Thanos was aware of Earth’s existence and potential from the time the first Avengers movie was released. Back then, he strong-armed Loki into invading Earth with a Chitauri army, with the final goal of learning just how powerful the Earthlings were. According to The Other, they were actually very strong, and challenging them would mean courting death (the Mad Titan smiled when he heard that).

We now know that Thanos won't come to Earth alone. He’ll bring along his sinister generals, known as the Black Order. We figure that he'll need countless foot soldiers, as well, so will he bring the Chitauri and their immense Leviathans again? Will he use the same army, as Tony Stark saw when Scarlet Witch played with his mind?

He might, but he could also use another race as pawns.

The D23 Expo footage revealed one of those races. The clip showed Black Panther fighting a four-armed creature. In the comics’ Infinity storyline, these creatures were called Outriders. They were a genetically engineered humanoid race, and were mainly used as scouts.

In the comics, the Outriders were tasked with finding new inhabited planets and bringing the Black Order to those planets. But this isn't the case in Infinity War, since Thanos already knows about Earth and its superheroes. So what purpose could the Outriders serve in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Are they foot soldiers? We doubt it"¦

Since Black Panther's solo movie will lead directly into Avengers: Infinity War, the Outriders could work as scouts (to discover which country on Earth is strongest), saboteurs (taking advantage of their telepathic abilities and invisibility powers), or even assassins (to take out Earth’s superheroes, although we doubt this).

What do you think? What role will the Outriders play in the Infinity War?