Endgame.
If you are like me you enjoy superheroes and all the mythos that goes with them. You've seen all the Marvel movies and Endgame was the penultimate superhero movie. If you aren't and you haven't seen Endgame this won't matter. If you are and by some odd chance haven't seen Endgame read no further there are SPOILERS ahead.
I remember seeing Captain America and Thor in a theater back to back special (not the first time I saw my favorite first Avenger but the most memorable). It was in the old cheap theater by Hamilton Place that is now a fancy Regal. I can tell you I get chills EVERY time Cap says 'Avengers Assemble'. How the little guy from Brooklyn is one of the most relatable superheroes in my opinion because I see myself in him. Not that super-soldier version of Steve Rogers, but the scrawny, asthmatic, weak, no one gives a second look Steve Rogers that proves that he is Cap not by feats of super strength but by his courage. He beats out candidates that are far bigger,stronger, and more logical a choice because he's got something they don't, character and courage and that he has in spades.
I could tell you about how much I longed for a Falcon movie (I will settle for the Disney+ show though) because Anthony Mackie is a gem and brings a levity to Falcon that balances perfectly with the seriousness of Cap and the two were a great duo on the screen. I'm still a little put out that redwing was a robot and not an actual falcon but that is neither here nor there.
Perhaps you want to hear of the power that is in Black Panther, not just when he dons the mantle of Wakanda's protector and king (Wakanda forever!) but in how he wields that power as a king with compassion albeit one that protects his people fiercely (other than Cap, Black Panther is my favorite Marvel hero and Chadwick Boseman brings this character to life like no other man likely could)
You see, Marvel did something no one has done before, they showed the world how to craft the long form story and end it with a nice bow. They created worlds and people for ten years and built upon them layer upon carefully crafted layer. Characters rose and fell in arcs that were nothing short of perfectly human although none will ever be written better than Mr.Tony Stark himself. To go from a narcissist worried only about how the world views and treats Tony Stark to a man whom gives up everything he worked for to save the people he loves. It takes years of movies for this guy to get to the point that he sacrifices himself. Don't get me wrong, they could have had him die in the first Avengers movie as he flies into space. Had they done that though it would have ruined what we wound up with. You see, if they'd killed him then it would have been selfish Tony. The Tony that still cared almost entirely for himself, so they waited. Instead they gave him what he wanted, Pepper Potts and a family. He gets everything he wants and THEN he gets killed. This is the Tony Marvel wants us to remember. The Tony that he became, not the one we first meet selling weapons. A man for whom family becomes everything and that family is worth sacrificing his life to save.
We meet new characters and get sometimes confusing timelines but Marvel knows what they are doing as they introduce movies that don't really line up in order of their release date but that doesn't matter because they understand what it takes to craft a full story. People are moved around, things that seem like insignificant details are actually vastly important and they are hidden in plain sight. Here is Marvel's MCU at its finest. A world of these superhuman beings that tie together so almost effortlessly it is hard to believe that only ten years ago only Cap and Iron Man existed on the silver screen.
They build these worlds and suddenly with a snap of Thanos, gold gilded, purple fingers everything they built vanishes just like that. Everything we thought we knew suddenly changes- and it's wonderful. Don't get me wrong it isn't without its sentiments-Tom Holland broke hearts as Spider-man as he tells Tony that he doesn't feel good and then vanishes into ash and Rocket losing Groot is enough to make your eyes water. These are moments that make these movies. Tiny things that in the overall arc of the story aren't why you go to see the movie but are what give the movies their heart.
Then you have Endgame. Oh, Endgame. Writers everywhere could stand to take a lesson from this movie. THIS is how you end ten years of storytelling. This movie has its laughs. This movie has its tear-jerker moments. It produces chills, cheers, and ultimately triumph over evil. It shows, better than the others, that these heroes are just people. They eat,breathe, and bleed just like you and I. They live, love, and grieve just like you and I. Amidst all the neatly tied endings as Cap gives his shield to Sam (a huge chill producing moment for me and the ONLY reason I'm okay with not getting a Falcon movie), Thor gives the keys to the kingdom to Valkyrie, Clint and Scott go home to their families, we get to see them as people. Not just super, butt-kicking, powerful people, but people who have suffered true loss as they mourn both Nat and Tony, but also people who understand that they honor those they lost best by living their lives.
You see after all these years we get to see good triumph over evil. Plenty of villains have met their match at the hands of these heroes both solo and teamed up. We got to meet them and see them grow as people. We eagerly awaited the movies to see just how the story would unfold. And in Endgame they teach us an important thing-In the end the journey is the destination.
Thanks for a decade of storytelling. Thanks for bringing some my favorite superheroes to life. Thanks for ending things well. Thanks for moments of triumph. Thanks for the MCU.
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Of no particular importance to this article but pertaining to Endgame itself is the following:
I'm still not entirely over Nat dying. As a writer either of these characters dying produces the desired ending of getting the soul stone. You kill Clint and you leave a family without their father which is sad. But if you kill Nat you not only lose a founding member, you give this woman a chance to sacrifice herself for the only family she has which is both a wonderful ending arc but a a gut punch as Clint watches his best friend sacrifice herself so he can go home to his family.
I'm still disappointed that Thor didn't return to his ripped, short-hair form when he called the lightning down when they confronted Thanos for the last time.
Nat and Clint's exchange in Japan is one of the best metaphors to how we as Christians should see those who are lost inside of any movie I've seen. Clint telling Nat not to give him hope and her response that she wishes she could have given it sooner should wrap tight bands around your heart because this is exactly what we should be doing-we've got hope, we need to share it.
Yellow Sparkly Things!
Cap weilding Mjolnir gave me chills BIG TIME. Another nod to just how talented Marvel is as this is throwback from the crew hanging in the tower and all of them try to pick up the hammer. Steve wraps his hand around the handle and then excuses himself as Thor gets a funny look on his face.
All of the others appearing from the yellow sparkly things as Thanos is no longer standing against just three men.
Avengers Assemble! (This was the moment that I think gave me chills the most)
Scarlet Witch trashing Thanos as she reminds him who she happens to be.
I love you 3000-just wreck me now ladies and gentleman. The moment you realize everything Tony wants he has.
Cap and Peggy slow dancing is perfect. It is the ultimate happy ending that I wanted to see at the end of the First Avenger but I'm a sap and the little guy from Brooklyn getting to be with the woman he loves is how it should end.
SAM GETTING THE SHIELD! Already said but I'm repeating it, this was huge and what I'd hoped for when Chris Evans publicly said he was hanging up the shield.
