With Avengers: Endgame coming out tonight I decided to bundle my four articles into one big collection for you to enjoy before seeing the movie! There are no spoilers in these articles only predictions!
The Road to the Endgame Part 1: Captain America – The Last Soldier
Steve Rogers is a character who I was never a fan of in his comic, video game, or cartoon iterations. The star-spangled hero was never someone I could connect with until Disney and Marvel created Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011. Steve Rogers was shown as a weak and scrawny kid who wanted to prove his worth and serve in the military during World War II. This unlikely hero soon became an icon amongst kids and adults as he became a main character of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Disney finding success in the franchise, Captain America would eventually become one of the most important characters in modern film.
Ever since his first portrayal in 2011, Chris Evans has embodied the role of Captain America completely. It would be hard to see anyone else play one of the greatest film heroes of all time. Captain America succeeds as a character because he is a hero before and after having the super-soldier serum. Steve Rogers is never one to back down from a fight and would do everything he could to save the lives of others which is seen in Captain America: The First Avenger with the alley fight and grenade test. Steve Rogers only furthers his righteousness when he gains his abilities through the serum. Captain America is a pure character hence why he is able to budge Thor’s hammer Mjölnir in Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Captain America isn’t the one to change his ideology as seen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier where he actively goes against the government when he realizes how they plan to deal with possible threats. But above everything, Captain America officially stays true to himself when the Sokovia Accords are introduced in Captain America: Civil War.
When we see Captain America as a character we see someone who is the ideal moral compass for the MCU. He continuously represents equality, accountability, and honesty throughout the films while the settings and characters change around him. Captain America: First Avenger Captain America is the same hero we see in Avengers: Infinity War just with a different suit and beard. Throughout his run in the films we never once see him change mentally. That sole reason is why Captain America stands as a hero to myself and many others. Seeing a respectable role model on the big screen gives inspiration and hope to the audience. However, Captain America’s time as our hero is coming to an end on April 26th with the release of Avengers: Endgame.
Avengers: Endgame marks the final contracted role of Chris Evans as Captain America in the MCU. If this remains the same, this could potentially be the last time we see him on the big screen. With this information on the table, it is imperative to see how Avengers: Endgame wraps up the story of Steve Rogers. With Thanos completing his task at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, we will see Captain America in a way we’ve never seen him before. This was the first loss for the team and it was the biggest tragedy of them all. Captain America and the Avengers failed as a team to stop Thanos because of the split that occurred in Captain America: Civil War.
At this point in the story, Captain America has no family, buried his love interest, and watched his best friend turn into dust. Captain America now fights to keep his ideology preserved so half of the world still has a moral compass out there to believe in. If this is the last appearance of Captain America, one thing is clear: Captain America will be Captain America until the very end. His loyalty to the world and remaining friends will surely be a key factor when attempting to fix the “snap”. While all of our questions will be answered when the movie comes out, it is crucial that Captain America completes one last task before being able to finally rest in Avengers: Endgame.
The Road to the Endgame Part 2: Thor – The Last Son of Odin
Thor is a character that never interested me; much like Captain America, however, where Captain America was able to grab my attention in the first film, I was never a fan of Thor. I found Thor and Thor: The Dark World to be my least favorite movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thor to me was a character who always seemed to be missing some sort of personality outside of Chris Hemsworth’s great portrayal of the God of Thunder. This missing trait would eventually be found in Thor: Ragnarok where Taika Waititi decided to take Thor in a new direction while still keeping his heroicness. Turning Thor into a comedic and charming God in Thor: Ragnarok was an absolutely wonderful choice, however, this would all change with Avengers: Infinity War.
While Thor’s comedic timing and overall silliness worked for Thor: Ragnarok, he would suffer the most at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War. After using Surtur to kill Hela, Thor ultimately lost Asgard as a result of the destruction. With Asgard being “the people” and not “a place”, Thor leads his civilization to space in order to find a new home. It is at this point that Thor has taken the throne and title of Ruler of Asgard since he is all they have left to look up to. However, the tranquility and peacefulness are very shortlived moments because Thanos quickly arrived to collect the Tesseract. When Thanos arrives he beats the living Hulk out of Bruce Banner and holds Thor hostage. This is the weakest and most helpless version of Thor we’ve seen throughout the MCU. While normally Thor could break out of this situation with his powers, he is hopeless and fully at Thanos’ will. With the Power stone torturing him, Loki decides to surrender the Tesseract to Thanos in exchange for Thor’s life. Once Thor is set free, his life is about to change forever because of Loki’s actions.
