First 'Infinity War' Clip Might Contain a Small 'Captain Marvel' Easter Egg

The very first official clip from Avengers: Infinity War has an obscure Marvel Comics reference that could hint at what’s to come in Captain Marvel. Last week during the live taping of the 2018 Kids’ Choice Awards, Marvel Studios released a full scene from Infinity War when Thor meets the Guardians of the Galaxy.

We already knew most of the clip’s plot beats: Thor’s ship from Ragnarok gets destroyed, his body hits the Guardians of the Galaxy’s windshield, they wake him up, and the god of thunder groggily wonders, “Who the hell are you guys?” But we also get some great comedic moments and sparse details to fill in the gaps. Namely, Drax calls Thor a “handsome, muscular man” and Gamora agrees, adding, “It’s like his muscles are made of Cotati metal fibers.” Though we’ve never heard of the Cotati before, chances are this might be a reference to what’ll happen in Captain Marvel.

The Cotati is a highly-advanced race of telepathic humanoid tree people that in Marvel Comics, shared the planet Hala with the Kree. Those blue people, of course, have been around since Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 1. Korath the Pursuer and Ronan the Accuser are Kree, with both characters confirmed for the Captain Marvel movie. The conflict between the Kree, Cotati, and Skrulls is important in Marvel Comics, so what if Captain Marvel is primed to cover the conflict between the three species?

It’s worth noting that way back in August 2016, MCU Exchange reported on rumors that the Cotati would appear in Thor: Ragnarok, where “sources” described the MCU Cotati as looking more like Mantis. In fact, some people think Mantis is one of the last surviving Cotati. In the comics, she’s a human that’s endowed with powers by the Cotati, so obviously things in the MCU turned out very different.

We’ll find out soon enough whether or not the “Cotati” reference is a random Easter egg or something more, but it make sense if this comedic moment served a dual purpose as a soft introduction to this new alien race. Maybe we’ll learn a whole lot more in Infinity War as a lead-in to Captain Marvel?

For all we know, Thor’s new axe could be forged from Cotati metal tree flesh and not Groot wood. Either way, we’re willing to wager that this isn’t the only mention we’ll hear of the Cotati in the MCU.