The Collector
The Collector looked like he was going to be a fairly important figure in the MCU back in Phase Two. He initially appeared in the post-credits scene of Thor: The Dark World when Lady Sif and Volstagg delivered the Reality Stone to him for safekeeping. He then got his proper debut in Guardians of the Galaxy, which saw him give us the first explanation of what the Infinity Stones were.
As it happens, he then never turned up again… Until now. In Infinity War, the Collector makes his return when the Guardians come to Knowhere in order to prevent Thanos from getting his hands on the Reality Stone. It appears that they arrive just in time to stop him torturing the information out of the Collector. However, it’s revealed that this is just a mirage created by the Mad Titan, with his new reality-warping powers.
Because of this, we’re not sure if the Collector is still alive – though, going by the flaming ruins of his collection, it doesn’t look good. Still, it was nice to see the character, as Benicio Del Toro always gives a larger than life performance in the part.
Chitauri
There are many callbacks to The Avengers in Infinity War, which helps the feeling that things are coming full circle as the first ten years of the MCU begin to wrap up. This nostalgia for the first team-up movie in the franchise reaches its peak during a flashback which reintroduces Thanos’ ugly alien army that previously invaded Earth.
Midway through the film, we leave behind the present to peek into the past as a flashback reveals how Thanos came to adopt his favourite daughter Gamora. Almost 20 years ago, he encountered the future Guardian when he was leading an assault on her world. His foot soldiers in the attack were the Chitauri. Much like how he loaned them to Loki in The Avengers to subjugate Earth, the Chitauri had laid waste to Gamora’s homeworld with their enormous serpentine ships.
It’s not that the Chitauri are a particularly well-loved part of the MCU, but it was a cool callback to have them feature in this scene. In fact, it kind of addresses a common criticism from The Avengers that the creatures were too easy to defeat. Here, we see them at their full might, as a whole planet falls to them.