovia-sized asteroid exploding in mid air. The levels of destruction the Avengers have been tied to has continued to increase and now it’s on a global scale.

2. Avengers: Infinity War – Gems, Death & Broken Avengers:

Much like the ending of the first Avengers, the Post Credits scene for Avengers: Age Of Ultron continued this build up for the Avengers eventually coming face to face with the Mad Titan. This scene might have needed a bit of explaining, but in short this is Thanos getting his own Infinity Gauntlet and decided to collect the Infinity Stones himself since his servants– Loki, Ronan, etc – keep failing him. Additionally, this is his Infinity Gauntlet and not the one seen in Thor. If you look closely, the mechanical nature of this vault is unlike the stone-museum nature of Odin’s vault. Additionally, this glove is left-handed, whereas the one in Odin’s vault was right handed – which makes sense because who just makes one glove.

Though the set ups for Infinity War way before the Post Credits scene. This is the first time the Avengers are mad aware of the Infinity Stones existence as well as the plot to try to unite them all. With 4 out of 6 stones having been put into play the last few years, Thor tells the Avengers that someone is playing a dangerous game and they’ll need all the help they can get.

The final set up though is just a prediction – so take this with a grain of salt – but I wonder if Tony’s vision will actually be a scene in Infinity War. As you may or may not know, Infinity War almost destroyed the entire Marvel Universe. Actually, it kind of did before the Gems were used to put everything back to the way things were. So Tony’s dream of seeing all of the Avengers dead and broken in space could VERY easily be a straight up scene from Infinity War since any deaths could be undone in the end. Again, just a theory but if this did happen it could serve as an incredibly powerful moment for Tony Stark who’s just had his worst fears realized.

1. The New Avengers Assemble:

Despite it not tying into any specific film, the most prominent set up for Phase 3 came at the end of the film when Captain America assembled the new Avengers team for training at the Avengers Academy. This doesn’t just tie into the Theta Protocol from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. but also sets the stage of an irrevocably changed Avengers Roster for all of Phase 3.

Hawkeye has retired to spend time with his family. Tony has retired as well in the hopes of pursuing a similar route – but most likely getting into politics. Thor is off to Asgard to discover the full depths of his vision and prevent what is coming. As for the Hulk, he could be anywhere. In their absences, Scarlet Witch, War Machine, Vision and Falcon have all joined the squad. There’s a lot of training to be done and these ranks could continue to grow as Phase 3 progresses and we get Spider-Man and more heroes from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D; but this is the start of a brand new Avengers team and Phase 3 at large!

The Avengers: Age Of Ultron articles aren’t finished yet. So please check out the Top 7 Funniest Moments and a MASSIVE Declassified article explaning all the film’s finer points and secrets.

*Special Thanks to Jung Industries for the Screenshots