'Avengers: Infinity War': Is Captain America's Team The Secret Avengers?

The Avengers: Infinity War trailer was full of great insights for discerning fans to piece together, and one of the biggest points of fascination has been Chris Evans' Steve Rogers / Captain America. From his new burly-beard to his status as a "nomad" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there's been a lot of question about where we find Cap in Infinity War - as well as what kind of company he's keeping.

It seems that Captain Americais once again in a leadership role during the events of Infinity War, but is his team really the MCU version of the Secret Avengers?

Who Are The Secret Avengers?

Secret Avengers was a project that came in the early 2010s, after the schism of "Civil War" and the darkness of the Skrulls' "Secret Invasion" and a brief supervillain takeover in "Dark Reign". The Secret Avengers team was led by Captain America, who was reinstated to service after breaking with government over the Superhero Registration Act.

Cap's team operated as a black-ops squad who proactively stopped threats, while the public Avengers team played a more traditional superhero role. The roster included Cap, Black Widow, Agent 13, War Machine, Ant-Man, Nova, Valkyrie, and Beast. Later incarnations added Hawkeye, Hulk, Agent Coulson, Maria Hill and Mockingbird to the team.

MCU's Secret Avengers

As the Avengers: Infinity War trailer reveals, Captain America is called into the fight by Iron Man, using the phone Steve left Tony at the end of Civil War. While the two heroes relationship in Infinity War is unclear, the phone call and tie-in with Spider-Man: Homecoming (where we learned Tony has a prototype for a new shield for Cap), opens the possibility that the MCU Secret Avengers are a team that Tony may have been sanctioning, all along.

Cap, Falcon, Widow, Hawkeye, and Winter Soldier all seem to be (literally) in the running for Cap's Secret Avengers team roster; Scarlet Witch's intimate moment with Vision makes her status unclear, while Vision and War Machine were both characters that sided with Iron Man in Civil War, but seem to be sympathetic to Cap and his allies in Infinity War. Are they closet Secret Avengers themselves, or will the reunions not be happy ones? It will be interesting to find out.

The final shot of the Infinity War trailer shows Cap, Widow, Black Panther, Falcon, War Machine, and Hulk all leading the charge in 'Battle of Wakanda', suggesting that even if there isn't an official 'Secret Avengers' team when Infinity War begins, there certainly could be one by the time it ends! The door is open wide for other Secret Avengers characters like Nova and Moon Knight to join the MCU; Valkyrie is already a star thanks to Tessa Thompson's Thor: Ragnarok performance; and even Beast can potentially be in a Secret Avengers movie, if that deal between Disney and Fox goes through.

After Avengers 4, there will also be room for that franchise to divide into the different sub-divisions that have been part of the comics for years, whether it's New Avengers, Avengers West Coast or eventually even Uncanny Avengers. A Secret Avengers team built around the espionage and/or military characters of the MCU sounds as viable as any other idea.

Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on May 4, 2018. Thor: Ragnarok is now playing in theaters. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include; Black Panther on February 16, 2018, Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.