There’s a palpable crackle in the atmosphere, enough to make a teenager’s Spidey-sense kick in. That can only mean one thing: Marvel have given us an early Christmas present with the first trailer for next year’s AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR.

So what lept out at me in this superpowered teaser? The decidedly forlorn version of Alan Silvestri’s Avenger’s theme tune; android Vision looking a lot more like Paul Bettany, then later finding himself at the wrong end of the Glowstick of Destiny; the return of Iron Man’s (Robert Downey Jr) Hulkbuster armour; a fearsome Wakandan army charging into battle; Josh Brolin sounding menacing and looking purple as big bad Thanos; every hero involved looking battered and bruised and/or boasting new haircuts.

It’s just a taster of course, but the groaning cast sheet alone speaks to the scale of this enterprise. Yes, it’s another invasion of Earth by a space dictator ahead of a horde of minions, but we’ve been with some of this ensemble for a decade now, and some of the most beloved Avengers surely must make the ultimate sacrifice when they lose.

THE INFINITY GAUNTLET storyline in the comics gets bloody, with Thanos dispatching most of our heroes easily, and horribly creatively. The Vision scene mentioned above – along with the fact he has one of the all-powerful McGuffins Thanos is hunting lodged in his forehead – makes it look like at least one established Avengers’ fate is inevitable. We’ve been promised this will be, if not the end, then the beginning of the end for several characters, and not even the addition of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and a newly powered-up Thor (Chris Hemsworth) can save them all.

The stakes are bound to be the highest we’ve yet seen in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, but I’m hoping that along with the biggest of visual spectacles we get some laughs along with the sobriety; something, in short, to put smiles on our faces to match the Mad Titan’s. SSP