Why the MCU fell flat for Avengers: Endgame
(Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)
It is safe to say that Disney's Marvel The Avengers: Endgame was the pinnacle and golden child of success with this monopoly merger. I have been on this ride since the beginning, and have thoroughly enjoyed how they have tied the universe cinematic to ensure homage and innovation were hand in hand. I was there, the first night with packed seats on the edge of the comfy worn out leather, sifting through my buttery drenched popcorn. Needless to say the fanboy in me got to finally see the light and move forward. However, the adult comic lore lover in me began to question holes that were unforgivable. At the end I cooled down with the security that Disney makes neatly gifted stories, for EVERYONE, even if it costs the origin. I thought of the best way to explain my issues with this movie which made it start out at an 8.5 and went to a solid 7..then .5 because overall, it was a movie worth seeing twice in theaters without question. the bottom does contains spoilers and offers alternative endings. Lastly, because there is so much to consider, I am going to break it down by the most relevant characters. Now understanding the issues noticed in the movie, it then reconstructs alternatives that would have been more appetizing for conclusions. The thing about the Marvel Universe, pre-cinematic, is that it has so much diversity, that it didn't need supplemental agendas to ensure inclusivity was involved. Nerds loved comics because it was for minorities, subgroups, and always thought of the ideal individual in a world of mortal ambiguity. It almost feels infiltrated with the need to please those less informed, which as a comic fanboy, I shouldn't expect authenticity and enjoy the creativity for the audience. BUT, you are now in the mind of a comic head and will understand why It got the 7.5: Reasons the MCU was "Too weak to win." POWER IMBALANCE
(Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)
Captain Marvel: There were so many moments in the movie that made me question the authenticity of the story arcs. For instance, Captain Marvel (after 15 years) comes back and acts as if there are greater issues happening in thousands of other planets (does this mean a larger threat than Thanos?) which means nothing because the gauntlet would have destroyed the planets anyway. Nonetheless, the most damage Captain Marvel did was destroy a ship and slightly held Thanos. Most comic readers know that Captain Marvel is way stronger than Thanos, well beyond his limits. This is why he had to use the stone to punch her. I was angry at the fact that in the comic, Captain Marvel would decimate anything. In the comics CM was so "over it." Also, they didn't let Captain Marvel use her power beams, when in her origin movie that's all she used... By the way, she should of been able to take the gauntlet and use it without being effected.
(Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)
Scarlet Witch: She is an OMEGA level mutant, meaning her emotions could literally wipe a planet (which has been done in the comics) and they once again barely gave her the moment she deserved.
(Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)
Black Panther: Like the other Avengers, T'Challa was a fighting fool that lacked any type of skill. He was pretty much a running back. Technically, BP should of surpassed Captain America, which doesn't even make sense how poorly he fought. Shuri did not have any lines or point in the fight, which did her no justice. There was no footage of Wakanda post Thanos snap, which was odd as well.
(Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)
Thor: Was completely neutered throughout the movie and lacked any type of development to the noble throne he earned. The Big Lebowski reference was comedic gold, but the fact he never redeemed himself was unsettling. The moment he had closure with his mother should of been a defining moment of his rightful place in Asgard because they needed a leader. Thor said in Dark World, "I would rather be a good man than a great king.” Which speaks to his great character, but isn't followed through in this movie. The moment he comes back to fix "fake Aquaman land", I mean, new Asgard, this was the moment to truly make peace and rebuild Asgard with the new philosophy and closure, but simply gives it away to "Find himself." How do we accept such a regression?
(Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)
Captain America: held Mjolnir (the hammer) which makes sense because he has integrity worthy of a noble Asgardian, but it DOES NOT MAKE SENSE FOR HIM TO WIELD LIGHTENING. The hammer does not create electricity, it was conjured because Thor is the God of lightening and thunder, which he uses the hammer as a conduit. But I digress, Captain America is loved by so many because of his character, selfless behavior, and "Play by the book" attitude to make sure the team thrives. This was forfeited at the end of the movie, which I will explain later.
(Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)
Hulk: Hulk was one of the biggest disappointments in the movie because of the possibilities of Hulk. I was hoping in Infinity War, they were using him once again as a "secret weapon" which was completely once again watered down as Professor Hulk. What didn't make sense is that Hulks ability to regenerate is exceptional due to the gamma radiation. When Bruce decided to use the gauntlet, he said that the same reaction is similar to the gamma exposure, which is why everyone agreed. This was the moment where the movie could of EASILY been taken to the next level because the exposure of radiation could of surged Hulk into the fanboy favorite "World Breaker Hulk" and could of used him to destroy the onslaught Thanos Battle ship. How does this Gamma Radiation give Hulk a broken arm?!?!
(Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)
Iron Man: This one hurt the most for me because I am an Iron Man freak. His sacrifice was truly milked in my opinion and made the build up so worthless. Iron man created his family, reconciled with his father, and learned the greatest weapon of all; Love. Why would they make so much story to only end it so abruptly? I have an alternative that would of made more sense. Tony had an amazing moment in the movie by being the husband Pepper always wanted him to be, the father he wanted to be, and finally answered his ability even be a parent for once "No more Scares." He even got the chance to meet his father which was never truly reconciled and it brought affirmation to his path as the man his family needed. TONY SHOULD OF NEVER USED THE GAUNTLET. What was the point then of Iron man sacrificing himself? He did it like 3 times already so I wasn't surprised and it goes along with his natural personality. The true growth would of been him finally putting his work down and being the Father he needed, and investing back into Spider-man (who he see's as a son) and maybe start of the scholarship that would eventually support Riri Williams, the MIT student that Tony single-handedly picks for the A-force that was shown for a brief moment.
(Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)
Hawkeye and Black WIdow: I took too long to jump on the Black Widow bandwagon and she did a phenomenal job; but I feel like they didn't know how to expand her because they never set her up in a way that could continue her character dynamic other than creating the A-force or creating prequel movies (Budapest, they kept bringing it up in the movies). This let us know that it will definitely be a prequel due to the bromance. They have been grooming us to make Black Widow the next Nick Fury, which made sense, and they didn't allow her to really take charge, which is weird because her past is so deep that she should of stepped up to the challenge. Hawkeye's story was definitely a filler, and was unnecessary. It was only created to ensure Black WIdow's sacrifice was worth it. STORY ARCS BLENDED & WERE FORGOTTEN When Captain America was in the group counseling, helping citizens move on and "Move Forward" which is why Captain America was always the role model and leader. He was the glue because he believed in sticking together. Cap was in the counseling groups talking about moving forward, but couldn't seem to believe it himself because he missed Agent Carter. After seeing her while time traveling, Cap should of created the closure he needed, because Captain always lived by the bigger picture, which is why he was an amazing leader. Captain America going back in time to finally experience what he longed so much for was a slap in the face to The Ancient One who ridiculously handed the gem to Bruce. Him going BACK TO LIVE FOR 70 years was NOT OKAY. This means that when Captain came back, he CREATED AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE. the Marvel movie just created an alternative universe without us even realizing it (well I did and was pissed in the theater). This means that in the first Captain America, when the ship was going down with the tesseract ...he SURVIVED... meaning the older Captain America would technically still be frozen in the water. What happens?! Did he have kids with Agent Carter? Does Shield grow with the same resilience as a result of Captain America still being alive? Does Hydra even have the same effect because Cap knows how infiltrated Shield is? So many questions arise now, because in this Universe, this means you can add other superhero stories in because of the ambiguity. This almost creates a Secret Wars wave because we are no longer in the same Universe we were watching. When captain comes back he pretty much tells Sam (Black Falcon), "I got what I wanted, you're turn big fella." Which now made sense when I saw Falcon take down a Thanos henchman pointlessly, but gave Shuri no type of dialog. That was so selfish of Captain America and goes against what he even told everyone in the group counseling ,and the integrity of his whole character. Scarlet Witch is an emotional maelstrom, which should of been supported by Dr Strange while they changed the battlefield consistently with all the destruction. There easily could of been battlefield changes with the ability to manipulate dimensions and see Scarlet Witches Revenge truly sought out. She had every reason to go berserk and it did no justice to her character or power. There is NO such thing as a level A Time Traveling movie, period. They cursed themselves with that, and when the Ancient One was trying to save the timeline, it was their last hope. You could somehow create some lore that would follow Loki, but honestly the MCU had to explain multiverses without losing it's loyal viewers, which I believe is probably the only way this could of been explained before going into the next Dr. Strange movie. 7.5, with love Did anyone else Boo when Star Lord came back?