Chitauri

Chitauri
Home world:	Unknown
Weapons:	Arm canons, grenades, various others
Natural weapons/powers:	Some Chitauri contain a virus that can be contracted via physical contact
Status:	Active
Media information
First appearance:	The Avengers (2012)
Last appearance:	Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

The Chitauri are a fictional sentient race of extraterrestrial beings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They first appeared in The Avengers and have since been referenced in other films in the series.

The Chitauri are governed by a hive mind and all wear neural links that connect them to a mothership.

History

The exact origin of the Chitauri is unknown. After Loki was banished from Asgard, he struck a deal with Thanos and the Other to bring them the Tesseract. In exchange, Thanos offered Loki command of the Chitauri army and gave him the Chitauri scepter.

The Avengers

Once Loki arrived on Earth, he used the Chitauri specter to turn Erik Selvig and Clint Barton into his own personal servents via mind control. He ordered them to build a device that would open a portal, allowing the Chitauri to invade Earth. Atop Stark Tower, the device was activated and the portal was opened. The Chitauri invaded New York City, along with multiple Leviathans. The National Guard deployed troops, but they could not contain the invasion.

Luckily, the Avengers arrived. Iron Man managed to lure a Leviathan straight into the Hulk's path, who killed the beast with one simple punch. In an empty building, the Chitauri began taking human hostages. Captain America arrived and was able to temporarily knock-out a commander. After fending off some of the foot soldiers, the commander rose again and deployed a Chitauri grenade. However, the commander only killed himself in the process.

Hulk and Thor began fending off several Chitauri soldiers atop the back of a Leviathan, and eventually managed to crash the Leviathan into a building; killing the beast. However, the victory was short-lived, as hundreds of other Chitauri were continuing to invade via the portal. Once Dr. Selvig awakened, free from Loki's mind control, he told Black Widow that Loki's specter could close the portal. Seemingly outnumbered, the Avengers were eventually overwhelmed by the Chitauri.

The World Security Council decided to launch a nuclear missile on Manhattan to contain the invasion. Iron Man decided to intercept the bomb and led it straight into the portal, where it destroyed the Chitauri mothership and severed its neural links with the Chitauri warriors and Leviathans. This ended the invasion.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In the episode "FZZT", it is revealed that a Chitauri helmet was recovered by three volunteer firefighters named Adam Cross, Tony Diaz, and Frank Whalen during the cleanup from the Battle of New York. The men decided to keep the helmet in their fire station as a trophy. However, unbeknownst to them, the helmet contained an alien virus. When the men went to dust the helmet, they all contracted the virus and were subsequently killed by the disease.

The helmet was eventually placed in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

Guardians of the Galaxy

An individual Chitauri was seen contained in the Collector's museum. After the destruction of the museum, it is entirely possible that this Chitauri warrior is free.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

HYDRA used Chitauri armor and weapons recovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. after the Battle of New York to advance their own forces. Tony Stark also discovered a Leviathan corpse contained in the Sokovia HYDRA base.

During a vision induced by Wanda Maximoff, Tony Stark witnessed another invasion by the Chitauri with dozens of motherships and Leviathans heading toward Earth.

Notes

• It is currently unknown if the Chitauri will return in future Marvel Cinematic Universe films. However, the presence of Thanos as the main antagonist in Avengers: Infinity War and its sequel suggests that the Chitauri may serve as his army.