Loki has always been a trickster, seeing as if he is the God of Mischief himself. While Loki has faked his death numerous times, it is here at the hands of Thanos where we see him take his final breath. Because Loki tried to stab Thanos, Thor would become a changed man moving forward having finally seen his brother actually die. With this tragedy, Thor must team up with a group of strangers to create a weapon strong enough of taking down Thanos. So far within the span of one movie and an opening scene of another, Thor has lost his father, Mjölnir, his sister, his home, and his brother. Within these two movies, Thor has suffered and lost more than any other character in the MCU and yet he still keeps a smile on his face when working with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
After having a hilarious conversation with Peter Quill, Thor decides that he has nothing left to lose, and therefore, has nothing to lose by facing Thanos. When Rocket hears this, they form a close friendship out of their shared hatred of Thanos. This is where we see Thor, Rocket, and Groot go on a trip to Nidavellir to craft the Stormbreaker. Thor crafting Stormbreaker is a tough challenge that includes him taking a dying star to the chest, but nonetheless, he accomplishes his goal because of his determination to kill Thanos. When Thor arrives in Wakanda he saves the Avengers and the Wakandan fighters by wiping out a good fraction of the Outriders. Thor’s arrival in Wakanda wasn’t expected and is absolutely the best part of Avengers: Infinity War.
After entering Wakanda, Thor meets up with Captain America as they take down the rest of the Outriders with the remaining members of the Avengers. Once Thanos arrives shortly after, each Avenger puts up a fight against the Mad Titan himself. With Thor being the last chance at defeating Thanos, he ruins it by not immediately killing him. Since Thor failed his only task, Thanos is allowed to use the “Snap” to eliminate half of all life. Thor failed his task because he was obsessed with revenge rather than the mission itself because behind Thor’s smile and newfound comedic energy lives a man who has nothing left to live for except revenge. Thor giving a speech to Thanos as he attempts to kill him is all he has left to do in life. With Thor failing his only job, it is up to him to put aside his feelings and do the right thing in Avengers: Endgame.
The Road to the Endgame Part 3: Hulk – The Last Transformation
Bruce Banner is an interesting character in the MCU. With the rights remaining to Universal for a solo Hulk movie, Disney had to develop the character in their Avengers movies instead. In doing so they created a character who’s wise, intelligent, and strong. Bruce Banner has an interesting dilemma of sharing a body with the Hulk which results in a constant fight over control. In this fight we see different instances of Bruce and Hulk taking over, however, they refuse to work with each other. This has even led to a suicide attempt by Bruce which resulted in the Hulk stopping him. Overall, we haven’t seen Hulk in his full form until Thor: Ragnarok.
In Thor: Ragnarok, Hulk took over for multiple years and lived as Hulk on the planet of Sakaar. Being a champion gladiator on the planet earned him notoriety and rewards that incentivized him to stay. Since Hulk isn’t fully mentally developed his intelligence is rather low. This leads to an easily impressionable and manipulative character, however, in Thor: Ragnarok Hulk has developed more and can formulate more words than ever before. However, there is a catch to Hulk remaining as the one in control.
With the Hulk being in control for many years, Bruce Banner doesn’t think that he can turn into Hulk when he needs to if at all. With this option on the table, Banner must change as a character. Taking away the strength from one of if not the strongest Avenger means that the team will suffer from a lack of power. Instead, Banner must rely on his intelligence to bolster the team and give them a winning chance against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. With Banner being a Dr. in multiple fields of science, his brain combined with the mind of Tony Stark can produce endless ideas like they have in the past with Vision. While Banner has the brain and sometimes the brawn, it is pertinent that they rely on his brain for now.
