Yesterday I took it upon myself to watch the newest installment of the Avengers movies, before the internet spoiled the ending for me. And what an ending it was. My only question is… Does Marvel truly have the guts to stick to this uncharacteristically dark ending.
Let’s be honest, most comic-book movies have a tendency to end like fairy tales. Good conquers evil, and the guy gets the girl. Don’t get me wrong, their tone has shifted a bit in the recent years. Starting with the untimely end of Gwen Stacy in the Spider-Man reboot (comic-book geeks were more than prepared for that ending), then the ultra-sinister plot of the Logan film. But nothing, thus far, has compared to the devastation presented in Infinity Wars.
There in lies the problem. Will the studio take the hit from audiences everywhere, or will it crumble and give everyone the “it was all a bad dream and you’ll wake-up with Dr. Strange taking a shower and then promising you everything will be okay” Dallas moment that they all pray for. My money is on the latter. Face it, these movies are PG-13 for a reason. They are meant to be kid friendly, and nobody wants to see their childhood heroes flutter into dust as the credits roll. In fact, the main reason I’m taking this ending so well, is because I doubt it will stick. I just don’t see them committing to something as honest as “Sometimes the good guys lose, kid. Deal with it.”
To those that were paying attention, I’m sure a few things are left unanswered. For instance, Dr. Strange seemed fairly confident that his choice was the only choice that would lead to that 14 million to one victory as he faded away. Not to mention the Mirror Universe that Strange opened, yet never appeared to close…What’s up with that? Were we duped into watching an alternate reality where the Avengers failed, while the other reality proceeded without fail? Who knows! Dr. Strange, that’s who! He said as much as he wasted away in front of Stark. P.S. WTF was with Parker having the most dramatic death ever? Like all the others just poof away without an issue, but Peter is in pain and scared as he slowly dies in Tony’s arms? The FUCK?!?!
Anyway, I want to make something clear. I’m totally on board with everything being okay and we all win, YAY! However, there is something to be said for making art imitate life. All endings aren’t happy. And I think today’s generation of fans knows that. Characters in their favorite novels have been dying for a solid decade. Even the Young Adult genres end in tears now-a-days. Here’s the secret though, dead characters don’t make money. No heroes, no movie spin-offs. No action figures, no bed sheets, no lunchboxes… no bueno.
So, does Marvel have what it takes to give us the reality check we’ll all hate, or will they fold and give us the alternate reality we all crave? Guess we’re gonna have to buy a ticket and see.
(Note: While some of us old grouchy comic geeks are privvy to how the original story played out, I let Cherry express her thoughts as a casual MCU viewer, as I think it’s important to remember that a lot of people watching these movies aren’t familiar with their source material. –XxEvil AshxX)
