The MCU’s Last Moment of Greatness

No matter how one may feel about superhero movies based on comics made for children, there can be no dismissal of what Marvel Studios and the MCU accomplished. For a decade Marvel got scores of moviegoers to invest in every film they produced. The studio boldly connected every film to a central story that played out whether you were watching an Avengers movie, or the kinda/sorta stand-alone films about Iron Man, Captain America, or even the mostly silly Thor films. The ask of the viewer was to see every movie in the MCU because they were all connected to a tale that would culminate in the final (for now) Avengers film Endgame. Incredibly, that question was answered with a rapturous “yes.”

Part of the reason is that the special effects finally caught up to the comics. Blue screen, green screen, whatever background filmmakers used to tell these stories created an eye-popping experience even if more than a few films didn’t hold up under critical scrutiny. The eye candy and the iconography connected to cover up a multitude of sins (did I mention the Thor movies?). 

Of course, the problem that the MCU, at the end of this extraordinary run, is struggling with is “what now?” Thanos has been vanquished, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, and have been killed off as characters, and most heartbreakingly, the key to Marvel’s intended ascension (Chadwick Boseman) is dead. Even if future films lean further into the multiverse, the original actors are aging and not easily replaceable if Marvel wants to reboot/recast their most well-known characters. 

The move to television on Disney has largely been deemed a failure overall. Although to be fair, we likely won’t know until Anthony Mackie takes to the silver screen to play a new version of Captain America next year. And sure, Deadpool and Wolverine went wild at the box office this year, but those characters belong solely to Sony (like the pre-Tom Holland Spider-Man movies). They exist in a different world, like the X-Men movies. 

Of course, the capacity of the “multiverse” opens up all kinds of possibilities. You can bring Chris Evans back as Captain America as long as Evans signs upon the line which is dotted, and in doing so will find innumerable Brinks trucks dumping money on his lawn. But here’s where the law of diminishing returns comes in: if you can bring anyone back by using “multiverse reasons” (and de-aging digital makeup if necessary), does anything of consequence have any, well, consequence? Take Deadpool and Wolverine (and yes, as stated not an MCU film, but the point still applies): Logan was not only one of the best, most resonant, and moving films of the Marvel era, but maybe the best period. Bringing Wolverine back from the dead in a soulless Deadpool blockbuster for nostalgic purposes steals the pathos from Logan. Does anything matter if you can always hit the rewind button and bring characters back as nothing more than fan service? 

There are other issues at play as well. The intention of moving the MCU forward with Kang the Conquerer blew up when the troubled (if very talented) Jonathan Majors blew up his career with sexual assault allegations that resulted in a conviction and the exiling of Majors and Kang from the MCU future. Last week, Marvel announced that James Spader was being brought back as Ultron for a Vision series, which strikes me as a bit of odd nostalgia for the weakest film of the Avengers series. Most confusing is the recent announcement that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU, but this time as Doctor Doom, as Marvel tries to launch The Fantastic Four for a third time. While I’m sure this decision will do wonderful things for RDJ’s bank account, one can’t help but wonder “What the hell is Marvel trying to do here?” This is a move that reeks of desperation. I’m not saying it won’t work at the box office, but how do you take any of this seriously? 

The strain was showing even before Endgame. The Avengers films became increasingly bloated in length, and when scores of characters died at the end of the penultimate Avengers film Infinity War everyone in the theater not born yesterday surely knew that there was a Black Panther movie and a Spider-Man movie on the come, so their “deaths” meant nothing. Just like Wolverine’s death in Logan now means less because of the Deadpool cash grab.

All of that being said, I don’t come to bury the MCU, but to celebrate the moment that stirred me to the core of my youthful, nostalgic, and fearful youth. Growing up as an only child, I lived in a house with an alcoholic who did not spare the rod when he got his load on. In the relative safety of my bedroom, I would escape into a world of comics.

The idea that there were heroes in the world making the wrong things right gave me some hope to hang my hat on. I never thought these heroes were real – though often I wished they were – but they helped me believe in the possibility of good triumphing over evil.

My favorite characters were Captain America and The Avengers. Anyone who knows me well might be surprised by this. I’m no believer in American exceptionalism, and my personality and sense of humor might seem ill-suited to the character who was the embodiment of the straightest of straight arrows. It may have just been his inherent, unshakable decency that made him my favorite. There was a kindness in him, and a sadness too. Cap was a man out of time. A guy from the ‘40s who woke up one day in the modern world never knowing where he fit in. I could relate to that fitting in part. How could I be open outside a house that taught me nothing but fear?