By taking the strength of Hulk off the table, the Avengers must get creative in finding a way to take down Thanos. But, one last option remains for Banner when it comes to fighting Thanos again. If Banner can potentially turn into Hulk one more time before it is a permanent transformation he could attempt to merge with the inner-beast. In doing so would create Professor Hulk, who is a notable character in the comic books. In the comics, Professor Hulk is a combination of Hulk’s strength and size along with the brilliance of Bruce Banner. With Banner in control of the Hulk, they could form an unlikely alliance to help in the battle against Thanos.
Within Banner/Hulk’s five appearances in the MCU, we’ve grown to love and appreciate the awkward scientist and the monster that lives inside of him, however, it might be time that we see these two finally make peace for the greater good. With Avengers: Endgame drawing close, we will see how Banner lives with or without the Hulk in his life when the movie hits the big screen. Until then, the trials and tribulations of Banner and Hulk remain. With Hulk refusing to come out in Avengers: Infinity War, it is crucial that we see the beast come out of his cage for one last fight against the Mad Titan in Avengers: Endgame.
The Road to the Endgame Part 4: Iron Man – The Last Stark
Iron Man has been a landmark character for Marvel and a hero for the masses for 11 years now, but unfortunately, his time is coming to an end. With Robert Downey Jr.’s contract currently ending with Avengers: Endgame, this could be the last we see of our last heir to the Stark name. That is unless Tony Stark can finally marry Pepper Potts or have a child of his own. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been setting this up for years now, but Tony Stark’s departure from the franchise is going to be a big event for the actor, character, and future. However, Iron Man hasn’t always been everyone’s favorite character in the MCU because of Captain America: Civil War‘s desire to pull our beloved team apart.
Captain America: Civil War was one of if not the most important “Avengers” film next to Avengers: Infinity War. In Captain America: Civil War, we see our cherished team separated in order to fight for what they really believe in. With Captain America ironically going against his country and wanting freedom, his motivations are clear and his ideology is pure. However, Iron Man has a different point of view on this situation. With Scarlet Witch’s accident in Sokovia claiming many lives, he is convinced that they need to be limited in their abilities in order to reduce collateral damage. Both sides provide fair, accurate, and respectable points, but, ultimately the movie ends with the Avenger’s separating into two sides. The split of Iron Man and Captain America is sad, and thus this allows for Thanos to win in Avengers: Infinity War.
In Avengers: Infinity War we see Iron Man play a crucial role in the fight against Thanos. Tony Stark has been haunted by Thanos since the fight in New York in the first Avengers movie. Ever since the fight, Tony Stark developed post-traumatic stress disorder and an inner desire to protect the world and the ones he loves in it. But while Iron Man fought Thanos he found himself outmatched and underpowered even when he was realistically at his strongest. Using nanotechnology has allowed Iron Man to have the most technically advanced suit so far and yet it wasn’t enough to stop Thanos. Although Iron Man was the only character to draw blood from Thanos, he still wasn’t able to deal with Thanos’ immense power using the Infinity Stones. Losing to Thanos cost Iron Man the closest thing he had to a son in the MCU; Iron Man lost Spider-Man.
Peter Parker has been the closest thing to a son for Tony Stark in the past few films, however, losing him due to the “snap” was a devastating blow to his character. The two heroes have wonderful chemistry and are the closest thing to a father and son duo in the MCU. With Spider-Man’s death, Iron Man must do what he does best and avenge him and all of the other snapped victims. Iron Man needs Captain America on his side to achieve success against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. These two leaders must work together to find a way to fix the world and bring back those who were lost. Tony Stark owes this to Spider-Man, Aunt May, Pepper Potts, and the world.
Losing his “son” not only devastated Iron Man, but it surely will have changed his motivations between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Tony Stark is the last living Stark and his change from billionaire playboy to world-saving superhero is surely awe-inspiring but he needs to face the fact that he is getting old and needs to eventually settle down with Pepper Potts. In order to pass the torch to the new generation of heroes, Iron Man must retire or die trying to protect the world. Both of these options are very realistic for the character as we’ve seen the changes he’s gone through over his many film appearances of the years. Iron Man’s last mission is to defeat the Mad Titan who’s been haunting him for years even if it costs him his life in the end.
I hope you enjoyed reading this collection and look forward to more Avengers: Endgame content in the near future!
