After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends? “You should have gone for the head,” -Thanos INTRODUCTION This is what everything has been building up to. The first 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally climaxes with “Avengers: Infinity War.” HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the 19th film in the MCU and the third Avengers movie. There is a lot riding on this film that stems from both “Iron Man” (2008) and “Avengers” (2012). Like those films, this is another milestone for Marvel Studios. This is another “first” for them. The film became one of the biggest MCU installments of all time, just behind “Black Panther.” There is no fear that “Avengers: Endgame” won’t exceed the success of “Infinity War.” PLOT Six years after we see Thanos for the first time in the original Avengers film, we now get to see what is behind that evil smile. Sure, we saw him a little bit in “guardians of the Galaxy” and in that post-credit scene of “Age of Ultron” but this is even four years after those films and the anticipation has only grown. Now, Thanos is hunting down the Infinity Stones and it is his time to shine. By the time the movie starts, he has decimated Xandar and retrieved the Power Stone, he has killed most of the Asgardians, including Loki and Heimdall, he has retrieved the Space Stone and has sent his “children” after both the Time Stone and the Time Stone on Earth. Now the Avengers are ready to play. Hulk alerts Doctor Strange of the coming threat and he recruits Tony Stark. Slowly, the film builds until the final battles on Titan and Wakanda. By the time half the universe is decimated, there are still dozens of questions remaining. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” “Infinity War” has the best score of any MCU film. It helps set up the tension and the intrigue of the film and delivers some painful blows to the gut. Here I would like to go chronologically and address all the questions I still have about “Infinity War” and when we might get answers. This is just my stream of consciousness, so try to keep up. Where’s Valkyrie and Korg? When the film opens, we can assume Valkyrie and Korg have fled. Recently we learned that Valkyrie will be in “avengers Endgame” so I assume this mystery will be solved there. Hulk is bested. During “Infinity War” Hulk seems to be too shy to come out. This will obviously have to be addressed in “Endgame.” Wong guarding sanctum? I am sure we will see more Wong in “Endgame.” "No more surprises" Tony promises pepper. He said he dreams he's having a child. These are obvious teases for what’s to come. Whether that means Pepper really is pregnant, maybe we will see the wedding finally. No matter what, this has to be resolved in “Endgame.” What happened on Xandar? I guess this never really has to be addressed. It’s scary enough knowing that Thanos decimated an entire civilization in the pursuit of the first stone. However, I would like to return to Xandar soon. If not in “Endgame” then maybe in “Captain Marvel 2,” “Guardians of the Galaxy 3,” or “The Eternals.” We see the Spider-Sense for the first time in the MCU. And we better see it again in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Ned? Aunt May? Were they dusted? If we don’t find out in “Endgame” then we better find out in the Spider-Man sequel. More info about the children of Thanos? I don’t see us getting any answers about this. Maybe they will show up again in “Endgame,” but I would love a film all about Thanos. Why don’t all the stones have protection spells? This may be nit-picky, but if the stones aren’t destroyed, we better see them all have protection spells going forward. Will we ever see full grown Groot again? Hopefully he is full grown by “Guardians 3.” When did Vision and Scarlet Witch become official? If we don’t see more of them in “Endgame” we will hopefully get more of their story in the standalone TV series on Disney+ next year. How did Gamora find the soul stone? We will probably never find out. Bruce and Nat's relationship!? This has to be in “Endgame.” Cap and Iron man reunion. This has to be in “Endgame.” Everett Ross and the Sakovia Accords? This has to be in “Endgame” or “Spider-Man.” More Red Skull? I don’t care where, but he needs to pop up again. Eitri at Nidavellir. Peter Dinklage probably won’t return but I want to see more of him. What happened on Titan? Maybe this will be foreshadowed in “Eternals” since he says, “I ignored my destiny once. I cannot do it again.” How does Wakanda handle the loss of its leader? What Asgardians are still alive? This has to be in “Endgame.” Will Star Lord get his redemption arc? If not in “Endgame” maybe in “Guardians 3.” Why does Thanos know Tony? Will goose appear? Doctor Strange knew that Tony is the key to defeating Thanos. All of this and more need to be answered in “Endgame.” Honestly, if “Avengers: Endgame” is anything like the last 20 minutes of “Infinity War,” I'm going to have a stroke. Anthony and Joe Russo have taken on a massive cinematic feat that is matched by nothing in history. STAN LEE CAMEO Stan Lee was a bus driver at the beginning of this film. He yells at the students, "what's the matter with you kids, you never seen a space ship before?" END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. Even the credits feel heavy with the weight of this ending. During the mid-credits we see the words "Avengers: Infinity War" on screen with the soft piano tune playing a sad rendition of the Avengers theme. The words are dusted away and when fans usually expect another scene...there’s nothing. It feels like we were stabbed once by that ending and then the knife got twisted again with no mid credits. No hope. End credits: Nick fury and Maria hill are traveling through New York when suddenly people start disappearing. Maria disappeared as a plane crashed into a building. Nick fury disappears too with a pager in his hand. He says "mother..." as the pager falls to the ground. We then see the logo of Captain Marvel. Thanos will return. CONCLUSION “Avengers: Infinity War” is too intense. I love the film and will watch it again, but there is too much happening to watch it repeatedly. It's like a Thanksgiving dinner while the other Avengers films are like desert and the solo films are like vegetables. We need a good mix. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). “Infinity War” is the culmination of so many other movies’ successes. It wouldn’t be fair to put it that high up when so many other films did most of the work. I still wanted it in my top 10 though, so the number eight spot is where it landed.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 20 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia
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Erick L. Graham Wood
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