STORY BY KATHRYN WALTERS
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
On April 26th, 2019, Avengers: Endgame was released, and the global phenomenon of Marvel’s Avengers came to a close. The battle is over and all is made right, but some things will be changing for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We may see the reunion of these beloved characters once again, but as the title implies, this was the “Endgame”.
Fans of the MCU everywhere were distraught a year ago when Thanos snapped his fingers and half of the population was turned to dust. Characters such as Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and Black Panther had just been introduced in their own films, but each vanished in Avengers: Infinity War. This not only confused many patrons but angered them for they just began to develop a relationship with these new heroes.
Despite Disney’s attempts to keep the details of each movie a mystery, they do not cover all of the bases. For instance, it was released that actors Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. were not renewing their contracts with Marvel after Endgame, which suggests that their characters will be discontinued in the franchise. Also, the announcement of Spider-Man: Far from Home, and sequels for Doctor Strange and Black Panther tells audiences that certain characters who vanished might return in Endgame. So even though the exact details of the plot were unpredictable, the overall turnout could be determined by these contributing factors.
Captain Marvel was released on March 8th, 2019, which suggested that she would play a big part in Avengers: Endgame, but she barely appeared in the film at all. She showed up in the beginning to introduce herself to The Avengers, but then did not return until the very end. Even though Captain Marvel is from Earth, Endgame suggests that her storyline will take place outside of the Solar System like that of the Guardians of the Galaxy because she spends most of her time protecting other civilizations.
The movie in and of itself was extremely entertaining. Every twist in the plot kept the viewer wondering how it could possibly end. The story continued with Scott Lang (Ant-Man) finding what is left of The Avengers and working with them to travel in time. Each of them goes back in time to retrieve the six Infinity Stones from different locations and times in history. This causes numerous problems when Nebula’s past self is with Thanos and he looks through her memory bank and finds the future Nebula’s memories.
Thanos then goes to the future to once again battle The Avengers, who successfully recovered all six stones. The battle of all battles ensues after the snap is undone and “the Vanished” are been brought back. Tony Stark (Ironman) eventually gets all six stones and snaps to destroy Thanos and his army, but Tony dies from the power of the stones. After his funeral, Steve Rogers (Captain America) travels once again in time to return the stones to their rightful place, but upon his return, he has aged tremendously and passes the shield on to Sam Wilson (Falcon).
Although sad to see some of the main characters end their days in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, their stories had to end at some point. The newer characters are making their debut films and will eventually take the same place as those legendary figures. Because the storyline took years to build, it grew stronger and stronger as each piece came together through 20 films. It ended exactly as it should have, with Ironman at the center, since he started it all in 2008. The MCU has reshaped cinema as we know it, and will affect generations to come. Because of this, I give Avengers: Endgame 9.5/10 stars, for its ability to bring people from all across the world together through a fantastically well-built story.