I think it goes without saying that this article will be overflowing with spoilers. If you haven’t seen any of the Iron Man, Thor, Captain America or Avengers movies, leave this article immediately. Now, without further ado, my in-depth explanations for questions many people have for Thor: The Dark World.

So yeah, the ending of Thor: The Dark World destroyed my mind 57 times over. Loki somehow faked his death, got rid of Odin (whether through killing him or sending him to another realm, we don’t know) and was able to pose as him and rule Asgard. While Loki’s shapeshifting abilities went unnoted until this film (that certainly would have helped fool that security system in The Avengers ) I’ll let it slide, not only because it provides one of the film’s biggest laughs but also because it provides some interesting story possibilities for the Marvel Cinematic Universe from here on out.

Whenever The Avengers: Age of Ultron and the inevitable Thor 3 come around, they’ll doubtlessly address how Asgard is holding up while it’s being unwittingly ruled by a supervillain. I doubt we’ll get much clarity on it in Avengers, but Thor 3 could be a superb way to continue to flesh out Loki and the world of Asgard. Regardless of whenever it gets expanded upon, this is still an awesome plot thread that will have ramifications for years to come.

Now, how about that mid-credits sequence? This may have been my favorite part of the film, as it finally, finally, finally gave us a glimpse at the world of Marvel’s amazing sounding 2014 film Guardians of The Galaxy. Who are they you ask? Well they’ve got to be one of the best team ups in Marvel comics history, consisting of five members (Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax The Destroyer, Groot and Rocket Raccoon) who face various foes across the cosmos, one of which is the being we meet in this mid-credits scene: The Collector. Now that he has the Aether among his many possessions, he is likely hungering for the other 5 infinity stones.

What’s an infinity stone? In the comics, they power a device called the Infinity Gauntlet. Whoever wields this device is given limitless power. Now, let’s backtrack here; remember that big purple dude from the mid-credits scene of The Avengers? Well, first off, he’s called Thanos and you’re gonna know a LOT about him over the next five years. Not only does he have a major presence in Guardians Of The Galaxy, but he also is the one who, in the comics, gets to use that Gauntley for his own devious purposes. While Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of The Galaxy are giving us an introduction to the sci-fi side of Marvel, it’s reasonable to assume that the movies that come after The Avengers: Age of Ultron will delve more into Thanos and his pursuit of the Infinity Stones (currently, it’s unknown if The Collector is in cahoots with Thanos, but I suspect Guardians will shed light on that issue)

Well, that’s all the nerdy light I can shed on this film for now. Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions about Thor: The Dark World, or the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole, and I’d be more happy to answer them all.