April 23, 2022
The Marvel Cinematic Universe makes seventeen billion dollars in total. Due to its financial success, it inspires cheap copies like the DC Extended Universe and the Dark Universe. Warner Bros replaces future movie plans with stand-alone movies due to poor critical ratings, and the Dark Universe flops with their first movie, The Mummy. After Infinity War, Marvel is going through a quality downfall because they sacrifice making art for profit. Avengers Endgame demonstrates modern cinematic will replace creative ideas with corporate formulas.
Most beloved character has been ruined. Professor Hulk is an interesting concept since it resolves Bruce Banner cannot turn into the Hulk in Infinity War. The problem is his character growth happens off-screen. Instead of the audience seeing the progress of Hulk and Banner deciding to become one person, the character development is summarized in a conversion. Thor has the potential to be a remarkable character because his guilt causes his alcohol, video games, and food addiction. Instead of having a meaningful character journey of Thor overcoming his challenges, there are only fat jokes about him and making threats to gamers. He is selfish for not helping Rocket to get the Reality Stone which puts the mission at risk so he can see his mother. Black Widow dies for the Soul Stone to resurrect half of the universe, and Hawkeye has a family while she has nobody. Her sacrifice is disrespected because it is briefly mentioned in an arguing scene and Professor Hulk throwing a bench. Thanos became a generic villain. Even though he is younger, his character should not drastically change. In Infinity War, he does not enjoy murdering innocents and understands why people hate him, but he belive his actions are a necessary evil. In Avengers Endgame, he comments about enjoying destroying the universe. Captain America being an old man defeats the point of his character arc. He is a man out of his time and wants to go back to his good old days. He learns that he needs to move forward. Him living out his life with Peggy Carter demonstrates he abandons his heroic responsibilities to live in a fantasy world.
There is a plot hole with gathering the Infinity Stones. If the Avengers want to collect all the stones, they should have chosen the timeline where Thanos arrives in Wakanda since he has all the stones. Thor can cut his arm while he is off guard. The Avengers would save more pym particles, and it would be more convenient than individually collecting the stones.The Avengers resurrecting half of the universe would do more harm than good. If billions of people suddenly come back from the dead, the economy will be ruined. After five years, the jobs and housing spots are taken, so the unemployment and homeless rate will increase. The cost of living increases over time because the population increases. When half the population died, house and product prices decreased. When there are less people, there is a lower demand for products but a higher supply causing prices to drop. The government does not have enough resources to financially support half the population. The education system will collapse. When someone gets accepted in college but dies during the Snap, the admissions counselors choose a person in the waitlist. After they resurrect, it is not fair for them to start over applying to colleges, and the acceptable rates will decrease. There will be a higher student to teacher ratio, which will stress out the teachers for trying to manage a higher population. If someone resurrects after five years, they cannot easily adapt. There will be new governments changing the political landscape. There will be more technology like new phones or cars. Culture and social norms will change. In 2005, YouTube was new, and nobody thought it would be a potential career. In 2010, people could make a living and become celebrities on YouTube.
The fake death is the worst troop. A permanent death creates tension and stakes. When Professor Hulk resurrects half the universe, all suspense is removed in Infinity War since the audience knows the characters are temporarily dead. Even though there are permanent consequences that have been retconned, like Batman recovering from a broken back. The difference between death and a broken back is everyone will experience death whether they see someone die or die before experiencing the death of a loved one. The point of the media is to help sympathize or relate to humanity. It is impossible to care for a fictional character when their death is temporary. The beginning is the best part. Ironman being stranded in space in the beginning shows his vulnerable side as he is dying. He records his journey of moving on from his guilt over failing to prevent the Snap. The argument between Ironman and Captain America shows his fear of Thanos. Ironman believes Thanos is unstoppable and blames Captain America for abandoning him. When Thanos is at the Garden, he has no ground defense and hangs his armor, showing he is not a bloodthirsty villain. He destroys the Infinity Stones because he wants to avoid temptation. Even though Thor kills him, the Avengers lose since they cannot undo the damage. The Avengers find a way to save the world or reset any damages throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Thanos shows they are imperfect.
Avengers Endgame finds a way to prevent plot holes in time travel. Most time travel movies follow the dynamic time travel theory causing plot holes since it would create contradictions like the grandfather paradox. Avengers Endgame decides on the multiverse theory, which will prevent any potential paradox. Ironman has the best death in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His death is a callback to his first movie, where he says, “I am Ironman.” The quote symbolizes how he grew from a selfish capitalist into a hero who sacrificed his life to save the world. It is a bittersweet moment since he dies with his loved ones and leads everyone to live in a happier world.
Resources
“Avengers: Endgame.” Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki, https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Avengers:_Endgame.
Ewing, Jeff. “How Cinematic Universes Changed Hollywood .” Looper, Looper, 7 Feb. 2022, https://www.looper.com/494772/how-cinematic-universes-changed-hollywood/.
Mendelson, Scott. “'Avengers: Endgame' One Year Later: Why Marvel Thrived While DC Films and the Dark Universe Struggled.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 Apr. 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2020/04/28/avengers-endgame-marvel-thrived-dc-films-dark-universe-struggled-box-office/?sh=61f7e5ba7bf9.