As I got older and “became a man,” as some might say, I guess you could say I put away such “childish things” as superheroes. I became a huge movie buff, especially for strong, adult-oriented dramas.

But then one day the “childish things” came back. Suddenly superhero movies were en vogue. It seemed novel to me, and the young boy I used to be was cheered by it. While on their face, superhero movies are inherently nonsensical, there was an undeniable nostalgia in seeing first-rate productions of characters who sustained me throughout a difficult childhood. And while I may be a movie snob, I’m not so big a snob that I can’t appreciate a well-done costumed hero flick.

When I heard that the final Avengers film, Endgame, was to be three hours long I was not encouraged. Though the reviews for the final installment were off the charts, I still entered the movie house with measured expectations. I’m no easy piece when it comes to comic book movies, but when they’re good, as you might have guessed by now, I have a special place in my heart for them. 

And some of them are good. The first Avengers movie, Tobey Maguire’s first two Spider-Man flicks, the first Iron Man, and several others were a lot of fun. A handful were even better than that. The aforementioned Logan, The Black Panther, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, its successor Civil War, and Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy (DC as they may be) all represent the tip-top of the food chain for me.

But the previous Avengers: Infinity War had been particularly frustrating for me; too many characters, too much CGI (to no great effect), and most irritatingly the “heartbreaking” finale where half of the characters die. But as I pointed out, they weren’t dead. All the tragedy that ensued meant nothing because there was nothing at stake.

The opening sequence of the Endgame with Hawkeye’s family disappearing was fabulous, and I admired how it took the time to show the characters adjusting to the new world Thanos had left them. But even so, the first two hours felt protracted and slow-going. I didn’t have a major problem with the time travel aspect, which was no more implausible than in any other movie that moved backward, forwards, or both through time (several of which are amusingly name-checked in Endgame), so I was able to suspend my disbelief in that regard.

My major issues began with the caper portion of the film, with the remaining characters going back in time to undo what Thanos had done to the planet. This is where the movie got long: Shift in my seat long. My mood was dropping.

And then it happened.

All the excessive set-up was put to the side and the heroes finally turned their attention to the battle the film had spent so much (too much time) bringing forward.

And it was terrific.

We all would like to believe that when things are at their worst, we will be at our best. The truth is we often fall short. But it is something to aspire to, and these characters from my youth represent that. Finally, after much preamble, they came together to be their very best: courageous, fierce, and selfless.

There’s a moment in the film when, right on the brink of defeat the cavalry arrives; Cap, Thor, and Iron Man are no longer alone. All the characters line up behind the good Captain, who is weary and withered. He takes in the sight of his friends returning to his side. A deep sigh leaves his bleeding mouth, and then he speaks two words, the last of which escapes his lips not as a yell, or a battle cry, but as a statement of purpose; spoken just above a hush, through gritted teeth:

“Avengers!…assemble.”

At that moment a chill ran up my spine. Suddenly, the ten-year-old boy hidden away in his bedroom, reading his comics, leaving the dark things on the other side of his door was summoned. And it was exhilarating. I didn’t expect the emotion it brought forward: the flutter in my chest, and the wetting of my eyes. 

I had to catch my breath.

It took a long time to get there – a little too long – but when all seemed lost, this massive series of blockbusters so prone to excess finally found it. That thing that I’d been waiting for and wishing for, and had all but given up on:

Magic.

And look — in these serious times we live in, our days often are full of darkness. Goodness and decency seem in short supply. But watching these heroes at their best, I forgot about that and escaped, just like I did as a child reading my comics. Once again those dark things were outside my door. I believed in that goodness for a moment. I believed in decency. I believed in heroes.

How good it felt. No matter what tomfoolery has come since (or will continue to come) Marvel Studios will never erase that moment. While I do not believe the studio will ever top that two-word peak, I root for them to surprise me. Because that moment surprised me to my chest’s center, and despite my current skepticism, I hope to be wrong again. Why wouldn’t I? Why wouldn’t we all? Isn’t that one of the reasons why we go to movies in the first place? To enter a bright building, go through a welcoming door into a room lit only by the screen before us, and escape all that weighs us down on the outside.