Alright, first and foremost, Major Spoiler Warning on this. I will literally be talking about every major plot point in the film so you have time to leave now if you want.
Just to be clear, this is not a review article. WiseSage has requested that article and he’ll be getting that to us soon. This article will be about the ending of the film and where it goes from here.
You still have time…or just keep scrolling for the article.
Alright, so I first watched this movie on Thursday and I have to admit that I felt a little underwhelmed at the ending. Was it heartbreaking to see so many great heroes be killed off? Yeah but honestly, I kept thinking “Well they’re gonna come back so why does this matter?” Well, my dear readers, I’ll tell you why it matters.
First up, I want to take you back to 2014. The Winter Soldier is on the way to cinemas and they’ve already revealed that it’s actually Bucky in some interviews and some trailers/T.V. Spots. Sure, early ones tried to keep it hidden but it didn’t take long for most people to put 2 and 2 together. The Russos and the rest of the cast handled this in a genuine way and said that it was less about the audience being surprised and more about Steve and the rest of the cast being surprised. I thought that was a great point but the fact that they still made it into a surprise moment for anyone who didn’t know was a great move on their part. Plus, they still kept the whole “Hydra Is S.H.I.E.L.D.” plot-twist a secret which was a big deal in itself.
Now, fast forward 4 years and we watched Black Panther, Spider-Man, and all but two of the Guardians fade out of existence while there are sequels for all three already confirmed and I just highly doubt that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be about the adventures of Rocket and Nebula. But the characters will definitely be affected by this which is ultimately what matters. It’s not about who died and who’s coming back as it is about who will remember, how will they come back and will there be lasting effects on those who do come back?
We just watched the Avengers lose for the first time. Sure, Civil War already happened and Zemo saying “Did it?” Will never not be terrifying to me but we have to understand that this is the first time that the Avengers were fighting together and lost. Steve saying “Oh God” may haunt me for the rest of my life because of the fact that he’s just sitting on the ground next to a lifeless Vision and he basically just admits defeat with two words. That’s going to stay with them for the rest of their lives, no matter what. Because there was a point where they had to watch as the people closest to them faded into dust.
So we have the idea of the characters reactions but we can be a bit selfish. So what about us?
Well, I had 5 separate people come up to me over the weekend and each one said they killed *Insert Preference* because I heard just about everyone but one of the things that I noticed was that every one they mentioned was one of the guys at the end. This shocked me because 2 of the most common names were Black Panther and Spider-Man and that was when I realized something very important : They didn’t know they had sequels scheduled and then I realized that I mainly knew that because it was my job to know that. In other words, their finale just works for everyone if you’re willing to try and understand it.
Plus, think about it, The Russos did the same thing Whedon did with Quicksilver. You went into this movie thinking that Tony or Steve would die but now, they killed all the new blood. It’s hard to not appreciate that as a twist.
So what now? Where do we go from here? Well…that causes potential Spoilers for Ant-Man and The Wasp, Captain Marvel and Avengers 4 so feel free to dip out if you don’t want any theories in your head.
Still here? Cool. So I think that Ant-Man and The Wasp will end with Hank turning to dust and and Clint Barton busts in dressed as Ronin and is like “Scott, Hope, we gotta go.” And then that’s how the movie ends. Here’s a pic of Ronin :
If you’re unfamiliar, Ronin was Clint’s alter ego after he “Died” and wanted to stay undercover for a bit. So…if the government outlawed Hawkeye…wouldn’t it make sense for Clint to find another way to fight. Basically, I think that the remaining Avengers will work to getting all of the others back and they’ll need to go to the Quantum Realm to do it, thus making Ant-Man and Wasp two of the most important people in the MCU. Hey, it’s a theory.
Anyway, Captain Marvel is an interesting one because just think about this : You’re Nick Fury, you’re about to fade out of existence and you have time to call one person in the entire Marvel Universe and you choose Carol Danvers, that says a lot about her as a character. I’m not entirely sure how she’s going to be that important but obviously she can do something that can help out the Avengers next year.
And of course, Avengers 4. I honestly have no real idea how they’re going to continue from here but it’s clearly setting up the last stand of the original Avengers. I’m perfectly fine with that but I’m really hoping they give a proper send-off to these characters that we have followed and loved for so long.
Overall, I understand people’s complaints with the finale but for me, it was the perfect way to end a film that was predominantly a film about Thanos as a protagonist.
